Social Enterprise as a response to rural disadvantage
The case of the Scottish Highlands and Islands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21722673 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pollyanna Chapman (Queen Margaret University, Queen Margaret University Drive, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scottish Geographical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-2541 • E-ISSN: 1751-665X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14702541.2026.2697415 |
| OpenAlex | W7167288299 |
| Language | ES |
| References cited | 29 |
With a focus on ‘small is beautiful’, the paper argues that the development of social entrepreneurship in the Scottish Highland and Islands is a response to rural disadvantage and shows how social enterprises are an important adaptive response by rural communities to address these disadvantages. Consequently, ‘social enterprise’ and ‘rural entrepreneurship’ are considered to be embedded in ‘place’. The paper draws on the author’s primary quantitative and qualitative research as well as the author’s experience as a business adviser for the third sector in the Highlands and Islands. The combination of research and practitioner experience enables an in-depth exploration of the complex phenomena of resilience within the context of small-scale social entrepreneurship, rural disadvantage, place and social enterprise, enabling the author to bring a unique insight into the origins, motivations, challenges and aspirations of social entrepreneurs in rural Scotland. The promotion of community resilience is regarded as being closely interrelated to local social entrepreneurship
Disadvantage · Entrepreneurship · Psychological resilience · Rural area · Rurality · Social enterprise · Social entrepreneurship · Cooperative Studies and Economics · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Rural development and sustainability
The best of both worlds
Rural entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship in the rural – between place and space
The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process
Rurality, islandness and public policy in Scotland
The potential of social enterprise to enhance health and well-being
Going nowhere? Rural youth labour market opportunities and obstacles
The Most Supportive Environment in the World”? Tracing the Development of an Institutional ‘Ecosystem’ for Social Enterprise
Unlocking the potential of rural social enterprise
Enhancing the analysis of rural community resilience
Rural social enterprise – Evidence to date, and a research agenda
Re-imagining the rural
City region thinking, a zombie idea in regional and rural development? Scotland and Finland compared
Smart rural futures
Unemployment duration and employability in remote rural labour markets
Poverty dynamics in Rural Britain 1991–2008
Rural co-working
How Local are Spatial Density Externalities? Neighbourhood Effects in Agglomeration Economies
Rural Development and Social Exclusion
Poverty, Place, and Rurality
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |