Luca Bagnoli

Measuring Performance in Social Enterprises

This article addresses the subject of management control and tries to create a performance measurement system for social enterprises, that is, how to measure success. Three reference fields for management are analyzed: (a) economic-financial performance, linked to the determination of general performance (profits, value added, etc.) and analytic results (production-cost of services, efficiency indicators, etc.); (b) social effectiveness, to measure the quantity and quality of work undertaken and to identify its impact on the intended beneficiaries and the community; and (c) institutional legitimacy, verifying conformity with law and mission statement. In integrating these aspects, we propose a multidimensional controlling framework that is appropriate to the management of a social enterprise. We try to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical model through the illustration of an Italian empirical case: the work integration social enterprise “Ulisse.”

Stakeholder engagement and public information through social media: a study of Canadian and American public transportation agencies

This study uses theories on dialogic accounting to assess whether online interaction through social media is used as a mechanism of public information and stakeholder engagement by Canadian and American public transportation agencies. We embraced a quantitative methodology in which content analysis was performed on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of 35 transit operators in Canada and the United States. We categorized the contents of 1,222 Facebook posts and 2,615 tweets, assessed which level and what type of interaction was effectively reached for every category, tracked whether and how agencies reply to comments on their posts, and assessed the general tenor of the discussion. Our results show that public transportation agencies often take advantage of their presence on social media to provide the public with information on their services and to perform activities associated with stakeholder engagement. However, we have found some significant differences in the utilization of social media by public transportation agencies, all of which are discussed in the “Conclusion” section of this article. Twitter is most often used for public information messages, while Facebook appears to be used more to publish content in a dialogic perspective that creates two-way, collaborative conversations with users. In terms of practical implications, our study suggests that a broader and more continuous commitment to interaction between users and stakeholders on social media would create new opportunities for improving transparency and, indirectly, the services of public agencies.

Performance Measurement in Solidarity Economy Organizations: The Case of Fair Trade Shops in Italy

The aim of this paper is to introduce a multidimensional assessment model for organizations that have multiple goals and are not driven exclusively by profit. Therefore, it is an assessment method particularly suitable for social enterprises. In order to measure the efficiency of production units in each dimension, the Data Envelopment Analysis non‐parametric method is applied. Our case study is concerned with Fair Trade shops and members of the consortium Altromercato for which we collected variables that could be associated with input and output for the economic, socio‐cultural and organizational dimensions. The results of the analysis confirm the presence of economies of scale in the economic dimension but not in the socio‐cultural dimension. Moreover, our organizational analysis confirmed a low general professionalization. Our results also confirm, on the one hand, the more pronounced capacity of cooperatives to sell Fair Trade products compared to associations, which, on the other hand, have the tendency to achieve proportionately better results in the socio‐cultural dimension.

The management of the plague in Florence at the beginning of the Renaissance: The role of the partnership between the Republic and the Confraternita of Misericordia

The role of charities in the administration of health care and poverty, and the use of accounting in their control mechanisms, is a relatively unexplored topic in the accounting history literature. This study aims to enrich the literature by studying how accounting systems were used in the management of the plague by a charity organisation – the Confraternita of Misericordia – during the first decades of the Renaissance in Florence, focusing on the role of the partnership between the Republic of Florence and the Misericordia. This research is the result of the analysis of rare documents, statutes and account books concerning the administration of the Misericordia from 1490 to 1530. Our analysis employs Foucault’s theories on the ‘government of the poor’ and Dean’s thoughts on ‘technologies of government’ and ‘policing the poor’ to highlight the link between religious values, political power and the accountability practices of the Misericordia.

Voluntary Organizations as Social Enterprises? Empirical Evidence from Tuscany.

The aim of this article is to illustrate the business model adopted by Italian Voluntary organizations (VOs), in order to point out a clear contradiction between the institutional structure and the activities actually performed, and consequently the social enterprise nature of the organizations. With this purpose in mind, a collective analysis of the 2004 - 2008 activity statements of VOs in Tuscany (a region in central Italy) was carried out, in which the type and origin of their revenues as well as the nature of their expenses were identified. The results show that Tuscan VOs have features of social enterprises due to a high incidence of earned-income revenues within the total income. In comparison, typical revenues of not-for-profit organizations, such as those derived from fund-raising activities or the management of assets conferred by the founders, take on a lesser importance. The interpretation of these data might change radically if the financial value of the donation of services (volunteer work) were assessed in the statement of activities. However, this assessment of value, although recommended by the national accounting procedure, is hardly ever done in Italian VOs.

Accounting for social return on investment (SROI): The costs and benefits of family-centred care by the Ronald McDonald House Charities

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of social return on investment (SROI) as a measure of the social impact produced by non-profit organisations and social enterprises that support family-centred care, an approach that focuses on the pivotal role of families in paediatric health care.,The study offers an analytical evaluation of the SROI created by the Italian branch of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and highlights (a) the participatory analysis of stakeholders and outcomes; (b) the measurement of inputs; (c) the definition of outputs and proxies for the measurement of outcomes; (d) the calculation of the SROI ratio; and (e) the results of a sensitivity analysis.,This study discusses the advantages and shortcomings of SROI analyses, the practical implications of this research on governance and management and the role of engagement in managing the expectations of stakeholders. The value of SROI measurements in shaping strategic and management decisions – with special emphasis on stakeholder relations – is also discussed.,Non-profit organisations and social enterprises often require tools that assess the outcomes of their activities. The present research can provide new guidance to SROI analysts, while drawing attention to the most suitable proxies and indicators for evaluating the SROI of organisations operating in the health care sector.

Motivations for Issuing Social Reports in Italian Voluntary Organizations

The present study offers an empirical analysis of motivations for social reporting in voluntary organizations (VOs). Our concurrent mixed methods research design is supported by a questionnaire administered to all of the organizations listed in the regional registry of VOs in Tuscany. Analysis of the scores associated with each set of motivations suggests that VOs issue social reports to offer a truthful representation of the organization’s activities, provide relevant information to stakeholders, and conduct an effective form of internal control. Our findings suggest that many of these motivations connect with each other and produce less conflict among VOs than they do among for-profit organizations, thereby highlighting some peculiar characteristics of these types of organizations. By studying the theoretical perspectives that better correspond to the motivations of Italian VOs, our study contributes to the literature by providing a more complete understanding of why these organizations decide to issue a social report.

La rappresentazione del patrimonio e del reddito nel bilancio secondo l’approccio dualista tedesco: l’attualità dei contributi di Schmidt e Sewering

Nell’ambito delle teorie di bilancio tedesche della prima meta del ventesimo secolo, il presente contributo esamina il ruolo e le influenze sulla prassi contabile internazionale delle opere dei due principali dualisti tedeschi: Fritz Schmidt e Karl Sewering. L’obiettivo della ricerca, di natura esplorativa, e ricostruire gli scopi conoscitivi, l’approccio teorico-pratico e le principali ripercussioni sulle discipline di Accounting a livello internazionale (in particolare sul concetto di conservazione del capitale) di tali autori. Le finalita dello studio sono perseguite attraverso un approccio metodologico di tipo deduttivo, fondato su un’indagine storiografica di natura documentale. Dai risultati della ricerca emergono alcune indicazioni, che richiedono ulteriori approfondimenti per condurre a conclusioni certe, a sostegno della tesi per la quale le commissioni che hanno redatto la IV direttiva CEE e il Framework IASB si siano avvalse, seppur indirettamente, delle idee e delle proposte dei dualisti tedeschi in tema di conservazione del capitale. Nelle conclusioni, infine, si delineano i principali limiti del presente studio e i suoi possibili sviluppi.