Abstract

The article, subordinated to the governance and public sector reform domain, approaches governance theory, a theory that is specific to a society in a profound transformation. The transformation represents a result of globalization and the thematic of social enterprise a mean of appearance within the global arena for social actors as representatives of the new economic governance.

Starting from the New Public Management reforms, the article analysis the state and public action changes within the contemporary society and in the same time, realizes a clear distinction between governing and governance and identifies a third way within the economic governance –heterarchy or network management, which refers to horizontal self-organizations between the interdependent actors.

The research methods are represented by the theoretical and comparative analysis based on observation and description.

The study also illustrates the fact that the development of global political economy is in strong connection with democratization. Thus, the democracy must be affirmed at both global and local levels, and the role of non-state actors must increase, democratization representing a consonance in economic liberalization, state institutional change and development of a powerful public space.

The result of the current analysis materializes in the identification of the social enterprise typology and the reference models of social enterprise for states in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

As a conclusion, the study formulates a complex definition of social enterprise concept, which comprises the social and economic criteria, the social aim of the ideal-type of social enterprise.