1,721,136 research outputs found
Assessing social impact of social enterprises. Does one size really fit all?
No full textThe purpose of this chapter is to introduce the topic of the analysis and
illustrate how the overall book is going to develop. It highlights why the practice of
social impact assessment is strategic for social enterprises. As for the key role that
social mission plays in this kind of organizations, they have to find a way to
measure and monitor the fulfillment of this mission. From this perspective,
assessing social impact has both internal and external benefit: it allows to assess
resources allocation and to keep stakeholders informed about achieved results. The
chapter also explains some of the main barriers that could hamper the implementation
of the process. The specificities of social enterprises pose the need for suited
models to assess this kind of impact, as financial measurement standards are
unsuitable to track social and environmental outcomes. However, a wide range of
models exist that can help managers driving the process. Finally the structure of the
remaining chapters is outlined
L'evoluzione della CSR nei sistemi di certificazione. L'impegno etico, la gestione ambientale e la guida ISO sulla responsabilità sociale
No full textI cambiamenti sociali che negli ultimi decenni sono intervenuti a modificare
profondamente il sistema economico, hanno reso il contesto operativo dell’azienda
più complesso e dinamico, determinando il diffondersi tra gli interlocutori di un
diverso modo di vederne il ruolo e le finalità, di nuovi parametri valutativi.
Operare in un mercato globale, infatti, comporta grandi potenzialità di sviluppo per
l’impresa, ma al tempo stesso la pone di fronte a sfide e problematiche da affrontare:
la sfera di influenza si amplia, la concorrenza è maggiore, mentre si riducono le
possibilità di controllo sull’intera produzione, sempre più dislocata. Anche i
consumatori, di conseguenza, si trovano a fare i conti con una realtà fortemente
mutata, e davanti ad un panorama così caotico cresce sensibilmente il bisogno di
capire quale sia la portata effettiva delle proprie scelte di consumo
Misurare l’impatto sociale: driver e barriere nelle imprese sociali italiane
No full textL’unione tra performance economiche e attenzione sociale è da sempre terreno fertile per lo sviluppo di teorie e prospettive sulla coniugazione ottimale di due anime così contrapposte. In questo filone di studi si inserisce il tema della misurazione dell’impatto sociale, tema attualmente oggetto di grande interesse, non solo accademico ma anche manageriale, dal momento che i confini tra profit e non-profit, come tradizionalmente intesi, sono ormai sempre più labili.
Il concetto di impatto sociale assume un’importanza rilevante in tutte quelle organizzazioni dove il profitto generato non può essere considerato l’unico indicatore di risultato a cui fare riferimento. In questo senso, le cosiddette “organizzazioni ibride” sono altamente interessate poiché la performance economica da sola non è sufficiente a rappresentare in maniera completa il valore generato laddove esso è prevalentemente sociale e ambientale
Sharing at social distance: “clay-footed giants” coping strategies for navigating the pandemic
No full textPurpose: The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has led in a very short time to a worldwide pandemic that has had severe effects on both businesses and daily lives. In a scenario characterised by the social distancing imperative, the sharing economy found itself struggling to survive, deprived of its core asset, namely, peer (human) relationships. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the coping strategies that have been implemented by sharing economy platforms to navigate the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: An explorative empirical investigation of 20 sharing economy platforms was carried out during the first lockdown phase (March–June 2020). To drive the analysis, a theoretical framework was developed by merging the literature on the business model and crisis management strategies. Findings: The answers provided by sharing economy platforms to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been classified into nine typologies of intervention according to the developed framework, with illustrative examples. Originality/value: This paper provides an empirical investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sharing economy field and it offers evidence about the immediate reactions of sharing platforms to the health crisis effects. The paper also introduces a framework about business model and crisis management strategies as a conceptual tool that could be adopted by firms from other industries
Exploring italian social enterprises coherence in social impact assessment
No full textThe topic of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is gaining even more importance, and this is
especially true for Social Entrepreneurship (SE). The mission of solving social problems is
probably the main feature of these organizations, thus the need to assess the extent to which
this mission is fulfilled become essential. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current
behavior of Italian social entrepreneurs in approaching the practice of SIA. This is also to see if,
against the increasing conceptual interest toward this topic, there is an equally strong practical
tendency to implement it, and if not, given the strategic value of this process, how it could be
fostered. To meet this purpose a questionnaire was administered to Italian social enterprises.
Furthermore, a Coherency Matrix was developed as a conceptual tool aimed at analyzing the
relation between motivation and practice of SIA in social enterprises
Innovating the innovated: Business model innovation process in sharing economy companies
No full textBusiness model innovation (BMI) allows firms to rethink the mechanisms of value creation and proposition and capture in order to adapt to the ever-changing environment and increase competitive advantage. Despite already innovative compared to the incumbents, sharing economy platforms also feel the need to continuously innovate their business model (BM) to ensure their survival. However, these platforms are often studied under a static perspective, focusing on the outcome of the innovation rather than on the process underlying it. The purpose of the paper is to unveil the process of BMI in the already innovative BM of sharing economy platforms, focusing on the different degrees this innovation can take place. In so doing, a mixed-methods was applied, clustering a sample of 72 sharing platforms, and completing the results with a qualitative analysis on a subsample of those. What this research demonstrates is that sharing economy platforms do feel the need to innovate their BM just as strongly as incumbents, giving rise to an innovation-in-the-innovation that fills the gap between the process- and the outcome-oriented interpretations of BMI. The four identified clusters shed light on the different forms of BMI that happen in sharing economy platforms
Mapping the practice of impact measurement. A quantitative study on social enterprises
No full textThe growing interest toward the topics of social entrepreneurship and social impact assessment makes the issue of measuring performance ever more important. In fact, despite the existing divergent perspectives, there is one commonality across all definitions of social entrepreneurship: the underlying drive to create social value, rather than personal and shareholder wealth. Since social enterprises have the potential to add value on different societal dimensions - economic, social and environment, measuring and monitoring these values is a preconditions. This work present an exploratory research developed to understand which organizations’ feature are more likely to be connected with the willingness of social entrepreneurs to measure the generated impact. To meet this purpose, a logistic regression analysis was carried out using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data on social entrepreneurship. The main aim was to understand how social entrepreneurs who claim to be actively involved in processes of impact measurement perceive their organizations in terms of social mission, innovativeness and market orientation
Messene andata e ritorno. Analisi e implicazioni dei processi di misurazione dell’impatto sociale
No full textL’attuale assetto del Terzo Settore, nel contesto della riforma proposta dal disegno di legge C.2617, richiede una riflessione approfondita sugli elementi che emergono come essenziali nella definizione del concetto stesso di impresa sociale. A tali organizzazioni viene, infatti, attribuito l’obiettivo primario del raggiungimento di impatti sociali positivi, realizzati mediante la produzione o lo scambio di beni o servizi di utilità sociale. Il focus sulla misurabilità degli impatti sociali generati dalle attività delle organizzazioni è stato, di recente, ripreso dal Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, che, nelle linee guida relative alle startup innovative a vocazione sociale, identifica l’impatto sociale prodotto come uno dei criteri per il riconoscimento di tali realtà.
L’enfasi sulla misurabilità dell’impatto richiede alle imprese sociali l’adozione di determinate azioni strategiche, adeguati processi organizzativi e rigorose pratiche operative e gestionali. A partire da un’esperienza di valutazione partecipativa, svolta per e insieme al Gruppo R , una cooperativa sociale di tipo A che eroga servizi rivolti a persone in situazione di grave emarginazione sociale, in particolare a senza fissa dimora (SFD), l’articolo presenta gli aspetti cruciali che un’organizzazione non-profit di piccola dimensione ha affrontato, cambiando innanzitutto la propria attitudine rispetto alla misurazione ed il proprio approccio alle inerenti difficoltà di implementazione.
Evidenziando le opportunità e le criticità incontrate, è possibile sottolineare come il processo di valutazione abbia modificato le lenti d’interpretazione del modello di cambiamento sociale adottato dalla cooperativa. Il caso di studio mette in luce le implicazioni dell’attuazione di un processo di misurazione, e propone alcune indicazioni che vogliono essere da stimolo alla riflessione per le politiche a sostegno di un Terzo Settore più efficace e sostenibile, affinché minimizzino gli oneri per le organizzazioni e superino la dicotomia tra l’accountability verso i finanziatori e quella verso i beneficiari
Communicating CSR: Integrated Approach or Selfie? Evidence from the Milan Stock Exchange
No full textNowadays companies operate in a context in which communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining an increasing and strategic importance. In this study a legitimacy theory perspective has been adopted to understand the extent to which Italian listed companies incorporate sustainability information in a coherent and unique framework. Our results suggest that although Italian companies employ different means to convey social responsibility issues, such instruments are not aligned among themselves. Thus, our results suggest that the increasing pressure for sustainability disclosure may force companies to report such an issue as an end in itself rather than integrating such activity in their business model
Evoluzione strutturale di popolamenti cedui di robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) nel Canavese (Torino - Italia)
No full textWith a synchronic analysis we studied the main stand parameters of 17 black locust coppices aged between 1-41 years. The homogeneous site conditions of the stands made it possible to study the structure of their dynamics in the context of a time period twice or three times longer than the traditional rotation period. main dendrometrical and structural parameters of the studied stands are described. In undisturbed conditions 5-7 years after the coppicing, natural regeneration of othe broadleaved species starts to occur in the stand and eventually reaches the robinia crown belt, which begins to reduce its cover
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