Managers’ competences in social enterprises: which specificities?

The management of an organization and the context within which this organization evolves are recognized as two important aspects of any organization. Few studies have been conducted however on the management function within the specific context of social enterprises, organizations that mix social goals and economic imperatives (Darbus & Lazuech, 2010). This paper examines the specific competences of management in social enterprises, by constructing a competence model, the emblematic tool of competence-based management, relevant to the management of social enterprises (Colin & Grasser, 2007; Oiry & Sulzer, 2002; Retour & Rapiaux, 2006). Our hypothesis is that certain competences required of managers in social enterprises are specific, regarding the particular internal and external context of social enterprises, the governance model, etc.
The methodology used is based on four main steps: a review of the literature and the conducting of exploratory interviews, the construction of a first draft of the competence model, the conducting of group interviews with managers of social enterprises in six European countries as this research takes place within the framework of a European research project on lifelong learning , and the final adaptation and validation of the competence model.