Solidarity Economy and Strategy: Principles and Between Pragmatism

Abstract

The contradictions of the contemporary world reach alarming levels, which endangers the planetary sustainability, both environmental, social , or economic, which requires rethinking the current economic - production model. The Solidarity Economy (SE ) is presented as an alternative to the current system , focused on the socio-economic inclusion , self-management, equity and solidarity. The present study sought to identify and analyze the strategies used by three developments of solidarity economy that have achieved a certain degree of consolidation and success on projects from all congeners in action in the region of Londrina - PR. The article sought through exploratory , descriptive and qualitative research via document analysis and interviews with leading executives from each of the projects, understand the choice of strategies and their performance in the market. It is perceived that conventional strategic models do not apply to most solidary enterprises considering its particularities and purposes. The question and the point of tension that emerge from these experiments is how to replace or combine the traditional logic of profit maximization with maximization of social inclusion and alternative sociability, fundamental elements of the Solidarity Economy.