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Social Enterprises and Public Value: A Multiple-Case Study Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Federica Bandini ,
Sabrina Gigli  and
Laura Mariani Open the ORCID record for Laura Mariani [Opens in a new window]
Federica Bandini
Affiliation:
Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca, 34, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Sabrina Gigli
Affiliation:
Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca, 34, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Laura Mariani*
Affiliation:
Department of Management, University of Bergamo, Via dei Caniana, 2, 24127 Bergamo, Italy
*
laura.mariani@unibg.it
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Abstract

Positioned at the crossroads of the market, public policies and civil society, social enterprises are private organizations that achieve social goals and, in an entrepreneurial way, respond to collective needs. By considering the micro-foundation of value generation as emerging from the assessment of three Italian social cooperatives’ business models, the aim of this paper is to understand the contribution, and the approach adopted by work integration social enterprises to the creation of public value. Our findings suggest that the approach adopted in order to generate value, changes according to several contextual factors. We identified, in particular, three models (the cooperative-driven, the people-driven, and the market-driven model) that are characterized by different relationship with the cooperative system, a differentiated tension toward commercial activities and specific catalysts for value creation.

Keywords

Social enterprisesPublic valueBusiness modelSocial cooperatives

Information

Type
Research Papers
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 61 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research 2020

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