사회적 성과, 조직형태 그리고 기업지배구조가 사회적기업의 경제적 성과에 미치는 영향

Abstract

본 연구의 목적은 사회적 성과가 경제적 성과에 미치는 영향에 있어서 조직형태와 기업지배구조의 조절효과를 규명하는 것이다. 연구는 고용노동부로부터 인증을 받은 사회적기업을 대상으로 진행되었다. 연구목적을 달성하기 위해 사회적 성과와 경제적 성과, 조직형태, 그리고 기업지배구조에 관한 이론과 선행연구를 검토하였으며, 이를 바탕으로 연구모형을 설계하고 총 다섯 개의 가설을 수립하였다. 연구모형에서 독립변수인 사회적 성과는 취약계층고용비율을, 그리고 종속변수인 경제적 성과는 당기순이익을 대리변수로 설정하였다. 두 개의 조절변수 중 하나인 조직형태는 상법상 회사와 전통적인 사회적 경제조직으로 구분하였고, 다른 하나인 기업지배구조는 이사회 내 이해관계자비율을 대리변수로 설정하였다. 통제변수에는 기업규모, 기업연령, 사회적기업 유형, 연도 등을 포함시켰다. 연구 자료는 최근 3년간 한국사회적기업진흥원에 제출된 공시자료 381개를 취합하여 사용하였으며, SPSS 21 통계프로그램을 이용하여 기술통계분석, 상관관계분석, 위계적 다중회귀분석 그리고 Simple Slope Test를 실시하였다. 분석결과 첫째, 취약계층고용비율은 당기순이익에 부(-)의 영향을 미치는 것이 확인되었다. 둘째, 상법상 회사와 전통적인 사회적 경제조직은 당기순이익에 대해 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보였으며 상법상 회사의 당기순이익이 더 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 셋째, 이사회 내 이해관계자비율이 증가할수록 경제적 성과가 향상되었다. 즉 이해관계자비율이 당기순이익에 정(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 넷째, 상법상 회사와 이해관계자비율이 상호작용할 경우 경제적 성과가 증가하였다. 즉 상법상 회사와 이해관계자비율은 당기순이익에 정(+)의 상호작용효과를 발생시키는 것으로 나타났다. 마지막으로 본 연구의 주목적인 3-way 상호작용효과를 검증하는 과정에서는 취약계층고용비율이 증가할 때 상법상 회사와 이해관계자비율의 상호작용에 의한 긍정적인 조절효과가 발생하지 못한 것으로 확인되었다. 이에 대한 원인을 구체적으로 파악하기 위해 simple slope test를 추가적으로 실시하였고, 분석 결과 이해관계자비율이 높은 상법상 회사의 당기순이익에 대해 취약계층비율의 증가가 미치는 부(-)의 영향이 너무 커서 조절변수들에 의한 긍정적인 조절효과가 발생하지 못한 것으로 판단하였다. 연구결과를 바탕으로 이론적 공헌, 실무적 기여 그리고 정책적 시사점을 제시하였다. 이론적 공헌 및 실무적 기여 측면에서는 첫째, 국내 사회적기업을 대상으로 체계적인 실증분석을 시도하였다는데 의의를 두고 싶다. 우리나라의 경우 사회적기업 연구가 초기단계에 있기 때문에 실증연구가 많이 부족한 편이다. 따라서 규범적인 연구가 주를 이루고 있는 가운에 실증분석을 통해 사회적기업의 연구영역을 확장시켰다는 점에 의의를 두고자 한다. 둘째, 그동안 사회적기업 연구는 주로 전통적 사회적 경제조직인 비영리조직과 협동조합을 대상으로 수행되어 왔는데 본 연구는 최근 사회적기업 내 비중이 높아져 가고 있는 상법상 회사형태에 초점을 맞추었고, 이를 통해 현재 논란이 되고 있는 영리조직의 사회적기업 참여에 대한 긍정적인 의미를 이끌어낼 수 있었다. 또한 상법상 회사의 사회적기업 참여를 장려하는 외국의 법제 동향을 검토하여 국내 사회적기업 관련 제도의 한계점을 짚어보고 이에 대한 개선점을 제시하였다. 셋째, 본 연구는 사회적기업의 지배구조를 중심으로 이해관계자의 참여가 경제적 성과에 미치는 영향에 대해 실증분석을 시도하였다는 점에서 의의를 갖는다. 최근 기업의 지배구조에 대한 이슈가 부각되고 있음에도 불구하고 사회적기업의 지배구조에 대한 연구는 활발하지 않은 편이다. 연구결과에 의하면 취약계층고용비율이 증가할 때 이사회 내 이해관계자의 높은 비중은 사회적기업의 경제적 성과에 부정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 이사회 내 이해관계자들이 사회적 성과 창출에는 적극적으로 기여하고 있으나 경제적 성과 창출에는 도움이 되지 못하는 것으로 해석할 수 있다. 따라서 사회적기업은 이사회 활동의 균형을 찾기 위한 방안을 좀 더 적극적으로 모색할 것이 요구된다. 예를 들어 수익창출에 기여할 수 있는 외부 인사들을 적극적으로 영입하고 이들의 지원을 최대한 이끌어낼 수 있도록 다양한 수단을 마련하는 노력이 필요하다고 본다. 정책적 시사점으로는 첫째, 사회적기업을 활성화시키기 위해서는 기존 사회적기업 인증제도를 좀 더 탄력적으로 운영해야 한다는 점을 제시하였다. 연구결과에 따르면 조직형태별로 취약계층비율이나 이해관계자비율의 정도에 따라 경제적 성과 차이가 존재하는 것으로 나타났기 때문에 조직형태별 인증기준의 차등화 혹은 전반적인 기준의 완화를 통해 사회적기업의 지속가능성을 제고할 수 있을 것이다. 둘째, 취약계층 고용이 경제적 성과에 미치는 부정적 영향이 매우 강하기 때문에 취약계층에게 일자리를 제공하는 노동통합형 사회적기업에 대해서는 별도의 지원책이 필요하다는 점을 제시하였다. 셋째, 다양한 사회적기업모델을 발굴하기 위한 방안으로 미국의 B-Lab에서 운영하고 있는 개방형 인증방식의 도입을 제안하였다. 마지막으로 이해관계자의 참여를 통한 네트워크 효과는 사회적기업의 정체성 유지와 지속가능성 향상을 위해 반드시 필요하기 때문에 이해관계자들의 역할을 제고할 수 있도록 사회적 자본 형성을 위한 대책이 강구되어야 함을 주장하였다. 연구의 한계점 및 향후 연구방향으로는 첫째, 본 연구에서 사용한 자료는 사회적기업진흥원에서 제공하는 표준화되고 단순화된 공시자료라서 항목 별로 좀 더 자세한 정보를 파악하는데 한계가 있었다. 향후 구체적인 내용이 추가된다면 좀 더 깊이 있는 논의가 가능할 것이다. 둘째, 사회적 성과와 경제적 성과 변수를 통합지표가 아닌 단일지표를 사용함에 따른 한계점을 가지고 있다. 추후 통합지표가 개발되면 연구모형의 강건성을 높일 수 있을 것이다. 셋째, 변수 간의 내생성 문제가 존재하지만 사용된 자료의 한계로 인해 향후 과제로 남겨두었다. 추후 자료가 축적되어 패널분석이 가능하게 되면 내생성 문제를 고려한 분석을 시도할 수 있을 것이다. 마지막으로 해외 법제 연구와 관련해서는 영국과 미국에 국한하여 진행하였기 때문에 아쉬움이 남는다. 향후에는 유럽이나 아시아 국가 등의 법제를 추가적으로 검토해보고자 한다.| The goal of this thesis is to shed light on the effect of social performances, legal forms and governance structures on the financial performances of the social enterprises. Five hypotheses were developed and a research model was designed to achieve the goal of this study. In the research model, the independent variable is the employment ratio of socially vulnerable people and the dependent variable is the net income of the year. There are two moderating variables. The first moderator is the legal forms and they are divided into two categories, which are for-profit corporation and the traditional social economy organization. The second moderator is the corporate governance structure, for which the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors is used as a proxy. Firm size, firm age, social enterprise business type and the years were controlled in the research model. Data were collected from Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency (KSEPA)’s web site. 381 samples were pooled to be analyzed. Statistics package SPSS version 21 was used and correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and simple slope test were conducted. The result of the study showed that among the five hypotheses, four hypotheses were supported but one hypothesis was not. The results are as follows. First, the hypothesis that predicted negative effect of social performance on the financial performance was supported. The second hypothesis that predicted for-profit corporate forms would gain higher net income than traditional social economy organizations was supported. The third hypothesis which predicted the increase of the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors will make net income higher was supported. The fourth hypothesis that predicted the positive interaction effect between corporate forms and the stakeholder ration in the board of directors was supported. The fifth hypothesis that predicted 3-way interaction effect between the vulnerable people ratio of the total employment, corporate forms and the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors was not supported. To find out more in depth why this hypothesis was not supported, the simple slope test was conducted afterwards. According to the result, the moderation effect between corporate forms and the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors was not enough to alleviate the negative effect sufficiently because the negative effect of vulnerable people ratio was too high. Academic contributions and practical implications are as follows. First, this study is one of the very rare empirical studies conducted in Korea regarding SEs. Second, this study focused on the for-profit corporations acting as SEs and this is also a rare case because most of the SE studies conducted are focused on the traditional social economy organizations. In addition, for-profit corporate forms ratio in the certified SEs are increasing rapidly and some researchers are at the opposite position because of the SE’s identity issue. Third, this study reflected the present interest on the corporate governance in the SE management. The main interest of this study is to see how stakeholders in the board of directors affect the financial performances of SEs as a social capital mobilizers. The result showed that higher stakeholder’s ratio made net income decreased when vulnerable people employment ratio was high. This may be interpreted that the stakeholders in the board of directors are focusing more on social performance creation than financial performances creation. So to make balance, SEs need to scout CEOs or local business leaders as outside directors to secure funds or provide business opportunities to improve financial performances. SEs need to utilize financial and/or non-financial incentives to induce them to act more aggressively. Based on the findings, some suggestions are proposed for policy makers. First, in order to increase sustainability of SEs in our society, the government needs to make the present certification system more flexible. For example, since there were performance differences between for-profit corporations and the traditional social economy organizations when the vulnerable people employment ratio and stakeholder ratio in the board of directors changed, differentiated certification requirements for the different legal entity may be needed. Second, the employment ratio of vulnerable people has a very strong negative impact on financial performance that Work Integration SEs need to be cared separately from the other kinds of SEs such as social service providers or local area developers. Third, in order to expand SEs and develop various business models, the current certification system needs to be modified. The B-Lab certification system is a good example for a reference. Fourth, the current Social Enterprise Promotion Law and the related aid system should put more attention to develop social capital in our society since the network effects that are arising from the stakeholder participation did not happen as expected. The limitations of this study and the directions for future research are as follows. First, the data used in this study were provided by Social Enterprise Promotion Agency and the standardized and simplified data could not reflect the details of each item. In-depth surveys or questionnaires will be needed to deepen the argument. Second, the vulnerable people employment ratio was the only variable used for social performance proxy. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of social performances as a whole, a composite social performance index is required to develope. Third, there may be a direction issue or the endogeneity problem regarding the causal relationship of the variables used in this study. When panel data are organized later, the real relationship between the variables could be verified. Fourth, legislative systems of U.S. and the U.K., which encourage for-profit organization’s participation in the social enterprise activities were reviewed at this time. For an extensive comparative study, other countries’ legislative systems are required to review.; The goal of this thesis is to shed light on the effect of social performances, legal forms and governance structures on the financial performances of the social enterprises. Five hypotheses were developed and a research model was designed to achieve the goal of this study. In the research model, the independent variable is the employment ratio of socially vulnerable people and the dependent variable is the net income of the year. There are two moderating variables. The first moderator is the legal forms and they are divided into two categories, which are for-profit corporation and the traditional social economy organization. The second moderator is the corporate governance structure, for which the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors is used as a proxy. Firm size, firm age, social enterprise business type and the years were controlled in the research model. Data were collected from Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency (KSEPA)’s web site. 381 samples were pooled to be analyzed. Statistics package SPSS version 21 was used and correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and simple slope test were conducted. The result of the study showed that among the five hypotheses, four hypotheses were supported but one hypothesis was not. The results are as follows. First, the hypothesis that predicted negative effect of social performance on the financial performance was supported. The second hypothesis that predicted for-profit corporate forms would gain higher net income than traditional social economy organizations was supported. The third hypothesis which predicted the increase of the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors will make net income higher was supported. The fourth hypothesis that predicted the positive interaction effect between corporate forms and the stakeholder ration in the board of directors was supported. The fifth hypothesis that predicted 3-way interaction effect between the vulnerable people ratio of the total employment, corporate forms and the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors was not supported. To find out more in depth why this hypothesis was not supported, the simple slope test was conducted afterwards. According to the result, the moderation effect between corporate forms and the stakeholder ratio in the board of directors was not enough to alleviate the negative effect sufficiently because the negative effect of vulnerable people ratio was too high. Academic contributions and practical implications are as follows. First, this study is one of the very rare empirical studies conducted in Korea regarding SEs. Second, this study focused on the for-profit corporations acting as SEs and this is also a rare case because most of the SE studies conducted are focused on the traditional social economy organizations. In addition, for-profit corporate forms ratio in the certified SEs are increasing rapidly and some researchers are at the opposite position because of the SE’s identity issue. Third, this study reflected the present interest on the corporate governance in the SE management. The main interest of this study is to see how stakeholders in the board of directors affect the financial performances of SEs as a social capital mobilizers. The result showed that higher stakeholder’s ratio made net income decreased when vulnerable people employment ratio was high. This may be interpreted that the stakeholders in the board of directors are focusing more on social performance creation than financial performances creation. So to make balance, SEs need to scout CEOs or local business leaders as outside directors to secure funds or provide business opportunities to improve financial performances. SEs need to utilize financial and/or non-financial incentives to induce them to act more aggressively. Based on the findings, some suggestions are proposed for policy makers. First, in order to increase sustainability of SEs in our society, the government needs to make the present certification system more flexible. For example, since there were performance differences between for-profit corporations and the traditional social economy organizations when the vulnerable people employment ratio and stakeholder ratio in the board of directors changed, differentiated certification requirements for the different legal entity may be needed. Second, the employment ratio of vulnerable people has a very strong negative impact on financial performance that Work Integration SEs need to be cared separately from the other kinds of SEs such as social service providers or local area developers. Third, in order to expand SEs and develop various business models, the current certification system needs to be modified. The B-Lab certification system is a good example for a reference. Fourth, the current Social Enterprise Promotion Law and the related aid system should put more attention to develop social capital in our society since the network effects that are arising from the stakeholder participation did not happen as expected. The limitations of this study and the directions for future research are as follows. First, the data used in this study were provided by Social Enterprise Promotion Agency and the standardized and simplified data could not reflect the details of each item. In-depth surveys or questionnaires will be needed to deepen the argument. Second, the vulnerable people employment ratio was the only variable used for social performance proxy. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of social performances as a whole, a composite social performance index is required to develope. Third, there may be a direction issue or the endogeneity problem regarding the causal relationship of the variables used in this study. When panel data are organized later, the real relationship between the variables could be verified. Fourth, legislative systems of U.S. and the U.K., which encourage for-profit organization’s participation in the social enterprise activities were reviewed at this time. For an extensive comparative study, other countries’ legislative systems are required to review.