Hybridity and Blurred Borders Between Market and Civil Society: The Case of Danish Cooperatives, Savings Banks and Corporations

This chapter draws attention to the boundaries between civil society and market actors by analyzing associations that exist ‘in between’ civil society and the market, such as foundations and cooperatives. The distinctions between ‘civil society’, ‘the state’, and ‘businesses’ are often blurred. Many organizations are hybrids of the market and civil society. For these entities, it is not a matter of ‘either-or’ but rather ‘more or less’ or ‘where and when’ they are perceived as civil society or profit-oriented businesses. The chapter examines savings banks, cooperatives, and companies in Denmark, with a chronological framework spanning from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Savings banks are associated with a social purpose, providing access to savings activities for all social classes. Cooperatives are regarded as democratic organizations but are also market actors. Today, companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility.