File - Ciriec Portugal

Title
A historical overview of social enterprises in Italy from a European perspective
Authors
Mario Biggeri
Associate Professor of Development Economics
Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy
Phone: +39 055 2759561 E-Mail: [email protected]
Mario Biggeri is Associate Professor of Development Economics in the Department of Economics at the
University of Florence, where he teaches a course on International Cooperation and Human Development
as part of the Master in Development Economics. He is also the scientific coordinator of ARCO LAB (Action
Research for Co-development) which involves coordinating several research projects financed by the EU,
UN agencies and the Tuscany Region.
Enrico Testi
Executive Director at ARCO Action Research CO-development
Research fellow at Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy
Phone: +39 0574 602561 E-mail: [email protected]
Enrico Testi is Executive Director at ARCO Action Research CO-development. He co-founded and started
managing, as Director of International Relations, the Yunus Social Business Centre University of Florence
in partnership with Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Yunus.
Marco Bellucci
Ph.D student in Business Administration and Management
Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy
Phone: +39 055 2759717 E-mail: [email protected]
Marco Bellucci, Ph.D. Student in Business Administration and Project Manager of the “Yunus Social
Business Centre University of Florence”, is involved in several studies and projects on corporate social
responsibility, social enterprises and third sector organisations.
Serena Franchi
Research Assistant at ARCO Action Research CO-development
PIN S.c.r.l. Servizi didattici e scientifici per l’Università di Firenze
Phone: +39 055 2759717 E-mail: [email protected]
Serena Franchi is enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Local and Regional Development at the University of
Florence. At the beginning of 2014 she started to collaborate with ARCO Action Research for COdevelopment.
Giacomo Manetti
Associate Professor of Accounting
Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy
Phone: +39 055 2759675 E-mail: [email protected]
Giacomo Manetti (Ph.D) is associate professor of accounting at the Department of Economics and
Management of the University of Florence (Italy). His research interests include stakeholder theory,
corporate social responsibility, sustainability reporting and assurance, third sector, and accounting history.
Luca Bagnoli
Professor of Accounting
Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy
Phone: +39 055 2759717 E-mail: [email protected]
Luca Bagnoli (Ph.D) is full professor of management accounting for cooperatives and nonprofit
organizations at the Department of Economics and Management of the University of Florence (Italy). His
research interests are social enterprises, cooperatives, and voluntary organizations.
1 Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Matteo Bartolomeo, Guido Cisternino, Davide Dal Maso, Roberto Leonardi,
Marco Ratti, Marco Tognetti, Eleonora Vanni, Viviana Viviani and Stefano Zamagni that supported this
study sharing their experiences in the Italian context of social entrepreneurship.
This article is one of the results of EFESEIIS project, which has received funding from the European Union's
Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant
agreement no 613179.
Abstract
Italy represents a particular case in the European context of social entrepreneurship as its actual legal
framework, based on Law 381/1991 on social cooperatives and Legislative Decree 155/2006 on social
enterprises, took root from an important and long tradition of cooperatives and many other third sector
organizations (e.g. Misericordie, Pubbliche assistenze), inspired both from socialist and catholic principles.
This paper has the general objective to present the distinctive circumstances and social needs which have led
to the creation and spread of early social enterprises in the Italian context. Moreover, our research aims to
contribute to the literature on historical, economic, cultural, institutional configurations and policy discourses
that led to the current status of social enterprise in Italy and which could be the possible future pathways.
Next years will be crucial for Italian social enterprises as the whole Italian third sector will be undergoing a
process of legal reform that will radically change its structure and incentives; this paper also aims to shed
light on this process of reform started in 2014 with the implementation of the draft law on the Third Sector
Reform. The draft law foresees the following measures for social enterprises: redefinition of the social
enterprise as a private enterprise with objectives of general interest, mandatory qualification as social
enterprise, expansion of social utility sectors, possible remuneration for capital and profit sharing,
rationalization of the categories of disadvantaged workers.
An online literature search has been conducted for articles and conference papers on social enterprises, social
innovation and social inclusion. In addition, further relevant information was gathered from interviews with
national experts in the field of social economy and social entrepreneurship that provided us with a deeper
knowledge of the Italian case and confirmed the outputs of our research.
CIRIEC Lisbon
Topic 1 - The globalization of the SE concept: from diversity to convergence
2 1. Introduction
In the past twenty years, social enterprise has affirmed its role as provider of public services,
frequently taking over public authority functions of assisting citizens and growing in number,
influence, and politico-economic importance, as numerous studies and publications on the subject
demonstrate (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008; Nicholls, 2006, 2008, 2009; Manetti, 2012; Bornstein,
2004; Harding, 2004; Nicholls, 2008; Angroff & McGuire, 2003).
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines social enterprise as any
private activity conducted in the public interest, organised with an entrepreneurial strategy, whose
main purpose is not the maximisation of profit but the attainment of certain economic and social
goals, and which has the capacity for bringing innovative solutions to the problems of social
exclusion and unemployment (OECD, 1999). More recently, the European Commission has defined
a social enterprise as an organisation in the social economy whose main objective is achieving a
social impact rather than generating profit for owners or shareholders, that operates in the market
through the production of goods and services in an entrepreneurial and innovative way, that uses
surpluses mainly to reach these social goals and that is managed in an accountable and transparent
way, in particular by involving all stakeholders affected by its business activity (Communication
from the Commission, 2011/682 final).
Given its commitment to reconciling business practices with collective aims, the EU has in recent
years paid considerable attention to social enterprises, largely due to their ability to satisfy the
growing need for social services and to create employment, particularly for those normally
excluded from the labour market (Thomas, 2004; Defourny & Nyssens, 2008). For this reason,
many EU programs and initiatives have focused on social enterprises. Furthermore, funds have been
specifically allocated for researching into these organizations (Thomas, 2004). In this regard, the
Social Business Initiative constitutes an interesting experience, through which the EU Commission
aims to contribute to the creation of a favourable environment for the development of social
business and the social economy at large (EU, 2011).
Social enterprises take various legal forms in different countries across Europe. These forms
include solidarity enterprises, co-operatives or limited liability social co-operatives, collective
interest co-operatives (as have been adopted in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece), social
purpose or collective interest companies in Belgium and community interest companies in the
United Kingdom (OECD/EU, 2013).
Italy represents a particular case in the European context of social entrepreneurship as its actual
legal framework took root from an important and long tradition of cooperatives and many other
third sector organizations (e.g. Misericordie, Pubbliche Assistenza), inspired from both socialist and
3 catholic principles. In the late 1980s, Italy started an innovative experience of cooperative
enterprises aimed at the work integration of disadvantaged people through Law 381/1991
(Disciplina delle cooperative sociali). In contrast to traditional co-operatives, which were primarily
oriented toward members’ interests, social cooperatives were serving a broader community and
putting more emphasis on the dimension of general interest; they also differed from traditional cooperatives given that they often combined different types of stakeholders in their membership (paid
workers, volunteers and other supporting members, etc.), whereas traditional cooperatives were
usually single-stakeholder organizations (Defourny & Nyssens, 2010, p. 4).
The term "social enterprise" firstly appeared in Europe and more precisely in Italy to designate the
pioneering initiatives for which the Italian Parliament created the legal form of "social cooperative"
one year later (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008, p. 5). The Italian recognition of specific cooperatives owned by members, democratically managed with the principle “one head, one vote” and aimed at
the resolution of one or more needs of the community - contributed to the European debate around
the social function of private entrepreneurship.
This paper has the general objective to understand the distinctive circumstances and social needs
which have led to the creation of early social enterprises in Italy, and how such early experiences
spread (or did not) in the Italian context. It presents an overview of social entrepreneurship in Italy
by analysing the historical events that led to the current definition and legal evolution of Italian
social enterprises. In this paper, the process underneath the connection between ideologies and
cooperatives will be described, with a particular focus on the birth of differently-inspired
associations of cooperatives, on the role played by the State in using cooperatives as a tool of
intervention in the economy, and on the recognition of the principle of mutuality as a key value in
the social and economic structure of the Italian Republic. Finally, we will present the recently
approved draft law on the reform of Italian third sector and social enterprises.
2. Research design
The research question of this paper arises from the increasing awareness of the significant role of
social enterprises in the European and Italian economy and social system. The research design is
outlined accordingly with the following four inquiries:
1. Which have been the main steps that have led to the emergence of Italian social enterprises?
2. How does the social and economical context influence the flourishing of these
organisations?
4 3. Which is the role of national and European institutions in supporting or hindering the
development of social enterprises?
4. Which are the main relevant prospective of reform and evolution?
We choose to conduct a descriptive study, analysing existing data through the collection of relevant
information from both academic and grey literature. An online literature search has been conducted
for articles and conference papers on social enterprises, social innovation, and social inclusion. The
following scientific databases have been used: Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, Essper and Primo
Central Index. Moreover, other published documents, books, textbook chapters, practitioner
handbooks, selected articles from Google Scholar, and non-academic reports have been also
included in the review.
Since the Italian scenario of social enterprises represents the focus of our research, a particular
attention is dedicated to the national and international literature published by Italian authors. Our
investigation revealed a large body of literature examining the features of Italian social enterprises.
The existing studies on this topic are the product of a multidisciplinary approach, which is suitable
due to the nature of social enterprise and its relations with a wide range of institutional and private
actors. In addition to the historical evolution of Italian cooperative movement, the peculiarities of
social enterprises are deeply examined: mostly, the studies underline the interconnection between
the entrepreneurial activities and the aim of achieving a social and/or environmental impact.
Through the literature review we obtained a comprehensive understanding of the studies previously
conducted. We then proceeded to analyse and interpret the data, developing a synthesis on the
history of Italian cooperative movement.
Besides the descriptive intentions, we aim to generate primary data by comparing the literature with
the direct experience of stakeholders and institutions. Thus, relevant information is gathered from
interviews with national experts in the field of social economy and social entrepreneurship. We
interviewed 9 stakeholders: 2 from a national think tank and consulting on sustainable development
and innovation, 2 from finance sector, 1 from a social cooperative, 1 from a consulting agency, 1
from the national association of social cooperatives, 1 from a social cooperatives’ consortium, and 1
from the academic sector. The interviews were face-to-face and were conducted through the
submission of a semi-structured questionnaire composed of 18 questions. The interviews focused
on the professional experience of the respondents, concerning country-specific social
entrepreneurship issues and the role of main institutions. It has provided us with a deeper
knowledge of the Italian case, confirming the outputs of our research.
5 The above described research design aimed to unveil the historical, economic, cultural, institutional
configurations and policy discourses that led to the current status of social entrepreneurship in Italy;
additionally, it displays which are the possible pathways of evolution in the near term.
3. Historical overview of Social Entrepreneurship in Italy
The Italian cooperative movement has its origins in the history of the modern Italian agricultural,
industrial, and tertiary economy, developing around the concept of mutuality and the willingness to
build a true democratic social economy (see, for instance, the “one head, one vote” principle). In
Italy this awareness has been inspired from both the socialist and catholic world, and the dialogue
between major socialist and catholic political parties on one side and the cooperative movement on
the other side was always fostered by this strong connection. Until the mid-nineteenth century,
Italian governments never really endorsed cooperative projects and they sometimes showed an
adverse attitude to cooperation. Not surprisingly, the first successful experiences with cooperatives
started to develop in the northern and central part of Italy, where workers' societies and mutual aid
societies were already operating. Indeed, in Italy the social enterprise phenomenon has its roots in a
tradition of important and well-known institutions as Misericordie, catholic brotherhoods devoted
to assisting those in need, and Monti di pietà (Mounts of Piety), institutional pawnbrokers run as
charities.
The first cooperatives emerged in the second half of the 19th century (Fabbri, 1979, 2000), through
the development of the Società di Mutuo Soccorso (Mutual Aid Societies) related with liberalMazzinian principles. According to Fornasari & Zamagni (1997), the first Italian cooperative was a
consumer cooperative, named "Magazzino di previdenza" and established in Turin in 1854 (year of
famine, which was especially hard for the working class in the capital city of Piemonte region)
thanks to the initiative of the Società Generale degli Operai (Workers’ general society). The
Society, together with other organizations that answered to the basic needs of their members, was a
mutual aid society that had been operating in the city since many years (Zangheri, Galasso &
Castronovo, 1987). Two years later, the physician Giuseppe Cesio, together with 84 glass-artisans,
constituted the first production cooperative in Altare, near Savona. The co-operative, named
“Associazione artistico-vetraia”, was created with the purpose to compete against the emerging
industrial sector. While the former cooperative was originated from pre-existing mutual society, the
latter provided a pension fund and a mutual aid society to its members. From 1854 to the end of the
century, the cooperative movement spread in the Italian country and established many co-operatives
in the field of consumption, production, and credit, such as rural and cooperative banks. The spirit
6 of credit cooperation, which developed in Germany thanks to the efforts of the banker and politician
Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, extended during the second half of 19th century to the northern Italy
through the work of Leone Wollemborg, who funded the first rural and artisan banks. Raiffeisen’s
banks and loan associations inspired also Don Lorenzo Guetti, a priest who gave birth to the
cooperative movement in Trentino region.
Endorsed by liberals and republicans, cooperatives received wide acceptance and enriched the
political and civic movement for the emancipation of workers. Cooperation was considered as a
non-conflicting method for involving working classes in the national economic development and a
useful tool for the entire social structure (Bagnoli, Bitossi & Manetti, 2014). The movement
underneath Italian cooperatives has been always characterized by the strong influence of both
political and religious institutions with a wide range of ideal inspirations: in 1886, the “Federazione
delle cooperative italiane” (Italian Cooperatives Federation) was established, inspired by Socialism.
In 1893 the Federation changed, becoming “Lega nazionale delle società cooperative” (Social
Cooperatives National League, the current Legacoop). In the same years, after the Encyclical letter
of Pope Leone XIII (Rerum Novarum), Catholicism started to influence the Italian cooperative
world. The distinction between Catholic-inspired cooperatives based on liberal principles especially active in central and south Italy through rural and artisans banks - and socialist
cooperatives - especially active in the cooperation of consumption first and then of production and
labour, was evident in Italy since the second half of the nineteenth century. The increasingly strong
comparison - and sometimes the contrast - between the socialist and Catholic cooperatives led to the
split of the latter from Legacoop and to the birth of the “Confederazione cooperativa italiana”
(Italian Cooperative Confederation, the current Confcooperative), inspired by Catholic principles, in
1919.
During the 20th century, cooperatives showed an impressive growth: from 2.000 cooperatives in
1902, they grew up to 7.500 in 1914, together with other thousands of cooperative and rural banks
(Zangheri, Galasso & Castronovo, 1987). In Italy, in the early stages of 1900 very important laws
allowing the constitution of consortia and the participation of cooperatives in public tenders were
approved. Moreover, in 1913 the Istituto nazionale di credito per la cooperazione (National
Institute for cooperative financing) was established aiming to support credit cooperatives.
With the beginning of the First World War, the State intervention in the economy grew
exponentially and consumer co-operatives were considered an effective tool in containing the
inflationary pressure through price control of basic commodities (Fabbri, 1979). For this reason,
both catholic and socialist oriented co-operatives became a privileged speaker of local governments
- which appointed social co-operatives with a crucial role in implementing inclusive policies - and
7 grew in number, size, and importance. The dialogue between the political and the cooperative
movements achieved similar results also for other kind of social cooperatives than consumer
cooperatives, as agricultural, production, and work cooperatives. This process paved the path to the
creation of federations of cooperatives collaborating with the State and the local administrations.
The raise of Fascism dissolved the strong links between the co-operative movement and civil
society, mass organizations, and political parties (Lega nazionale delle società cooperative and
Confederazione cooperative italiana were closed during the fascist regime, substituted by Ente
Nazionale Fascista della Cooperazione - National Fascist Cooperation Authority), with the purpose
of destroying any form of resistance to the regime institutionalization. Nevertheless, at the end of
the war the co-operative movement seemed to have achieved a new strength. In fact, even during
the Fascist regime, cooperatives remained an essential tool to increase the public support and the
control of the masses. Consequently, the co-operative movement survived and grew in importance:
in the agro-food sector, for example, the cooperatives grew from 2,200 in 1921 up to 3,700 in 1939.
After the fall of the regime and during the post-war reconstruction the cooperative movement had to
readjust its objective, partly because the economic environment had changed and the Italian market
had entered in the international arena (Zamagni, 2006). The period after the Second World War was
marked by a flowering of new Italian co-operative enterprises - particularly in the areas of
production and consumption - that were found to fulfil the most immediate needs of reconstruction
and prices containing (Canosa, 1978). In 1945, the Confederazione Cooperativa Italiana and the
Lega Nazionale delle Società Cooperative were reconstituted. Seven years later a new association
of cooperatives, “Alleanza Generale delle Cooperative Italiane” (AGCI – General Alliance of
Italian Cooperatives), was established, inspired by Republicans. It is of note that the new Italian
republican Constitution, enacted on the 1st January 1948, recognized the social and non-speculative
function of the cooperative movement:
Art. 41.
Private economic enterprise is free. It may not be carried out against the common
good or in such a manner that could damage safety, liberty and human dignity.
The law shall provide for appropriate programmes and controls so that public
and private sector economic activity may be oriented and co-ordinated for social
purposes.
Art. 45
The Republic recognizes the social function of co-operation of a mutually
supportive, non-speculative nature. The law promotes and encourages cooperation through appropriate means and ensures its character and purposes
through appropriate checks. The law safeguards and promotes the handicraft.
On 14th December 1947, even before the promulgation of the Constitutional Charter, the Italian
8 Parliament approved the so-called “Basevi Law”, which stated for the first time the basic rules of
cooperation: among them, the principle of “one head, one vote”, a limit on the share capital, and the
“open door” principle (open membership). The Basevi Law affirmed that cooperative enterprises
could access tax benefits if they were provided of a statute that included the prohibition of the
distribution of reserves and dividends to shareholders and the obligation to donate the assets to
public purposes in case of dissolution of the company.
In the 1950’s and in 1960’s, with the economic growth, Italian co-operatives developed from the
post-war structure of small artisan-based shops to more modern and articulated firms. Despite the
fact that the debate between communist and catholic political leaders was quite controversial, the
Italian leadership shared the idea that it was necessary to de-politicize the cooperative enterprises in
order to make them a real economic alternative (Fabbri, 2000, pp. 13-21). As far as the political
influence of Italian social cooperatives is concerned, it is important to stress that the Italian
cooperative movement has been intimately intertwined with the evolution of trade unions, sharing
cultural traditions and political visions. Cooperatives and trade unions expressed forms of labour
organization that arose at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Even though performing
different functions within the civil society, these two kinds of social institutions have frequently
been complementary, both participating in the collective national bargaining process (Cardinale, C.,
Migliorin, C., and Zarri, F., 2014). In addition, trade unions have often promoted the establishment
of social cooperatives to provide services and sustain employment. For instance, in 1971 the
Confederazione Italiana Sindacato Lavoratori (CISL - Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade
Unions) gave birth to the Unione Nazionale Cooperative Italiane (UNCI - National Union of Italian
Cooperatives).
However, the distinctive feature of the Italian case has been the long-standing political separations
within the cooperative movement. As the three main confederal trade unions were built upon
contrasting local subcultures and in accordance with competing parties, also social cooperatives
were inspired by and connected to specific political areas and interests (as aforementioned,
Legacoop was originally linked to the left wing, Confcooperative was affiliated with the catholic
area and A.G.C.I. with the Republican area) (Cardinale, C., et al., 2014). In the recent years,
“Unione Italiana Cooperative” (UN.I.COOP Italian Union of Cooperatives, established in 2004 by
the initative of right-wing actors) and “Unione Europea delle cooperative” (UE.COOP, European
Union of Cooperatives) were founded, completing the frame of Italian associations of cooperatives
(Confcooperative, Legacoop, AGCI, UNCI, UN.I.COOP, and UE.COOP).
Between the 1970s and the 1980s, the Italian socio-economic system suffered from a critical period
of radical changes, such as the raise of new kinds of needs related to the rapid aging of the
9 population and to the modification of the family structure. The market of services showed itself
strong deficiencies in response to a growing and largely unfulfilled demand. For these reasons,
social co-operatives launched new initiatives to respond adequately to unmet needs, especially in
the field of work integration, health, education, and personal services. Thereafter, the Law 127/1971
reformed the Basevi Law, introducing relevant fiscal incentives for cooperatives. In 1985, the Law
49/85 (also known as “Legge Marcora”) was enacted, creating a special fund for the cooperatives
constituted by workers with unemployment insurance. As aforementioned, the traditional structure
of cooperatives developed through the evolution of voluntary organizations promoted by citizens.
Therefore, the traditional structure of co-operatives needed to change in order to face the market
and consolidate their ability to support society, thus creating new jobs and defending production
through strong cohesion and inclusive territorial engagement. Hence, it is possible to say that one of
the primary missions of the cooperative world was to meet the needs that the Italian welfare system
was not able to completely address.
In 1991 the Italian Parliament enacted the law n. 381/1991, “Disciplina delle cooperative sociali”,
providing the legislative framework for a phenomenon that had spontaneously developed in the
previous twenty years in Italy (Borzaga & Ianes, 2006). Indeed, Italian social cooperatives have not
been constituted, but just recognized by law 381/1991 (Galera & Borzaga, 2009). The adoption of
the law 381/1991 was an important step that followed the Basevi Law and Articles 41 and 45 of the
Italian Constitution in recognizing and supporting the social role of private entrepreneurship. The
law created a specific legal form - “cooperativa sociale” (social cooperative), which replaced the
focus on members of normal cooperative with the focus on the community. Firstly, the law on
social cooperatives states that they have to pursue the general interest of the community, the
promotion of personal human growth, and the integration of people into society. Secondly, the law
381/1991 encompasses two different types of social cooperatives that can purse the objectives with
different activities:
-
the A-type cooperatives offer a wide range of services (social, welfare, and educational) to
different groups: the elderly, minors, the disabled, drug addicts, the homeless and
immigrants (Galera & Borzaga, 2009).
-
the B-type cooperatives produce goods or services in almost every economic field with the
purpose of providing employment to disadvantaged people (B-type). Art. 13 of D.L.
276/2003 defines a “disadvantaged worker” as every person belonging to a category that
presents difficulty to enter the job market without assistance, such as long term unemployed,
former prisoners, disabled, migrant workers, and foreigners belonging to ethnic minorities.
Law 381/1991 requires B-type cooperatives to hire at least 30% of their staff from
10 disadvantaged categories of workers and to carry out any kind of economic activities with
the exemption of the production of social services (Galera & Borzaga, 2009).
Given their inclusive role in the community, their non-profit status, and their social or
environmental attitude, both types of social cooperatives are eligible to receive some fiscal
advantages (e.g. their social security contributions are tax-deductible) and the qualification of
Organizzazione Non Lucrativa di Utilità Sociale (ONLUS - Social Utility No Profit
Organization).
A further boost was later provided by regional enactments following the national act, which
fostered the growth of social co-operatives. In fact,
the development of social co-operatives was also influenced by a closer attention
to social services by the public authorities, especially local ones, which gave rise
to contracting-our policies. Under pressure for the demand for social services,
local authorities increasingly began to contract out these services, particularly the
most recent ones, to social enterprises. This trend made it possible for public
authorities to increase the supply of services without boosting the number of
civil servants (and the relative cost, nda), and it was at odds with the previous
welfare model which allocated even the production of services to the public
administration (Borzaga & Santuari, 2000, p.28)
Therefore, local authorities played a key role in the promotion of the social cooperative legal form
through the contracting-out of services to these organisations, especially in the field of healthcare
(e.g. social assistance), education (e.g. kindergarten), and services (e.g. cleaning services). In this
scenario, criteria used in public tenders become a crucial point. For instance, local authorities often
propose tenders specifically oriented to social cooperatives due to their social attitude. However,
competitive tenders may be not the most favourable tool, as far as social enterprises operating with
low budgets and tight margins are concerned. Along these lines, the implementation of the
Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament on public procurement might be a very important
step, since it would decide how the administrations measure the social impact of public works
contracted out to external bodies. With such a configuration, the topic of credit could hardly possess
greater relevance. Indeed, the Italian government have enacted some norms to support capitalization
of cooperatives (e.g. Law 59/1992 which introduced the concept of “socio sovventore” – funding
member), and the financial viability of social cooperatives and social enterprises. To take an
example, the new legal framework provides tax exemptions to private donations for non-profit
organisations, such as social cooperatives. It has to be considered that social cooperatives are
enterprises and, as other traditional enterprises, they can suffer from negative economic cycles,
credit crunch, and high interest rates.
11 Social cooperatives are, by number and relevance, the main form of social enterprises in Italy: in
2013 social cooperatives accounted for the 90% of total social enterprises (Venturi, P., & Zandonai,
F., 2014). The impressive development of social co-operatives has not prevented other types of
Italian third sector organizations from developing social entrepreneurial activities, especially
considering that other socially and (partially) market oriented private organizations were already
operating in Italy long before 1991. Consequently, a broader law on social enterprise (Decreto
Legislativo 155/2006 “Disciplina dell’impresa sociale”) was enacted between 2005 and 2006. The
law on social enterprise widens the types of general-interest services to be supplied and allows a
wider range of organizations to be qualified as “social enterprises”. According to the law, a social
enterprise is defined as a non-profit private organization that permanently and principally carries
out an economic activity aimed at the production and distribution of socially oriented goods and
services (Galera & Borzaga, 2009)
This law crosses the boundaries of legal forms, enabling various types of
organizations (not only co-operatives and non-profit organizations, but also
investor-owned organizations, for instance) to obtain the "legal brand" of social
enterprise, provided that they comply with the non-distribution constraint and
organize the representation of certain categories of stakeholders, including
workers and beneficiaries. This law on social enterprise identifies a wide range
of activities defined as fields of "social utility": welfare services, work
integration, environmental services, health, education (Defourny & Nyssens,
2008, p.6).
According to the Italian law, the “impresa sociale” (social enterprise) is not a completely new legal
form or a new kind of organization. On the contrary, it is a legal qualification that all eligible
organizations may acquire regardless of their organizational structure.
Eligible organizations include cooperatives (i.e. worker-, producer-, or
consumer-owned firms), investor-owned firms or traditional non-profit firms (i.e.
associations and foundations). Social cooperatives are naturally but not
automatically included. To be classified as social enterprises, they have to
comply with two additional requirements: deliver a social account and
implement participation mechanisms that favour the involvement of users and
workers when not members. As far as associations are concerned, the law
introduces a number of constraints that strengthen their entrepreneurial nature
(Galera & Borzaga, 2009, p.13).
In January 2003, the Italian government approved a reform of the company law rules governing
limited liability and joint-stock companies and cooperatives, which went into force in 2004.
Cooperatives were divided in two fundamental categories: prevalently mutual and non-prevalently
12 mutual cooperatives. While the formers carry out activities with and towards their members, the
latters operate mainly with non-members. Since 2004, only prevalently mutual cooperatives are
granted fiscal incentives (Bagnoli, Bitossi & Manetti, 2014). Social cooperatives, by virtue of their
social function and their non-profit nature, are considered as prevalently mutual by law, even if they
do not respect quantitative thresholds for services provided to members.
In the case of social cooperatives, the role of State has been of primary importance for at least two
reasons. Firstly, the Italian Government, following the impulse of the cooperative movement and of
the civil society, actively and promptly received the instance of recognizing the phenomenon of
social cooperatives. However, as we have seen in the case of Law 155/2006, creating a new
qualification is not enough to promote social enterprise. Secondly, the Italian Government decided
to insert in the law 381/1991 some fiscal incentives related to the ONLUS qualification of social
cooperatives. On the one hand, this appears as a right and fair measure by virtue of the social
function of this kind of community-oriented cooperatives; on the other hand, it is not surprising that
these incentives have contributed in a decisive manner to the popularity of this legal form.
The uncertainty about the future of Italian social enterprises’ legal status and its possible
modification will be hopefully overcome with undergoing reform of the third sector. The first steps
have been the publication of the “Guidelines for the reform of third sector” and the start of a public
consultation in 2013 and the approval of the draft law on the Third Sector Reform by the Council of
Italian Ministers on the 10th of July 2014.
The draft law represents a relevant step for the Italian social enterprises. As reported by the
Ministry of Economy and Finance, the draft law aimed at reviewing the regulation of the non-profit
sector to: i) favor active participation by individuals, ii) determine the essential level of services
nationwide; and iii) harmonize incentives, funding and tax treatment (MEF, 2014).
The draft law foresaw the following measures for social enterprises:
a. Redefinition of the social enterprise as a private enterprise with objectives of general interest,
with the primary purpose of achieving measurable positive social impacts. These must be
obtained through the production or trading of socially useful goods and services, utilizing
social enterprises’ profits for the achievement of social objectives, including the adoption of
participatory models;
b. Mandatory qualification as social enterprise for those organizations that comply with the
requirements;
c. Expansion of sectors that carry out socially useful activities and identification of
compatibility limitations for commercial activities that have not social objectives;
13 d. Possible remuneration for capital and profit sharing;
e. Rationalization of the categories of disadvantaged workers in order to take into account new
forms of social exclusion;
f. Possibility for private enterprises and public administrations to undertake social positions in
the administration boards of social enterprises (apart from a management role);
g.
Coordination of the discipline of social enterprises with the system regulating business
activities carried out by socially useful non-profit organizations.
During October 2014 the XII Committee of the Chamber of Deputies examined the text of the draft
law and opened to informal hearings with private bodies and experts from the Third Sector. In the
first few months of 2015 the Committee carried out the discussion on the proposed amendments.
The most debated amendments concerned the definitions included in the legislative text, the
opportunity of establishing a single record and an Agency of non-profit organizations, and the
exclusion of fiscal benefits.
On the 9th of April 2015 the Chamber of Deputies voted on 136 amendments and 8 articles and
approved the most recent version of the draft law. The draft law moved to the Senate, where the I
Committee (Constitutional Affairs) will be in charge of discussing the reform.
4. Conclusions
Since social cooperatives have developed intensively in specific niches, the next challenge that
Italian social enterprises will have to face is the expansion of their activities in a wider set of
economic sectors and under a plurality of organizational forms (Defourny & Nyssens 2008).
Furthermore, the reform of Law 155/2006 on social enterprise may provide a clear and feasible
framework for effective and sustainable social-oriented enterprises. The development of a coherent
policy framework encouraging the more innovative social co-operatives to operate in new fields of
activities, not only in those of interest to the public authorities, would benefit from the deployment
of a greater impact and larger investments in their activity sector.
Since the approval of Law 381/1991, social cooperatives have registered an annual growth rate
spanning from 15% to 30%. In 2005, there were over 7.300 social cooperatives employing 244.000
workers (Moreschi & Lori, 2007). In 2011, the number of active social cooperatives in Italy raised
to 12.647, employing more than 500.000 workers (Euricse, 2014).
Unlike the case of the legal framework on social cooperatives, the actual law on social enterprises is
not supported by fiscal advantages. Organizations aiming to acquire this qualification need to
comply with the following requirements (Cfr. Fici, 2006): a total distribution constraint, to allocate
14 profits to surplus operating funds (D.l. 155/2006, art. 3), to produce more than 70% of their revenue
in specific, socially oriented fields of activity (listed in art. 2), and to publish an annual
sustainability report (art. 10). However, there are no evident advantages in acquiring this second
level qualification, except for the opportunity to add the term “impresa sociale” in the legal name
and use this categorization in communication and promotion activities. Some advantages are
connected to public tenders or grants specifically aimed at “imprese sociali” according to the law
155/06. Consequently, as it does not so far involve any concrete advantage, it is not surprising that
very few organisations have adopted this new legal brand (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008). Up to now,
only 439 organizations (Bagnoli & Toccafondi, 2014) acquired the new social enterprise
qualification since the law came into force. Among those organizations that qualified themselves
“impresa sociale”, the majority are companies (408 organizations). The latest surveys reveal that
social enterprises qualified with law 155/06 are represented mainly by small capital-based
companies (in particular, 185 cooperatives and 149 limited liability companies) rather than nonprofit organizations presented in Book I of the Civil Code (e.g. associations) with a strong market
propensity (28 organizations) (Bagnoli & Toccafondi, 2014). According to the investigations of the
Chamber of Commerce, social cooperatives are the third "source" for social enterprise qualification
within law 155/06 with 58 registered organizations.
Given the partial failure of the present Italian law on social enterprise in terms of number of
organizations that apply for this qualification, a set of possible reform proposals are in discussion in
order to redefine the law towards a more incentive shape. The main components of the Italian
reform of third sector are described at the end of the previous section. The ratio of these
modifications is to promote the social enterprise phenomena regardless of the legal form and to
ensure venture capital attraction while safeguarding the social nature of the entrepreneurial activity.
In 2002, Borzaga underlined the need for economic research to pay more attention to the non-profit
sector that is evolving in an entrepreneurial way. One of the main lacks found by the author is
related to the fact that many researches were focused on the analysis of the demand, while it would
be necessary to interpret also the differentiations within the sector and in the economic behavior of
the agents. At the date, this kind of needs seem to have been answered. Nevertheless, empirical
research still need to fill many gaps, as the definition of more precise governance schemes, the
patterns of involvements for different groups of stakeholders and the identification of the field of
activities boundaries, which must be properly located between traditional public and non-profit
activities (Borzaga & Tortia, 2008).
Another important feature of social entrepreneurship in Italy is related to the concept of
hybridization. Indeed, Italian social entrepreneurship is an evolving paradigm; since four years now,
15 the concept of hybridization (the linkage of profit and no-profit sector’s objectives, without losing
their own identity) has arisen from the strategic alliance between social enterprises and
conventional entrepreneurs. It could represent a starting point to implement the concept of circular
subsidiarity, which is the systemic partnership between public bodies, for profit enterprises and
social enterprises to the realization of shared projects and purposes based on protocols signed by the
parties (Venturi & Zandonai, 2014). Thus, the future development of social enterprises should not
be just related to the strict regulation of these entities, but to the research of new possibilities in
constituting community interest companies as entities able to produce and manage collective goods
as a core objective.
It would be also important to analyze to what extent and under which conditions social enterprises
can act as enabling factors for human flourishing within territorial societies. In Biggeri et. al. (2014)
the relations and feedbacks between social enterprises and local development processes are
analyzed within the evolutionary perspective of Sustainable Human Development (SHD) at the
local level (Biggeri & Ferrannini, 2014). Central attention should be devoted to, on the one hand,
the role of social enterprises for social inclusion, environmental protection and poverty reduction
and, on the other hand, the features of an enabling eco-system for the growth and development of
social enterprises under a SHD perspective.
Moreover, the research on the European model of social enterprise seems to need to follow the
same path, focusing on the legal evolution of the phenomenon. The next challenge researchers will
have to face is the analysis of the legal evolution in order to identify the most interesting
mechanisms and most consistent models of social enterprises that are developing at international
level (Borzaga & Galera, 2009, p.16).
16 Table 1 – Timeline of the evolution of social enterprises in Italy
1854
Constitution of the first Italian cooperative in Turin, Piemonte region.
1856
Constitution of the first production cooperative in Altare, near Savona
1886
Constitution of Federazione delle Cooperative Italiane
1893
Evolution of the Federation, that becames “Lega Nazionale delle Società Cooperative”
1901
Constitution of Federazione Italiana delle Società di Mutuo Soccorso and of Confederazione
Generale del Lavoro
1913
Constitution of the Istituto Nazionale di Credito per la Cooperazione
1919
Constitution of Confederazione Cooperativa Italiana
1926
Constitution of the Ente nazionale fascista della Cooperazione, which substituted the “Lega
Nazionale della Cooperazione”
1945
Reconstruction of Confederazione Cooperativa Italiana and of Lega Nazionale delle Cooperative e
Mutue
1947
Enactment of Basevi Law: affirmation of the social function of cooperation
The Italian republican Constitution, enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947,
1947/48 came into force on 1 January 1948. It recognized, in art. 41 and art. 45, the social and nonspeculative function of the cooperative movement
1952
Constitution of Associazione Generale delle Cooperative Italiane
1960
Constitution of Alleanza consortile acquisto materiali (Acam), Alleanza consortile copperative
industriali e artigiane (Ancia)
1962
Constitution of Consorzio Nazionale Dettaglianti (Conad)
1963
Constitution of UNIPOL (insurance company)
1971
Enactment of law n. 127; introduction of important fiscal incentives
1971
Constitution of Unione Nazionale delle Cooperative Italiane
1985
Enactment of law n. 49, “legge Marcora”: institution of a special found for the cooperatives
constituted by workers with the unemployment insurance
17 1991
Enactment of law n. 381, Disciplina delle Cooperative Sociali
1992
Enactment of law. n. 59 on funding policies
1997
Enactment of d.lgs. n. 460, including social co-operatives among the non-profit organizations
2004
Constitution of Unione Italiane Cooperative (UN.I.COOP.)
2004
Reform of company law, with the distinction of prevalently mutual and non-prevalently mutual
cooperatives
2005
Enactment of law n. 118, on regulation of social enterprise
2006
Enactment of act n. 155, Disciplina dell’impresa sociale
2013
Constitution of the Italian Advisory Board, participating to the G8 Social Impact Investments
Taskforce
2013
Publication of the “Guidelines for the reform of third sector” and the start of a public consultation
2014
Approval of the draft law on the Third Sector Reform by the Council of Italian Ministers on the
10th of July 2014
2015
On the 9th of April 2015 the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved the draft law on the reform of
third sector; the draft law moves to the Senate
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