Sara Depedri

The Role of Cooperative and Social Enterprises: A Multifaceted Approach for an Economic Pluralism

he role of cooperative and social enterprises in contemporary market economies has been downplayed and marginalised to date by the dominant economic approaches. This insufficient attention (Kalmi, 2008 su Cambridge Journal of Economics) derives from the limited applicability of the main assumptions of microeconomic to the case of cooperative and social enterprises. We mainly refer to models. the assumption of self-seeking individuals and of profit maximisation as the only possible firm objective. The mismatch between theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence has led to the underestimation of the growth potential, weight and role of cooperative and social enterprises. We maintain that the improvement of the scientific understanding of cooperative and social enterprises requires to enlarge and deepen the assumption of the relevant theoretical models. Individuals cannot be characterised any more as purely self-interested. Instead, the importance of motivational complexity, and the diverse nature of preferences needs to be introduced in the model as suggested by the behavioural approach. Furthermore, firms cannot be interpreted any more in an exclusive way as profit maximizers. They are instead coordination mechanisms of the economic activity, as suggested by the evolutionary approach. To this end they develop specific organisational routines, and their objectives can be diverse, ranging from purely private appropriation, to mutual benefit based on reciprocity, to public benefit aim supported by other-regarding preferences. (Le teorie economiche dominanti, ed in particolare li?½approccio ortodosso e quello neo-istituzionalista, hanno sottostimato e marginalizzato il ruolo delle cooperative e delle imprese sociali nei mercati economici contemporanei. Li?½insufficiente attenzione a queste organizzazioni deriva principalmente dalli?½impossibiliti?½ di applicare ad esse le assunzioni principali della teoria microeconomica ortodossa, ossia la presenza di individui auto-interessati e di organizzazioni che puntino solo alla massimizzazione del profitto. Anche la teoria neo-istituzionalista non riesce a spiegare la presenza e la crescita del ruolo ricoperto da cooperative e imprese sociali. Per questa ragione, il presente paper i?½ volto a dimostrare come, per spiegare il ruolo di cooperative ed imprese sociali da un punto di vista scientifico, i principali modelli teorici economici debbano essere estesi. Innanzitutto, tanto gli individui quanto le istituzioni non possono essere pii?½ assunti come soggetti meramente egoistici, ma ne vanno studiate la complessiti?½ motivazionale e le strutture di preferenze, cosi?½ come proposto dalla teoria comportamentale (behavioural economics). Inoltre, le imprese devono essere concepite come meccanismi di coordinamento delle attiviti?½ economiche, come suggerito dalli?½approccio evoluzionista, e devono quindi esserne analizzate le specifiche routine organizzative sviluppate al loro interno e gli obiettivi organizzativi, i quali possono variare tra gli interessi di appropriazione privata dei profitti ed obiettivi pro-sociali sostenuti da preferenze altruistiche.

Incentives, Job Satisfaction and Performance: Empirical Evidence in Italian Social Enterprises

The paper offers a contribution to the understanding of the relations between incentives, satisfaction and performance of employees in social enterprises. It starts by criticizing the general hypotheses of the principal-agent theory and especially that employee satisfaction is determined exclusively by the level of salary received. These criticisms are explained both by looking to the organizational definition of job satisfaction by Locke and by taking a behavioural economics perspective. Job satisfaction is thus assumed to derive from a composed mix of incentives received on the job, equity perceived and employee motivations. It is no longer possible to assume that the wage is the sole (not even the most important) variable influencing worker performance. This claim is especially valid in social enterprises, where worker performance is difficult to monitor and evaluate, while high intrinsic motivations can better explain job satisfaction. The empirical analysis helps to shed light on the determinants of job satisfaction and individual performance. Data was collected on 4,134 employees working in 320 Italian social cooperatives. The paper introduces the methodologies of categorical principal components analysis, factor analysis, and Rasch models to group the items of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction, motivations and fairness. The data was then analysed by means of linear regression where the dependent variables are not only the stated degree of job satisfaction, but also satisfaction with extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of the job. The models come to demonstrate the particular relevance of employee motivations and fairness perceived in explaining job satisfaction and its sub-dimensions. Furthermore, organizational perceptions and the work environment are found to be significant as are individual perceptions and motivations.

The Growth of Organizational Variety in Market Economies: The Case of Social Enterprises

Institutional and organizational variety is increasingly characterising advanced economic systems. While traditional economic theories have focussed almost exclusively on profit-maximizing (i.e. for-profit) enterprises and on publicly-owned organizations, the increasing relevance of non-profit organizations, and especially of social enterprises, requires scientists to reflect on a new comprehensive economic approach for explaining this organizational variety. The paper examines the main limitations of the orthodox and institutional theories and comes to assert the need for creating and testing a new theoretical framework, which considers the way in which diverse enterprises pursue their goals, the diverse motivations driving actors and organizations, and the different learning patterns and routines within organizations. The new framework of analysis proposed in the paper draws upon recent developments in the theories of the firm, institutional evolution, and motivational complexity to explain the presence of diverse types of organizations on a continuum ranging from purely for-profit and commercial forms to socially-oriented entrepreneurial ones.

Interpreting social enterprises

A variedade de instituicoes e organizacoes existentes crescentemente caracteriza os sistemas economicos avancados. Ao passo que as teorias economicas tradicionais enfocavam quase que exclusivamente organizacoes maximizadoras de lucros (ou seja, empresas geradoras de lucro) e organizacoes governamentais, a crescente relevância das organizacoes sem fins lucrativos e particularmente das organizacoes sociais exige dos pesquisadores reflexoes sobre uma nova abordagem economica ampla, capaz de explicar tal variedade organizacional. Neste artigo, examinam-se as principais limitacoes das teorias ortodoxas e institucionais e reafirma-se a necessidade de criar e testar um novo arcabouco teorico, que leve em conta as formas variadas empregadas por organizacoes diversas na perseguicao de seus objetivos, as variadas motivacoes que impelem os atores e as organizacoes, e os diferentes padroes de aprendizagem e rotinas dentro das organizacoes. O novo arcabouco analitico aqui proposto baseia-se em desenvolvimentos recentes, principalmente evolutivos e comportamentais, das teorias da empresa. Esta passa a ser interpretada como um mecanismo de coordenacao da atividade economica cujos objetivos nao coincidem forcosamente com a maximizacao de lucros. Ao contrario, os agentes economicos sao hoje movidos por uma complexidade de motivacoes e uma vontade intrinseca e nao monetaria de manter um papel crucial na formacao das atividades da firma, acima e alem de objetivos puramente monetarios ou financeiros. Acredita-se que o novo arcabouco seja particularmente apropriado para a correta interpretacao da emergencia e do papel de formas organizacionais e de propriedade nao tradicionais, as quais nao sao movidas pela busca de lucros (organizacoes sem fins lucrativos), sendo reconhecidas principalmente nos formatos legais das cooperativas, Organizacoes Nao Governamentais (ONGs) e empresas sociais. Uma gama continua de formas organizacionais, que vao desde atividades geradoras de lucro ate atividades voltadas ao bem publico, e que englobam organizacoes de beneficio mutuo como seu principal constituinte, sao aqui consideradas e discutidas.La variedad de instituciones y organizaciones caracteriza, cada vez mas, sistemas economicos avanzados. Al paso que las teorias economicas tradicionales enfocaban casi exclusivamente organizaciones maximizadoras de lucros (o sea, empresas generadoras de lucro) y organizaciones gubernamentales, la creciente relevancia de las organizaciones sin fines lucrativos y particularmente de las organizaciones sociales exige de los cientificos reflexiones sobre un nuevo abordaje economico amplio, capaz de explicar tal variedad organizacional. Este articulo examina las principales limitaciones de las teorias ortodoxas e institucionales y reafirma la necesidad de crear y probar un nuevo marco teorico, que tome en cuenta las formas variadas empleadas por las diversas organizaciones en la persecucion de sus objetivos, las variadas motivaciones que impelen a los atores y a las organizaciones, y los diferentes estandares de aprendizaje y rutinas dentro de las organizaciones. El nuevo marco analitico aqui propuesto se basa en desarrollos recientes, principalmente evolutivos y comportamentales, en la teorias de la empresa, que pasa a ser interpretada como un mecanismo de coordinacion de la actividad economica cuyos objetivos no coinciden forzosamente con la maximizacion de lucros. Al contrario, los agentes economicos son movidos por una complejidad de motivaciones y una voluntad intrinseca y no monetaria de desempenar un papel crucial en la formacion de las actividades de la empresa que transcienden los objetivos puramente monetarios o financieros. Se considera que el nuevo marco sea particularmente apropiado para la correcta interpretacion del surgimiento y del papel de formas organizacionales y de propiedad no tradicionales, que no son movidas por la busca de lucros (organizaciones sin fines lucrativos) y que son reconocidas principalmente en los formatos legales de las cooperativas, ONG y empresas sociales. Este articulo considera y discute una gama de formas organizacionales que van desde actividades generadoras de lucro hasta actividades dirigidas al bien publico y que engloban organizaciones de beneficio mutuo como su principal constituyente.

Testing the Distributive Effects of Social Enterprises: The Case of Italy

The debate on social enterprises has been stimulated by their spontaneous and haphazard emergence in many niches of activity and in various countries. Their initial appearance was driven by initiatives undertaken within civil society by social activists. The specialized literature has accordingly studied this new category of firms in a rather narrow way, whereas it may be more important to determine its general economic features. Different streams of analysis underline different advantages and disadvantages of social enterprises, mainly linking them to the literature on non-profit organizations. But they do so haphazardly, without a clear and comprehensive framework. The main contributions (Anheier and Ben-Ner 2003; Borzaga and Defourny 2001) have been based on industry studies, and on some specific features and types of social enterprises. Legislation has followed the same route by focusing on specific activities and organizational types. An example is the law on social cooperatives in Italy aimed at the regulation of social services and work integration, as well as the regulation of fair trade and micro-finance in various countries, etc.1

Europe in Transition: The Role of Social Cooperatives and Social Enterprises

The European social model has always been characterized by the active role played in the production of goods and services by a variety of organizations that differ both from private corporations and public institutions. These are private organizations that, while active on the market, typically pursue goals other than profit: their main purpose is not to generate financial gains for their owners or stakeholders but to provide goods and services either to their members or to the community at large. Traditionally, these organizations have been included in the concept of “social economy”. This paper describes the role of social enterprises and social cooperatives as a type of economic, non-profit organization that is assuming an increasingly central role in Europe (as shown for example by the Social Business Initiative, recently launched by the European Commission), by contributing to its economic and social growth. More generally, the paper intends to reflect on the economic and social impacts of social enterprises and social cooperatives in local economies, while some final remarks conclude by identifying some lessons supplied by Italian social cooperatives on a broader scale.

In Medio Stat Virtus: Does a Mixed Economy increase Welfare?

Over the past few decades, social enterprises have grown remarkably. This paper investigates how social enterprises affect access to social services (e.g., education and health-care) and utilitarian welfare. To this end, two economic systems are compared: a market economy system, where all firms are profit maximizers, and a mixed economy system, where both for-profit businesses and social enterprises are present. Findings show that individuals are more likely to have access to social services within mixed economy. Moreover, conditions are derived under which utilitarian welfare is larger within mixed economy. Public policies in support of social enterprises (e.g., subsidies) are shown to result in the following trade-off: access to social services is further enhanced but utilitarian welfare is more likely to be lower than that within market economy.

IN MEDIO STAT VIRTUS: DOES A MIXED ECONOMY INCREASE WELFARE?

Over the past few decades, social enterprises have grown remarkably. This paper investigates how social enterprises affect access to social services (e.g., education and health-care) and utilitarian welfare. To this end, two economic systems are compared: a market economy system, where all firms are profit maximizers, and a mixed economy system, where both for-profit businesses and social enterprises are present. Findings show that individuals are more likely to have access to social services within mixed economy. Moreover, conditions are derived under which utilitarian welfare is larger within mixed economy. Public policies in support of social enterprises (e.g., subsidies) are shown to result in the following trade-off: access to social services is further enhanced but utilitarian welfare is more likely to be lower than that within market economy.

Co-operatives Providing Welfare Services: The Case of Italian Social Co-operatives

Over the past four decades, many countries have significantly transformed government welfare policies. Starting in the 1970s, through a series of concerted actions, governments have tried to address the increasing difficulties faced in maintaining welfare systems, including decentralizing welfare services (largely delegated to local authorities), limiting opportunistic behaviours on the part of welfare recipients, and involving private actors in providing social services (Defourny and Nyssens 2008).

Compreendendo negócios sociais

A variedade de instituicoes e organizacoes existentes crescentemente caracteriza os sistemas economicos avancados. Ao passo que as teorias economicas tradicionais enfocavam quase que exclusivamente organizacoes maximizadoras de lucros (ou seja, empresas geradoras de lucro) e organizacoes governamentais, a crescente relevância das organizacoes sem fins lucrativos e particularmente das organizacoes sociais exige dos pesquisadores reflexoes sobre uma nova abordagem economica ampla, capaz de explicar tal variedade organizacional. Neste artigo, examinam-se as principais limitacoes das teorias ortodoxas e institucionais e reafirma-se a necessidade de criar e testar um novo arcabouco teorico, que leve em conta as formas variadas empregadas por organizacoes diversas na perseguicao de seus objetivos, as variadas motivacoes que impelem os atores e as organizacoes, e os diferentes padroes de aprendizagem e rotinas dentro das organizacoes. O novo arcabouco analitico aqui proposto baseia-se em desenvolvimentos recentes, principalmente evolutivos e comportamentais, das teorias da empresa. Esta passa a ser interpretada como um mecanismo de coordenacao da atividade economica cujos objetivos nao coincidem forcosamente com a maximizacao de lucros. Ao contrario, os agentes economicos sao hoje movidos por uma complexidade de motivacoes e uma vontade intrinseca e nao monetaria de manter um papel crucial na formacao das atividades da firma, acima e alem de objetivos puramente monetarios ou financeiros. Acredita-se que o novo arcabouco seja particularmente apropriado para a correta interpretacao da emergencia e do papel de formas organizacionais e de propriedade nao tradicionais, as quais nao sao movidas pela busca de lucros (organizacoes sem fins lucrativos), sendo reconhecidas principalmente nos formatos legais das cooperativas, Organizacoes Nao Governamentais (ONGs) e empresas sociais. Uma gama continua de formas organizacionais, que vao desde atividades geradoras de lucro ate atividades voltadas ao bem publico, e que englobam organizacoes de beneficio mutuo como seu principal constituinte, sao aqui consideradas e discutidas.La variedad de instituciones y organizaciones caracteriza, cada vez mas, sistemas economicos avanzados. Al paso que las teorias economicas tradicionales enfocaban casi exclusivamente organizaciones maximizadoras de lucros (o sea, empresas generadoras de lucro) y organizaciones gubernamentales, la creciente relevancia de las organizaciones sin fines lucrativos y particularmente de las organizaciones sociales exige de los cientificos reflexiones sobre un nuevo abordaje economico amplio, capaz de explicar tal variedad organizacional. Este articulo examina las principales limitaciones de las teorias ortodoxas e institucionales y reafirma la necesidad de crear y probar un nuevo marco teorico, que tome en cuenta las formas variadas empleadas por las diversas organizaciones en la persecucion de sus objetivos, las variadas motivaciones que impelen a los atores y a las organizaciones, y los diferentes estandares de aprendizaje y rutinas dentro de las organizaciones. El nuevo marco analitico aqui propuesto se basa en desarrollos recientes, principalmente evolutivos y comportamentales, en la teorias de la empresa, que pasa a ser interpretada como un mecanismo de coordinacion de la actividad economica cuyos objetivos no coinciden forzosamente con la maximizacion de lucros. Al contrario, los agentes economicos son movidos por una complejidad de motivaciones y una voluntad intrinseca y no monetaria de desempenar un papel crucial en la formacion de las actividades de la empresa que transcienden los objetivos puramente monetarios o financieros. Se considera que el nuevo marco sea particularmente apropiado para la correcta interpretacion del surgimiento y del papel de formas organizacionales y de propiedad no tradicionales, que no son movidas por la busca de lucros (organizaciones sin fines lucrativos) y que son reconocidas principalmente en los formatos legales de las cooperativas, ONG y empresas sociales. Este articulo considera y discute una gama de formas organizacionales que van desde actividades generadoras de lucro hasta actividades dirigidas al bien publico y que engloban organizaciones de beneficio mutuo como su principal constituyente.