Bakgrund: Arbetsintegrerande sociala företag integrerar människor som varit utanför arbetsmarknaden under en längre period genom arbetsträning och sysselsättning. Kravet innebär att medarbetarna ska vara delaktiga i arbetet, företagets drift samt beslutfattandet vilket bidrar till personlig utveckling och empowerment. Beslutsfattande i sociala företag är komplext i och med att de ska balansera ekonomiska och sociala mål. Delaktighetskravet går att tolka och hur delaktighet skapas skiljer sig mellan organisationer. Vidare skiljer sig graden av delaktighet bland medarbetarna i en organisation. Genom att undersöka de komplexa beslutsprocesserna i arbetsintegrerande sociala företag ämnar vi få en förståelse för vad medarbetarnas delaktighet innebär för organisationsstrukturen och beslutsprocesserna utifrån ett organisationsperspektiv. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa en förståelse för vad kriteriet om delaktighet i definitionen av arbetsintegrerande sociala företag kan innebära i praktiken. Metod: Denna studie har en kvalitativ karaktär med en abduktiv ansats där syftet och frågeställningarna besvaras genom att studera ett fallföretag utifrån ett konstruktionistiskt perspektiv. Undersökningsmetoderna som har använts är en deltagande observation och intervjuer med representanter från fallföretaget. Slutsats: Fallföretaget skapar delaktighet genom att de följer de kooperativa principerna och har en demokratisk struktur. Delaktigheten grundar sig i att deltagarna och de anställda själva har valt att delta i verksamheten. Vidare har studien kommit fram till att möten och kommunikation är viktiga verktyg för att skapa delaktighet och empowerment. Studien har även belyst begränsningar i graden av delaktighet vilket kan kopplas till den valda organisationsstrukturen, den ekonomiska situationen, medarbetarnas arbetsförmåga samt kommunikationsbrist. Delaktighetskravet innebär att arbetsintegrerande sociala företag måste ha en decentraliserad struktur där medarbetarna är delaktiga i beslutsfattandet. Valet av organisationsstruktur och beslutsprocesser kan i sin tur både möjliggöra eller begränsa graden av medarbetarnas delaktighet i arbetsintegrerande sociala företag. / Background: Work integrating social enterprises integrate people that have been excluded from the labor market during a long period of time by offering training or employment. The definition of work integrating social enterprises includes a criteria of workers participation. The requirement of participation means that the workers must be involved in the company’s operations and decision making, which contributes to personal development and empowerment. The decision-making process is complex since it has to balance economic and social goals. The requirement of participation in the definition of work integrating social enterprises can be interpreted in various ways and the way participation is created in organizations also varies. Furthermore, the degree of participation among the workers differs in the organization. By studying the complex decision-making processes in work integrating social enterprises, we intend to create an understanding of what the workers participation entails for the organizational structure and decision-making processes from an organizational perspective. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of what the criteria of participation in the definition of work integrating social enterprises can mean in practice. Methodology: This study has a qualitative character with an abductive approach. The study has a constructionist perspective and a case study design has been chosen. A participatory observation and interviews with representatives from the chosen organization has been used as methods to reach the purpose. Conclusion: The organization creates participation by following the cooperative principles and by having a democratic structure. The participation is based on the participants and the employees choosing to participate in the activities themselves. Furthermore, the study has concluded that meetings and communication are important tools for creating participation and empowerment. The study has also highlighted limitations in the level of participation in the company which can be linked to the chosen organizational structure, the economic situation, the workers’ capacity of working and the lack of communication. The requirement of participation means that work integrating social enterprises must have a decentralized structure in which workers are involved in the decision making. The choice of organizational structure and decision-making processes can in turn, enable or limit the degree of participation in work integrating social enterprises.

This study centers on an exploration of the similarities and differences between social enterprises, commercial enterprises and public sector teams that operate within the same market. The study seeks to contribute to the establishment of social entrepreneurship theory by furthering knowledge of the boundaries of social entrepreneurship. The contextual influence on the development of social entrepreneurship theory is becoming increasingly well understood. As such, different theoretical streams are accounted for and systematically structured into a model containing four contextually anchored approaches, two American and two European, which compares their structures according to eight characteristics. It is on the basis of this model that three cases, one social enterprise, one commercial enterprise and one public sector team all operating towards work integration activities and placements for the long term unemployed are presented and analyzed from two perspectives: one focusing on how they compare to the characteristics and the other on how they compare to the approaches in their entirety. It shows how there are many similarities between the three cases that are lost when compared to each approach. Furthermore, the analysis discovered a limitation within existing social entrepreneurship models, as none of the models turned out to be fully applicable in a Swedish context. Therefore, this study proposes a tentative model for a Nordic approach, rooted in the specific socioeconomic and institutional context of the Nordic states.