ESDN Office at the Institute for Managing Sustainability Vienna University of Economics and Business Welthandelsplatz 1, Building D1, A-1020 Vienna, Austria E:
also focusing on the role of social entrepreneurship in the context of the social innovation discourse.
1. 1 Core elements and common features 6 1. 2 Social innovation and social entrepreneurship 8 2 EU initiatives and activities on social innovation
social innovation can emerge from any sector (TEPSIE, 2014). 1. 1 Context and definitions Social innovations â€oeare new solutions (products, services, models, markets, processes etc.)
Social innovation relates to new responses to pressing social demands by means that affect the process of social interactions,
3) social entrepreneurship; 4) the development of new products, services and programmes; and, 5) a model of governance, empowerment and capacity building. 1 Our perspective on social innovation is guided in many ways by the work done by the FP7 project TEPSIE (http://www. tepsie. eu),
which explored the †Theoretical, Empirical and Policy Foundations for Social Innovation in Europe†and ended officially in January 2015.
and individuals are seen not only as passive recipients of services anymore2; 5) Mutualism: Notion that individual and collective well-being is obtainable only by mutual dependence;
i) New products Assistive technologies developed for people with disabilities ii) New services Mobile banking iii) New processes Peer-to-peer collaboration
or regulatory frameworks or platforms for care vi) New organisational forms Community interest companies vii) New business models Social franchising,
2012) Social innovation does not refer to any particular sector of the economy, but to innovation in the creation of social outputs, regardless of where they emanate.
2012, p. 26). 1. 2 Social innovation and social entrepreneurship We devote now a brief section of our report to the topic of †social entrepreneurshipâ€.
Our main interest is to show here that social entrepreneurship should not be confused with social innovation,
And enterprises are important because they deliver innovation. But ultimately, innovation is what creates social value.
Innovation can emerge in places and from people outside of the scope of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise.
by expressing willingness to contribute to the creation of a favourable environment for the development of social business in Europe,
and of the social economy at large3. Social entrepreneurship seems to be one of the most considered avenues
and †potentially †most effective ways for social innovation to offer solutions to the most pressing social problems.
therefore, EU policy, social enterprises contribute to social cohesion, employment and the reduction of inequalities,
Times New Roman nterprises seek to serve the community†s interest (social, societal, environmental objectives) rather than profit maximisation.
2008) noted, the underlying objective of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises is to create social value that is seen as the creation of benefits
Seemingly, the EU Commission sees social enterprises as often having an innovative nature, through the goods or services they offer,
and through the organisation or production methods they resort to, often employing society†s most fragile members (socially excluded persons).
or create new opportunities through a process of exploration, innovation, experimentation, and resource mobilization. This is, therefore, an active, messy, highly decentralized learning process,
and assess opportunities (Dees, 1998). In terms of creating social value, therefore, wealth is just a means to an end for social entrepreneurs.
2009), social entrepreneurship â€oeencompasses the activities and processes undertaken to discover, define, and exploit opportunities
in order to enhance social wealth by creating new ventures or managing existing organizations in an innovative manner†(p. 522).
Another useful conceptualization is offered by Peredo and Mclean (2006, p. 64) that, after an examination of †social entrepreneurship†in its common use, suggest the following comprehensive definition:
Social entrepreneurship is exercised where some person (or group)( 1) aims at creating social value, either exclusively or at least in some prominent way;(
and take advantage of opportunities to create that value (†envisionâ€);(3) employs innovation, ranging from outright invention to adapting someone else†s novelty,
and,(5) is unusually resourceful in being undaunted relatively by scarce assets in pursuing their social venture.
of the European commission that defines it as an instrument for developing new ideas, services and models to better address social issues5.
-What does strategic social investment look like and how can social policy support it? -How to support people in lifelong learning to ensure adequate livelihoods in a changing world?
and,(3) supporting social innovation projects through the Social Innovation Competition. 4 See also: http://ec. europa. eu/growth industry/innovation/policy/social/index en. htm 5 See also:
and the public and third sectors. o It will promote social innovation through the European Social Fund (ESF) building on the significant investments in social innovation which the ESF has made over the last ten years, all along the innovation cycle.
As an immediate step, it will pilot a European Public sector Innovation Scoreboard as a basis for further work to benchmark public sector innovation.
i) Networking,(ii) Competition,(iii) EU funding,(iv) Finance,(v) Framework conditions,(vi) Results,(vii) Incubation and scaling up.
) Competition Every year since 2012, the European Social Innovation Competition is organized to support new solutions and raise awareness of social innovation.
The Competition invites Europeans to develop new solutions to reduce unemployment and minimize its effects on the economy and society.
The first two editions focused on the best social innovation solutions to help people move towards work or into new types of work.
Naples 2. 0-International Social Innovation Competition, and Social Innovation Tournament. EU funding Direct funding to support social innovation is offered by the EU programme for Employment
which is open to social enterprises. Additionally, EU funding can be found under the EU Structural and Investment funds.
and the role of the third sector in socioeconomic development and social entrepreneurship. Horizon 2020†s broad approach to innovation further strengthens social
and public sector innovation and provides many opportunities for take-up across all areas. For the first multiannual work programme of Horizon 2020,
and services, enhancing transparency and decision-making processes of public administrations, the launch of a Social innovation community in 2015, support to the public sector observatory of the OECD, a new competition for the prize of the European capital of Innovation,
as well as continuation of support to the Social innovation competition for the next years Finance Information about available financial support for social innovation is made public by the European commission that prepared a well-structured report to describe the main typologies of support.
The report †â€oefinancing social impact. Funding social innovation in Europe††among others recommends a â€oecoordinated
iii) funding for pilots and prototypes, as well as for evaluations;(iv) finance for embedding successful models;
Framework conditions The European commission aims to improve the conditions for social innovation and social enterprises in Europe, for instance through the EU single market, the Social Business Initiative and its 11 key actions.
The Social Business Initiative (SBI) was launched by the European commission in 2011 with the aim of fostering a fertile environment for the development of social business in Europe.
-Bigger role for social innovation in the European Social Fund-European Social Innovation Competition; -Support to networks of incubators for social innovation. 27-Support a research programme on public sector and social innovation;
-Pilot a European Public sector Innovation Scoreboard-Social and public sector innovation included in Horizon 2020 topics;
Two EU-wide networks of incubators are particularly notable. Firstly, †TRANSITION-Transnational Network for Social Innovation Incubation†is a project that supports the scaling-up of social innovations across Europe by developing a network of incubators bridging established partners within the fields of social innovation
(SI) and innovation-based incubation (IBI. Secondly, †BENISI-Building a European Network of Incubators for Social Innovation†seeks to build a Europe-wide network of networks of incubators for social innovation,
with the aim to identify at least 300 social innovations that are identified with high potential for scaling successfully,
and ensure the delivery of necessary support services to those social innovations. 2. 2 Research projects in Europe Several EU-funded research projects are focusing on social innovation.
5) EFESEIIS Enabling the flourishing and evolution of social entrepreneurship for innovative and inclusive societies;(
6) SEFORIS Social Enterprise as Force for more Inclusive and Innovative Societies; Social Innovation in Europe ESDN Quarterly Report No. 36 15 (7) Third Sector Impact The Contribution of the Third Sector to Europe†s Socioeconomic Development;(
integrating critical analysis of current and previous work with future-oriented methodologies, new actionable knowledge and continual stakeholder participation.
EFESEIIS (Enabling the flourishing and evolution of social entrepreneurship for innovative and inclusive societies. The project provides advice to stakeholders on how to foster Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation;
drafts an Evolutionary Theory of Social Entrepreneurship to explain the different evolutionary paths of Social Entrepreneurship in Europe
and how Social Entrepreneurship and institutions co-evolved over time; identifies the features of an enabling ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship;
and identifies the New Generation of Social Entrepreneurs, its features, needs and constraints as well as their contribution to Social Innovation.
Social Innovation in Europe ESDN Quarterly Report No. 36 16 SEFORIS (Social Enterprise as Force for more Inclusive and Innovative Societies.
The project seeks to understand the potential of social enterprise in the EU and beyond to improve the social inclusiveness of society through greater stakeholder engagement,
promotion of civic capitalism and changes to social service provision through a. investigation of key processes within social enterprises for delivering inclusion
and innovation, including organisation and governance, financing, innovation and behavioural change and b. investigation of formal and informal institutional context, including political, cultural and economic environments and institutions directly and indirectly supporting social enterprises.
Third Sector Impact (The Contribution of the Third Sector to Europe†s Socioeconomic Development. The project will create knowledge that will further advance the contributions that the third sector
and volunteering can make to the socioeconomic development of Europe. These unique †renewable resources†for social and economic problem-solving and civic engagement in Europe are needed more than ever at this time of social and economic distress
2) persistent multi-stakeholder constellations;(3) the mobilisation of multiple resources. Against the update of structural data, the project will test these hypotheses on the qualitative impacts of the Third Sector in terms of capital building (e g. social networks,
1) SCU (2014) Science for Environment Policy In depth Report: Social Innovation and the Environment. Science Communication Unit, University of the West of England, Bristol.
Report produced for the European commission DG Environment, February 2014. Available at: http://ec. europa. eu/science-environment-policy;
2) the Transition Network†s website: www. transitionnetwork. org 10 The idea of †Peek oil†is one of the main motives of the transition towns movement. 11 Permaculture can be defined as †consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns
and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs. †Starting from a permaculture vision of permanent or sustainable agriculture,
the concept of permaculture evolved in time and now considers people, their buildings and the ways in which they organise themselves (see also:
the Transition Network was set up to respond to the demand for information, guidance, training and materials from communities engaged in the transition process.
The individual Transition Initiatives and the projects they create can become social enterprises or other forms of organisation.
well-being and social entrepreneurship are definitively central to it while economic constraints and different patterns of development are suggested.
2) European commission (2013) Social economy and social entrepreneurship-Social Europe guide-Volume 4. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European union.
which provides an environment for third sector entities to cooperate, learn from each other and build new shared enterprises.
The Social Innovation Park presents itself as †a place where businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit entities form a community with a common purpose:
and transforming them into business opportunities, where the actors can be part of the solution. SI Park works mainly in the development of large scale social enterprises, generating high local impact
and with large potential to be replicated. The Park hosts a range of facilities, which provide incubator services, training for social economy,
and access to international networks to nurture and spread the new social enterprises. Three main facilities are well representative of the SI Park†s innovative structure:(
1) the Social Innovation Laboratory (G-Lab;(2) the Social Innovation Academy; and,(3) the Social Enterprise Generator.
1) Social Innovation Laboratory (G-Lab) SI Park hosts a Laboratory for identifying emerging social tendencies (G-Lab) applying participatory democracy methodologies.
Social Innovation in Europe ESDN Quarterly Report No. 36 22 (2) Social Innovation Academy SI Park provides on-site and on-line training to bring fresh ideas to services
organizations and enterprises. The Social Innovation Academy offers regularly-scheduled programs: Intensive Training for Third Sector Leaders, project-based education,
3) Social Enterprise Generator Collaborating entities within the SI Park are offered the opportunity to incubate new social enterprises
In terms of financing of new social innovation ventures, the SI Park will contribute to expanding funding opportunities through establishing a †Social Business Stock Marketâ€
a place where individuals, companies and the public sector can invest both in developing of new opportunities
Social innovations are defined as new solutions (products, services, models, markets, processes etc. that simultaneously meet a social need (more effectively than existing solutions) and lead to new or improved capabilities and relationships and better use of assets and resources.
Social innovation does not refer to any particular sector of the economy, but to innovation in the creation of social outputs, regardless of where they emanate.
and, the informal sector. 2 †Social innovation and social entrepreneurship are not the same thing Social entrepreneurship seems to be one of the most considered avenues and, potentially,
Social enterprises seek to serve the community†s interest rather than profit maximization; the underlying objective is,
http://csi. gsb. stanford. edu/sites/csi. gsb. stanford. edu/files/Themeaningofsocialentrepreneurship. pdf Dees, J. G. 2006) Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously.
Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the European commission Communication †Research and innovation as sources of renewed growth COM (2014) 339â€.
http://ec. europa. eu/research/innovation-union/pdf/state-of-the-union/2013/state of the innovation union report 2013. pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none EC (2013) Social economy and social entrepreneurship.
Peredo, A m and M. Mclean (2006) Social entrepreneurship: A critical review of the concept. Journal of World Business 41, 56†65.
SCU (2014) Science for Environment Policy In depth Report: Social Innovation and the Environment. Science Communication Unit, University of the West of England, Bristol.
Report produced for the European commission DG Environment, February 2014. Available at: http://ec. europa. eu/science-environment-policy Taub, R. P. 1998) Making the adaptation across cultures and societies:
a report on an attempt to clone the Grameen Bank in Southern Arkansas. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 3 (1), 53†69.
TEPSIE (2014) Building the Social Innovation Ecosystem. A deliverable of the project: â€oethe theoretical, empirical and policy foundations for building social innovation in Europe†(TEPSIE), European commission †7th Framework Programme, Brussels:
European commission, DG Research. Thomas, J. J. 1995) Replicating the Grameen Bank†the Latin american experience. Small Enterprise Development 6 (2), 16†26.
Wall street journal (1998) Microcredit arrives in Africa, but can it match Asian success? September 29, Section A p. 1. Zahra, S a e. Gedajlovic, D. O. Neubaum and J. M. Shulman (2009) A typology of social entrepreneurs:
Motives, search processes and ethical challenges. Journal of Business Venturing 24: 519†532. Social Innovation in Europe ESDN Quarterly Report No. 36 26 European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN) www. sd-network. eu
Both the U s. and European economies have taken the lead in establishing some early concepts and policies for realizing the smart grid.
and a relatively low economy of scale when compared to the transmission systems. Several legislative mandates have provided various opportunities for the modernization of the electric grid in the U s. Fig. 1 shows a timeline of some events related to the electricity grid in the U s. that have served as harbingers to important changes via mandates
and legislations. B. Trajectory in Europe The unification of the European grid was achieved in parallel to the economical unification of European countries.
and sees that investments decrease. However, the sense of ownership and contribution of each individual country to the whole grid is different from how the U s. directs initiatives through its Department of energy.
and securing investments for projects in the energy sector. 2) An overall energy-efficiency action plan (2007†2012) establishes a firm objective of 20%improvement. 3) The European energy infrastructure package identifies smart
4) incorporation of demand-side resources and demand response; 5) deployment of â€oesmart†technologies and integration of â€oesmart†appliances and consumer devices;
8) standard development for communication and interoper-ability of equipment; 1156 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 48, NO.
and services 9. An illustration of an implementation of the smart grid is shown in Fig. 2. The U s. National Institute of Standards
bulk generation, transmission, distribution, customers, service providers, operations, and markets 10. In the EU, the smart grid strategy is motivated by concepts of innovation with regard to social and environmental reforms for an interactive economy.
The European energy policy relies on 11 the following: 1) security of supply; 2) sustainability;
Dispositions are taken also to favor international energy (electricity and gas) trade, collaboration and investment, separation of generation and supply from transmission networks, decentralized generation and energy efficiency,
and correspond to an investment of about 190 million. The Seventh Framework Program, the current program, will run until 2013
including on-demand power quality of supply, enhanced reliability, deferrals in transmission investment, and avenues for meeting renewable mandates in the face of growing dis-investments in transmission assets†all of which cater to the smart grid philosophy.
However, the interconnection of DG is a challenge due to the safety, control, and protection issues associated with bidirectional flows of electricity.
B. Energy Storage Electricity is a highly perishable commodity that must be consumed within a very short span of production
4) provides ancillary services, supplying reactive power for voltage regulation; and 5) supports transmission-and-distribution (T&d) investment deferral.
Energy storage with power-electronics-interfaced units can create virtual rotational inertia, the so-called virtual synchronous generators,
informing end users of all required pricing parameters. 9) Communications: The intelligent functioning of the smart grid depends on the capability to support a communication layer in tandem with an energy delivery layer in the grid. 10) Fault tolerance/self-healing:
A key issue is a built-in ability to minimize the propagation of failures and resilience against such local failures.
This capability should be incorporated with monitoring, communication, and reconfiguration features of power electronics systems. Additionally, power electronics interfaces must be configured to avoid nuisance trips.
The two-way communication ability of smart meters allows the transmission of delivered and generated energy data along with actionable commands to customers.
With technologies such as WIFI Zigbee, and home area network (HAN) communication systems, smart meters can now act as interfaces for energy management entities, customers,
and utilities to control a number of appliances within a residential home based on price signals 25.
Threshold voltage events can trigger communication with utilities for providing alerts to disturbances prior to customer equipment failure or discomfort.
E. DSM Demand-side management (DSM) refers to the ability to change energy consumption patterns and characteristics via structured programs.
while some conservation programs aimed at deferring investments in new assets (including generating facilities, power purchases,
since mid-1990s following deregulation of the industry, has enabled economic efficiency, fostered investments in technological innovations, and, for the most part,
customers and utilities will need to interact via DSM structures aimed at increased energy efficiency, lowered cost of engaging inefficient and costly generators at peak periods,
and time and provide incentives to customers to become more active in controlling their electricity consumption 29,
then real-time pricing is known as hour-ahead pricing. 3) Critical peak pricing is used to â€oeforce†customers to avoid consuming electric energy during specific peak periods.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850 Standard (Communication Networks and Systems in Substations) provides authoritative information relevant to the design of substation automation 33.
Reconfiguring the system in islanded mode may require hitherto unknown rate and amount of data exchange, two-way communication links,
safeguarding the electricity supply to its customers 34. A self-healing system should be based on a wide-area monitoring network that incorporates a variety of sensors,
Fig. 5 shows how several communication technologies can be applied for such data, according to their characteristics.
Two-way-communication-enabled smart appliances, smart meters for control of sources, loads, and storage must be implemented in a platform that allows both digital information and electric energy to flow through a two-way smart infrastructure.
The requirements for these communication infrastructures are reliability and resilience, bandwidth, interoperability, and costs. Several communication protocols and media are currently under various stages of R&d for implementation in smart grids.
Examples include broadband over power line and power line communications which use existing power lines to transmit information;
and marketing services. It also mandated the creation of independent system operators, eventually making possible the creation of an open-access same-time information system†a Web-based secure database of transmission-system-related information.
climate change legislation and energy policy have been linked intimately with a strong impact on investment decisions from private companies.
This raises the question of the real interests of the many stakeholders in the smart grid.
Moreover, the smart grid requires utilities to make significant changes to their present business models (e g.
in order to ensure that each player finds an acceptable ratio between the costs and returns on investments.
a requirement for demand response actions and DSM programs to achieve success. The acceptance of consumers regarding smart metering
Communication and user interfaces will be pervasive, and the integration with the new web of things will allow individual home
and breeding a new class of informed customers who engage in the grid operations are expected to be achieved.
monitoring system to improve voltage quality of customers, †IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 738†743
tp=arnumber=6191343&isnumber=6204228 28 D. Kirschen and G. Strbac, Fundamentals of Power systems Economics. Chichester, U k.:
Wiley, 2004.29 A.-H. Mohsenian-Rad and A. Leon-Garcia, â€oeoptimal residential load control with price prediction in real-time electricity pricing environments, †IEEE Trans.
vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 81†92, Jan. 2011.33 Communication Networks and Systems in Substations, International Elec-trotechnical Committee Standard IEC 61850,2003. 34
Data Sheet (TEDS) Formats, IEEE Standard 1451.4-2004, Dec. 2004.38 Q. Zou and L. Qin, â€oeintegrated communications in smart distribution grid, â€
operation, and economics of finite-inertia systems and integration of renewable-energy systems to electric grids.
presents a series of targeted recommendations aimed at increasing the demand and uptake of the digital solutions by European small firms in the areas of cloud computing,
opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development.
We aim to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of consistent global standards.
and seek opportunities for long-term success. By focusing on the critical role professional accountants play in economies at all stages of development around the world,
and enhance the role the accountancy profession plays in supporting a healthy global economy. www. accaglobal. com/accountants business  The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants,
presents a series of targeted recommendations aimed at increasing the demand and uptake of the digital solutions by European small firms.
and prospects for, the global economy. The increasing emphasis placed on the role of the digital capability for the European recovery (European commission 2010b) raises the question of how the digital agenda can effectively engage the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector
which accounts for over 99.8%of the European business population (Stawiã ska 2011. The potential for information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver efficiency gains is accepted widely.
While large firms are often at the forefront in recognising and investing in IT advancements,
while the survey reveals significantly lower levels of demand in other parts, such as Eastern europe. Similarly, the need for action from various stakeholders seems to vary,
with Eastern europe expecting more action from banks and governments in relation to the e-invoicing agenda for example.
such as accountants, must be considered carefully by the European commission and other stakeholders. Owing to the limited management and resource capacity of small firms, the SME sector is highly reliant on external advice.
capital-upfront investment model to an operational expense, cloud computing promises to enable especially SMES and entrepreneurs the development and adoption of innovative solutions.
email services (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc. A more complete definition, however, offered by the European commission,
or infrastructure that enables the execution of services and applications in a managed and elastic fashion (European commission 2010c).
and scale back their operations without a major upfront investment. Despite its potential, the level of uptake remains low
to enable European SMES to make the most of cloud computing. Making an informed choice Cloud computing requires careful consideration by an SME owner of the kind of services the firm is able to buy, the interoperability of these with current software, the pricing of bolt
-on services, the differences between providers and the risk behind each option. Ensuring that small business owners are able to make these informed choices will involve a coordinated approach from the industry,
comparable and relevant information when choosing services and providers. This is especially pertinent in light of the fact that some 60%of UK small firms recently surveyed admit that they do not know what cloud computing is (Blundel and Gray 2011.
are engaged in this debate will be crucial in ensuring that SMES are represented better in their use of cloud services.
and confidence Increasing awareness of and confidence in cloud services among the SME sector is an
even though 49%of SMES already exchange data in an automated fashion with other ICT systems outside their own enterprise (Giannakouris and Smihily 2010).
improving the general knowledge of the cloud services available while at the same time building confidence in the services on offer.
The survey reveals that over one-third of ACCA€ s members already feel that they have a good understanding of cloud services
customers don't require this Lack of access to appropriate specialists Lack of support from banks Lack of awareness Too expensive Has some expertise Has no experise Too expensive Lack of awareness Lack of support from banks Lack
customers don†t require this Lack of government initiatives Perceived security risk Too complex Lack of government action Lack of access to fast internet Lack of universal platforms Lack
Lack of universal platforms Lack of access to fast internet Lack of government action Too complex Perceived security risk Lack of government initiatives No need/customers don't require this Lack of access
customers don†t require this Lack of government initiatives Perceived security risk Too complex Lack of government action Lack of access to fast internet Lack of universal platforms Lack
and lack of demand were cited by accountants as the key reasons why SMES do not use e-invoicing.
and the most common obstacle (though no more common here than elsewhere) appears to be a lack of demand †no interest from customers.
but more emphasis was placed on the lack of demand, and the focus shifted from complexity to cost-effectiveness.
Wales and Northern ireland, do not. role of stakeholders It has already been suggested by experts in the field (Nienhuis and Bryant 2010),
Banks are therefore a crucial stakeholder that ought to engage in the development and growth of a SME e-invoicing agenda.
not only can they fulfil the need for effective coordination of the multiple stakeholders that need to be involved through setting up national e-invoicing forums (such as banks, industry representatives and SMES),
solutions Lack of universal platforms Lack of access to fast internet Lack of government action Too complex Perceived security risk Lack of government initiatives Lack of need/customers
customers don†t require this Lack of government initiatives Perceived security risk Too complex Lack of government action Lack of access to fast internet Lack of universal platforms Lack
and a general resurgence in enterprise activity have provided a supportive environment for the incubation of a new system of financing businesses:
by improving the economics of deposit taking, due diligence and lending in favour of both investors and businesses,
the opportunities available to small businesses from this new form of †social lending†are potentially significant;
and growth opportunities offered by future economic recovery could provide important incentives to social investors and small business owners alike.
For this unique opportunity to materialise, a number of issues need to be addressed. figure 5:
Too expensive Lack of awareness Lack of support from banks Lack of access to appropriate specialists No need, customers don†t require this Lack of government initiatives Perceived security risk Too complex
initiatives No need/customers don't require this Lack of access to appropriate specialists/advisers/consultants Lack of support from banks Lack of awareness Too expensive SMES are not using P2p finance SMES are using P2p
and client portfolio Ensuring that social lending platforms for small businesses offer a wide range of financial products (encompassing equity investment,
and social enterprises will ensure that social lending platforms, specifically aimed at small firms, become a credible alternative to bank funding.
others, such as Crowdcube in the UK, Seedmatch in Germany or Wiseed in France, provide equity investment,
Accessing a company†s financial accounts is a crucial part of this process (even though individual lenders/investors can choose not to consider these)
Access to advice Social lending and P2p finance are still niche business models and as a result the influence of adoption rates on the types of problem identified by accountants is strong.
opening up new markets and opportunities that would otherwise not have been within their reach. The internet provides one of the rare platforms on
Generally speaking, lack of awareness, security risks, a lack of demand and a shortage of cost-effective solutions tend to prevent SMES from engaging in e-commerce, according to ACCA members (Figure 6). As with other aspects of the digital agenda however,
and addressed by the industry and other stakeholders. Internet is the fastest growing retail channel Europa.
of government action Too complex Perceived security risk Lack of government initiatives No need/customers don't require this Lack of access to appropriate specialists/advisers/consultants Lack of support from banks Lack
Too expensive Lack of awareness Lack of support from banks Lack of access to appropriate specialists No need, customers don†t require this Lack of government initiatives Perceived security risk Too complex
and penalising a significant proportion of enterprises through wider adoption of any of the digital solutions discussed in this report.
On the other hand, lack of demand, risk, cost effectiveness, lack of advice and availability of reliable internet access are †second generation†problems more common in sectors that are more familiar (though still not very much so) with the technology.
Q3, 2011, online report,<http://www2. accaglobal. com/general/activities/library/economy, accessed 26 september 2011.
Annual report on Eu Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 2009, online report,<http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis
European commission (2010a), Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions:
A Digital Agenda for Europe, online report,<http://ec. europa. eu/information society/digital-agenda/documents/digital-agenda-communication-en. pdf>,accessed 26 september 2011.
European commission (2010b), Communication from the Commission: Europe 2020: A Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, online report,<http://europa. eu/press room/pdf/complet en barroso 007 -europe 2020 -en version. pdf>,accessed 26 september 2011.
opportunities for European Cloud computing Beyond 2010, Expert Group report, online report<http://cordis. europa. eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/cloud-report-final. pdf,
European commission (2010d), Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions:
<http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/files/com712 en. pdf>,accessed 26 september 2011. European commission (2010e), Internationalisation of European SMES, online report,<http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/market-access/files/internationalisation of european smes final en. pdf,
>accessed 26 september 2011. European commission (2011), †E-Invoicingâ€, online text,<http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/payments/einvoicing/index en. htm>,accessed 26 september 2011.
Giannakouris, K. and Smihily, M. 2010), ICT usage in Enterprises 2010, online report,<http://epp. eurostat. ec. europa. eu/cache/ITY OFFPUB/KS
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011