Mario Marco Molteni

In search of socio‐economic syntheses

Purpose – Starting from the premise that responsible managers utilize their competences and creativity to carry out projects which improve stakeholder satisfaction and economic performance simultaneously, the paper aims to present a classification of these solutions, called socio‐economic syntheses, and the way to reach them.Design/methodology/approach – The paper refers to literature on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, with special attention to contributions on the relationship between social performance and economic performance. In particular, the model presented highlights several successful case studies that have been studied or directly observed in large and medium‐sized firms.Findings – The paper provides a classification of seven categories of socio‐economic syntheses, from solutions concerning operational management, often applicable in different industries, to projects with greater strategic value, which are typically firm‐specific. Moreover, two ways to achieve a win‐win solut...

Do entrepreneurial education programs impact the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention? An analysis of an entrepreneurship MBA in Ghana

Purpose Since the number of Entrepreneur Education Programs (EEPs) is constantly increasing, there is an ongoing debate on their effectiveness on entrepreneurial intention, but mixed results were found. This paper aims to analyse the impact of an EEP on the antecedents of the entrepreneurial intention in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Following the theory of planned behaviour, we analysed the impact of the EEP on 30 participants of the “E4impact MBA” managed in Accra (Ghana), using an explanatory approach with a mixed-method quasi-experimental design featuring pre and post-testing as well as methods for measuring students’ self-perceived change. Findings Results show that EEPs strongly and positively affect some physiological characteristics, skills, and knowledge of participants, which are antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions. Originality/value The study offers a perspective of EEPs programs in a fast-expanding market, covering the lack of studies on entrepreneurship in these areas, and it is focus on a post-graduate program covering the lacks of studies on these level of education.

Green Technology Implementation in Developing Countries: Opportunity Identification and Business Model Design

In the last decade the concepts of social entrepreneurship and social innovation have received increasing attention from both the academic and professional communities as promising tools that can inspire socially committed individuals to act in response to long-standing issues that affect humanity around the globe (e.g. Dees, 1998; Austin et al., 2006; Nicholls, 2006; Phills et al., 2008). The traditional aid and welfare models — whereby the government plays the role of provider of basic services to populations in need — have failed in the context of global, social and environmental problems such as the HIV pandemic, extreme poverty, rising inequality and global warming, especially in less developed regions like Eastern Asia and Africa (Prahalad, 2004; Certo and Miller, 2008; Moyo, 2009).

Introduction—Food Security and Food Waste Reduction: A Social Innovation Approach to Current Social, Environmental, and Political Concerns

This chapter presents the research rationale underpinning the book. It addresses the intertwining challenges of food security and surplus food management, discussing recent data and literature. It also presents how social innovation is conceptualized in the book as the theoretical framework to analyse partnerships between business and non-profit organisations in managing food surplus. The methodology of the research is also detailed, along with the book structure.

The Common Good and Social-Competitive Creativity

What does it mean for the top management of a corporation pursuing common good by doing business activities? This communication intends to give a contribution in answering to this question from a perspective typical of management studies. Given a competitive strategy, the first step towards CG is the activation of a dialogue mechanism with various groups of actors in order to identify principal areas of need. A clear and decisive understanding of social issues is indeed a condition to shape a more valid strategy. Before trying to respond to these social issues, the corporate executive must screen them using two criteria: ethical and historical. Once legitimate social needs have been identified for the corporate strategy, there is the problem of how to integrate them into this strategy. This communication proposes a pyramid that identifies five efficiency levels in answering social needs.