Community, Enterprise, and Self-help: The Coevolution of Capitalism and Non-profit and For-profit Businesses in Britain and Germany

This paper traces how in Britain and Germany, for-profit non-profit businesses coevolved with political-economic institutions. Starting the late eighteenth century, embraced logic of liberal capitalism, although path was not smooth. Over same period, German states balanced both social-welfare ideals. Social-welfare ideals did gain support until start twentieth century. The market embodied by more congruent capitalism than so business corporations thrived Germany. Yet countries, growing number power created problems for farmers, workers, small producers. They sought to solve their launching – co-operatives, mutual-aid societies, credit co-operatives combining community, enterprise, self-help. British non-profits gained from authorities emphasizing self-help enterprise ideals, which were over community idea, not. In contrast, all three as two capitalism. Our analysis reveals success different forms business, embodying institutional logics, depends on prevailing logics. It also shows existence technical various organizational shapes elites’ perceptions through them, societal-level logics