Determinants of social startups in Italy

puntOorg International Journal

A number of intricate problems affect the current socio-economic scenarios, which have engaged policy-makers and, above all, entrepreneurs in finding sustainable solutions. Thus, embracing the service system perspective, this work aims at understanding if start-ups have an inner orientation towards sustainability as well as the main element that boost it. To this end, the authors embraced a service ecosystem approach, considering these companies as one of the actors (e.g., employees, customers, incubators, venture capitalists, institutions, etc.) that populate the Italian start-up service ecosystem and which interactions contribute to the ecosystem surviving in the long run. To this end, an empirical and explorative analysis has been conducted to better understand if Italian start-ups are inherently oriented towards sustainability, highlighting the main sustainability drivers that these companies should have since their origin. Although this work represents one of the first attempts to investigate startups' inner disposition towards sustainability, it is somewhat limited by the nature of the analysis, which let to grasp just the economic and social drivers of sustainability. Finally, an agenda for further research has been defined to further advance the achieved results.

2000

The paper is mainly divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to understanding the Italian third sector, with particular reference to the principal organisational and legal forms that define it and to some quantitative relevant data. The second part is ...

Group & Organization Management, 2014

The paper presents the results of an eight-month research program undertaken under the InnoSI project framework, funded under the European Research Program Horizon 2020. We adopt the theoretical framework of social innovation of Westley and Antadze (2010), applying the four-dimensional scheme of social innovation elaborated by Hochgerner (2011): resources, authority flows, routine and beliefs (Bassi, 2011). We also refer to the typology of social innovations in the field of welfare policy emerging from the research of Evers, Ewert and Brandsen (2014). We use a multiple case study research model (Yin, 1993; 1994) that highlights the relationships among the micro, meso, and macro level of analysis of a program, project, and intervention at the local level. The case study analyses the integrated system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Emilia-Romagna as an example of how increasing the accessibility and quality of ECEC provision could be pursued through a partnership between the public and private not-for-profit initiatives which pro-actively engage with local actors. The rationale for selecting the units of analysis, three early childhood services distributed across the regional territory, is therefore linked to the social demands underlying services' implementation: reconciliation of family and working life responsibilities for parents; equal educational opportunities for children's development and growth; and participation of groups which are at risk of social exclusion (low-income families, children from ethnic minority background).

2016

This dissertation presents a socio-anthropological investigation of social venture incubation: a process of providing enterprise support aimed at creating social change. Most previous research on incubation has focused on venture development and growth, and the efficacy of incubation in terms of the economic contribution firms make. In this study I contribute by investigating the process of incubation, conceptualising it as a rite of passage of both the entrepreneur and the venture. I conducted an ethnographic study following the rites of passage of one cohort of social entrepreneurs and their ventures - from selection to incorporation into the business world. The insider perspective provided access to both the organisers and designers of the process as well as the entrepreneurs over a period of 15 months. I thematically analysed my data with NVivo using an a priori and emergent coding system. The key finding of the study was the dual nature of the incubatee, the liminal entity in t...

European Scientific Journal, 2015

Many countries are developing new strategies for assuring, despite expenses cutting, a good level in public services delivering. In most cases the solution is found through the implementation of policies encompassed in the framework of co-production. The aim of this paper is to show that policies inspired by co-production theories represent a possible solution, but their implementation is not so easy if there is no tradition and no "receptive" environment. Italy represents in this sense an interesting case. The necessity to meet EU standards forced last governments to heavy cutbacks in public spending with many reforms in a country in which there is not such a great tradition in line with co-production theories. In this paper it has been analysed the role of social enterprises as created after the enactment of Decree 155/2006 (fourth and last reform in the Italian social policy system in the last decade). Dimensions, legal forms, number of employees, sectors of activity have been analysed. The analysis of data shows a kind of correlation between regional governments policy decisions and private initiatives regarding social enterprises, with a particular case in Campania Region that influenced the whole system. In conclusion it is affirmed that if there is a lack of tradition in having community services, an 'imposed' system inspired to co-production can lead, at least in a first phase, to results that are even worse than the preexisting situation for what regards public spending and lack of high quality services.

SSRN Electronic Journal

In 2012 the Italian Parliament introduced into Italian law a special section in the Companies Register and a large number of financial incentives to create a favorable environment for the development of 'innovative start-ups' (ISUPs). In this paper we compare ISUPs with other start-ups. In accordance with the eligibility criteria established by law, ISUPs show a striking capacity for innovation apparent in a higher incidence of intangible assets and the longer time it takes to begin selling their products. ISUPs also report higher investment rates and stronger growth in sales and assets, while their financial structures are characterized by higher capitalization and greater availability of liquid assets. Based on propensity score matching, we also highlight some direct effects of the 2012 law on their financial structures, almost exclusively on ISUPs operating in the service sectors: their external funding, either debt or equity, increases more than for other similar firms; a stronger rise in investment rates is specifically associated with a larger upsurge in their capital.

2015

Creating a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in the social economy and innovation. Brussels.

2008

International Journal of Business and Management

In 2015, a new kind of company was introduced by law in Italy: the forBenefit Company (fBComp). Such kind of firms is characterized by a relevant novelty: they are for-profit companies whose statute explicitly recognizes the impact of managerial decisions on the wellness of society as well as on shareholders. This study focuses on fBComps as organizations which bases their survival on social legitimacy. Such public recognition can be achieved through creating relationships with social and economic actors (Golinelli, 2010). The objective of the current paper is to open up to a scientific and methodological discussion about the contribution that the social behavior of a company can give to its sustainable survival in light of the logic of diffused value co-creation. The study analyzes the fBComp as a new “social” business model (SBM), which evolves and goes far beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) phenomenon. This topic posits some main research questions: is that a new fo...

The phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, sometimes denoted societal entrepreneurship, receives increased attention and popularity by policy makers, opinion leaders, as well as by researchers. The concept lacks a rigorous definition and in this survey we list a number of alternative definitions and classifications made in recent research. These are based on comparisons between social entrepreneurship and other forms of organization, the core elements supposed to accrue to social entrepreneurship and on identification of environmental factors in which social entrepreneurs operate. In addition, despite the strong recent increase in research interest comprising several schools of thought, there is a lack of reliable data. One of the few comprehensive attempts to collect comparable data is the 2009 GEM study, measuring levels of social entrepreneurship activity in 45 countries. In this working paper we contribute an interpolated figure for Sweden using cubic spines, which shows that Sweden ranks in the middle of the European countries. At the political decision level both the European Union and individual member states begin to adopt or suggest special legal framework conditions, including beneficial treatment, for so called social enterprises. The paper concludes that there are a limited number of studies using quantitative methods, a lack of rigorous hypothesis testing, little variety in research design, a need for an unambiguous definition that can serve as a foundation for future research and a thorough analysis of the contributions to society that can be attributed social entrepreneurship.

Proceedings IFKAD: Knowledge Drivers for Resilience and Transformation Distribution IFKAD 2022, 2022

The traditional firms that survived the crisis have understood the necessity and urgency of change in a historical moment in which data on youth unemployment are dramatically rising (OECD, 2021); Truly, it has already been several years since many youngsters and non are becoming entrepreneurs through the launch of a new and innovative entrepreneurial venture, since it could be the only way to counteract the negative effects of a stagnant labor market and to secure their own future (Witt U ., 2016). The phenomenon of start-up companies, in particular, is growing more and more and for this reason it has become interesting for both practitioners and scholars. The high percentage of failure, on the one hand, as well as high possibility of great success on the other, make the phenomenon rather non-linear and complex, therefore interesting to analyze. In this contest, the tools to predict and plan innovative businesses are not enough for start-up founders, while Sharasvathy's logical effectual (2009) as a boost for the success of startups is an approach that could be taken into consideration.

International Journal of Business and Applied Social Science, 2021

This paper investigates the characteristics of 347 project ideas that had the potential to develop and, in many cases, did develop into social enterprises. Insight into these characteristics may help impact investors identify potentially successful social enterprises at an early stage. At this stage, the terms of a business case are usually not figured out yet, but the plans have the potential to create social as well as financial value. The project ideas were posted on a Dutch online platform. The initiators described their social goals, the need for resources, and their plans for the execution in their own words. We compared the characteristics of the ideas that survived with the ones that didn’t. It appears that potential social entrepreneurs have a higher chance to survive if they are at first less focused on the financial issues of their business and more on the impact they want to achieve.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016

Social enterprise" is an umbrella term that covers a broad range of organisations, which differ to a greater or lesser extent in their visibility, scope and dissemination, in the various countries, but which share the explicit pursuit of social objectives, in the world of business and in an ongoing manner, by directly producing goods and services that benefit disadvantaged persons and the community at large. The aim of this paper is to investigate one of the first, if not the very first, social enterprise in Europe, the Italian social cooperative. It begins with a survey of the economic and social environment of the 1970s giving rise to this form of cooperative. The paper then outlines its original features and the legislation adopted to regulate it: social cooperatives, in fact, were not part of the tradition of the cooperative movement and, therefore, were not recognised by Italian law. This is followed by a statistical analysis, beginning with the first survey carried out to monitor this phenomenon and concluding with the more recent statistical data. Finally, an overview is provided of the social enterprises emerged in the major European countries and based on the Italian "prototype".

In order to contribute to the debate about social entrepreneurship, we take an empirical perspective and describe the phenomenon in Catalonia, Spain, during the financial crises of the early twenty-first century. For this aim, we conducted 43 in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs, launched a web-based survey with 90 responses, and built a database with 347 organizations and/or ventures settled in Catalonia with an explicit social/environmental goal. The data show that many social/environmental initiatives emerged during the economic crisis, either as a self-employment alternative to unemployment, or as a commercial venture started by nonprofit organizations as a reaction to the reduction in public expense in this sector. In addition, the crisis fueled the emergence of ventures oriented to non-market exchange and social currencies. As a whole, we argue that this new reality can be conceptualized as the emergence of an unsettled Strategic Action Field where banks, business schools and public administrations alike promote the label of " social entrepreneurship " through awards and startup services, whereas other groups claiming the same social/environmental goals contest this market-oriented definition of the field. Résumé Afin de contribuer au débat entourant l'entrepreneuriat social, nous adoptons un point de vue empirique et décrivons le phénomène tel qu'observé en Catalogne en Espagne durant les crises financières du début du vingtième siècle. Nous avons a ` cette fin mené 43 entrevues détaillées en compagnie d'entrepreneurs sociaux, lancé une enquête Web a ` laquelle 90 personnes ont répondu et créé une base de données impliquant 347 organisations et entreprises de Catalogne, dont la mission est formellement sociale/environnementale. Les données démontrent que & José Luis Molina [email protected]

Journal of Business Research, 2018

In 2015, a new kind of company was introduced by law in Italy: the for-Benefit Company (fBComp). Such firms are characterized by a relevant novelty: they are for-profit companies whose statute explicitly recognizes and intends the impact of managerial decisions on the wellbeing of society as well as of its shareholders. This study suggests on the fBComp as a new "social" business model (SBM) which integrates social and competitive behaviors. Thereby, the company achieves its objectives by creating and maintaining biunivocal relations with stakeholders, co-creating contextual sustainability conditions, increasing its reputation and positioning compared to its competitors. By conducting a desk analysis on the results of the Italian Report on fBComp, this paper designs a portrait of this innovative social business model's main features and explains its possibly far-reaching, trendsetting and curing influences on the transition of management practices towards mutual stakeholders' wellbeing and a sustainable society.