This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Meeuwisse, A. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Organizational innovation in the Swedish welfare state

Malmö University, Sweden, anna.meeuwisse{at}mah.se

Drawing on Charles Tilly's theory of social categorization, this article deals with how some client-governed organizations in Sweden strive to evade the phenomenon of stigmatizing social categorization, and consequently the creation of durable inequality. First, the historical role played by voluntary organizations in defining and treating social problems is outlined. The key notion here is 'categorization'. Second, the paper describes how the emerging client organizations struggled to redefine social categories, claiming that the real social problems were social inequality and social exclusion. Third, the example of Basta Co-operative is employed in order to discuss Tilly's notion that organizational innovation is one way to reduce durable inequality. The account of Basta Co-operative is based on a qualitative case study. Basta is a user-driven co-operative with the aim of assisting people with drug problems. The foundation of rehabilitation is self-help and user-controlled enterprise.

Key Words: durable inequality • self-help • social categorization • social work • user-driven co-operatives

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?