3.4.5.1 Limitations and future research

The case studies examined in this article discussed how participatory governance is realised in two Scottish social enterprises with the legal form of the CIC. The case study concluded that participatory governance was not formally realised in the examined CICs. In contrast, other types of stakeholder mechanisms were developed to accommodate the stakeholders’ feedback regarding decisions that were already made, though not in respect of those issues that were pending to be decided. Informal stakeholder mechanisms were developed in the organisational functioning of the examined CICs, which took place in a regular and direct manner by engaging the decision-makers of the examined social enterprises with their community stakeholders. However, the case studies were limited to the examination of one particular legal form for social enterprise and were subject to the rules of one particular jurisdiction, i.e. the CIC legal form in the UK. Thus, the results were case-bound. Consequently, a combination of studies considering other legal forms for social enterprises in other jurisdictions may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the concept of participatory governance that could then be generalised.1 Additionally, this article focused only on the examination of participatory governance under the auspices of the light touch regulatory regime employed in the UK, in which the participatory consultation of stakeholders was encouraged rather than obliged. As such, further research could be conducted in a comparative setting in other jurisdictions, in which the participation of stakeholders in the governance of social enterprises is a binding concept.2 The comparative angle will indicate whether the concept of participatory governance is more effective when it is regulated as a binding or an optional legal concept.

Furthermore, the case studies in this article did not examine the effect that stakeholder participation and consultation may have on the legitimacy of social enterprises in relation to their community stakeholders. Accordingly, future research could examine the effects of stakeholder participation and consultation on community legitimacy. In the context of the UK, future research could examine how the regulatory framework could provide CICs with proper instructions and tools to implement, communicate and report participatory governance in a more consistent and effective way.