Social innovation and changing enterprises. A study on benefit corporations in italy’s veneto region

Journal title ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE
Author/s Blerina Brami
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/2 Language Italian
Pages 12 P. 96-107 File size 248 KB
DOI 10.3280/ES2019-002009
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Over recent years, macroeconomic changes have led to new types of companies being setup and becoming increasingly widespread. These companies are based on sustainable and innovative practices and are characterised by their "positive" impact on the community. The most clear examples of this change are so-called "Benefit Corporations": an emerging type of entity that, in carrying out their business, not only aim at generating and sharing profits but also pursue one or more objectives for the common good, operating in a responsible, sustainable and transparent manner vis-à-vis people, communities, the local area and the environment. This article analyses this new type of company within the context of Italy’s Veneto region. By cross-referencing data from the Companies Register held by the Italian Chambers of Commerce and the Registry of Benefit Corporations, and by analysing interviews and annual reports on work carried out for the common good, we are able to better understand the "Benefit" phenomenon and how companies are currently contributing to the challenge of social innovation.

Keywords: Social Innovation, Enterprises, Benefit Corporations

  1. Zamagni S. (2019). Zamagni bacchetta le aziende venete: “Poco innovative e non attente ai lavoratori”. VenetoEconomia, 19 giugno --<https://www.venetoeconomia.it/2019/06/zamagni-aziende-venete/>.
  2. Assonime - Associazione fra le Società italiane per azioni (2016). La disciplina delle società benefit. Circolare n. 19 del 20 giugno 2016. Area Diritto Societario -- <http://www.assonime.it/attivita-editoriale/circolari/Pagine/2665 44.aspx>.
  3. Castellani G., De Rossi D., Rampa A (2016). Le Società Benefit: La nuova prospettiva di una corporate social responsibility con commitment. Fondazione Nazionale dei Commercialisti, documento del 15 maggio. --<https://www.fondazionenazionalecommercialisti.it/node/1006>.
  4. Delmas M.A., Burbano V.C. (2011). The Drivers of Greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1): 64-87.
  5. Eldar O. (2017). The Role of Social Enterprise and Hybrid Organizations. Columbia Business Law Review, 1: 92-194.
  6. Gubitta P., a cura di (2018a). Più valore ai valori: Società Benefit e Imprese Familiari. Special Issue #ImpresealCUOA, 46. --<www.cuoaspace.it>.
  7. Gubitta P. (2018b). Società Benefit? Trasformarsi per avere una marcia in più. Corriere della Sera – Buone Notizie, 28 agosto.
  8. Gubitta P., Tognazzo A. (2019). B-Corp, Società Benefit e imprese familiari: presente e futuro delle organizzazioni ibride. In: Messina P., a cura di. Oltre la responsabilità sociale di impresa. Territori generativi tra innovazione sociale e sostenibilità. Padova: Padova University Press.
  9. Haigh N., Walker J., Bacq S., Kickul J. (2015). Hybrid Organizations: origins, Strategies, Impacts, and Implications. California Management Review, 57(3): 5-12.
  10. Lanza G.G. (2017). Nuove sinergie tra territori e imprese: Le Benefit Corporation come possibili attori di sviluppo sostenibile. Documenti geografici, 1: 37-61. DOI: 10.19246/DOCUGEO2281-7549/201701_02
  11. Porter M.E. Kramer M.R. (2011). Creare valore condiviso. Harvard Business Review Italia, 1/2: 68-84.
  12. Sabeti H. (2011). The For-Benefit Enterprise. Harvard Business Review, 89(11): 98-104.
  13. Santos F., Pache A.C., Birkholz C. (2015). Making Hybrids Work: Aligning Business Models and Organizational Design for Social Enterprises. California Management Review, 57(3): 36-58.
  14. Stubbs W. (2017). Characterizing B Corps as a Sustainable Business Model: An Exploratory Study of B Corps in Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 144: 299-312.
  15. Venturi P., Zandonai F., a cura di (2014). Ibridi organizzativi. L’innovazione sociale generata dal Gruppo cooperativo Cgm. Bologna: il Mulino.
  16. Zamagni S. (2016). Se le società̀ Benefit mettono in fuorigioco le imprese sociali. Vita, 1° marzo.
  17. Zamagni S., Venturi P., Rago S. (2015). Valutare l’impatto sociale. La questione della misurazione nelle imprese sociali. Impresa sociale, 6: 77-97.

Blerina Brami, Innovazione sociale e imprese che cambiano. Uno studio sulle società benefit del Veneto in "ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE " 2/2019, pp 96-107, DOI: 10.3280/ES2019-002009