Startups pursuing social innovation and economic results: an analysis of the phenomenon in Italy

Faced with the social and environmental challenges that are constantly arising in the world, organizations based on a hybrid business concept have been developing in recent years. These companies, in addition to profit, aim to maximize the value generated toward society. Based on the literature referring to the topic, the following work aims to study various aspects of hybrid organizations in Italy, focusing in particular on the category of social startups. The study investigates how social startups are spread across Italy, what sectors they operate in, their economic and organizational characteristics, and what factors favor their development. An hybrid organization, also called social enterprise, aims to combine the managerial aspects of for-profit enterprises and the social aspects of nonprofit enterprises, by implementing a business model that dynamically pursues social innovation, to be able to respond to the constantly evolving needs of stakeholders. At the preliminary stage of the study, social startups have been identified, based on the legal forms recognized in Italy, in SIaVS (Startup innovative a vocazione sociale), and Società Benefit, and in B Corps, based on the certification conferred by B-Lab. After creating samples containing companies that met specific innovation and legal requirements, the collection of data was carried out. The data were processed by exploiting R statistical software through the writing of scripts, from which the results of the analysis then emerged. The results confirm the growth of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon throughout Italy, with significant predominance in northern Italian regions and sectors related to information and communication services. In the last year social startups registered 28 percent growth over the previous year compared to 12 percent growth in non-social startups over the same period. The analyses show that social startups' average levels of corporate performance are aligned with those of non-social startups. With the results achieved by this thesis, it is highlighted how social enterprises are developing in Italy, and evidence is given concerning the factors that favor the emergence of social startups in different regional contexts.