Version 1
: Received: 25 September 2020 / Approved: 26 September 2020 / Online: 26 September 2020 (13:37:58 CEST)
How to cite:
Arena, M.; Bengo, I.; Gerli, F.; Colzani, P. An Institutional Analysis of the Rise of Benefit Corporations Outside of the US: The Case of Italy. Preprints2020, 2020090635. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0635.v1
Arena, M.; Bengo, I.; Gerli, F.; Colzani, P. An Institutional Analysis of the Rise of Benefit Corporations Outside of the US: The Case of Italy. Preprints 2020, 2020090635. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0635.v1
Arena, M.; Bengo, I.; Gerli, F.; Colzani, P. An Institutional Analysis of the Rise of Benefit Corporations Outside of the US: The Case of Italy. Preprints2020, 2020090635. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0635.v1
APA Style
Arena, M., Bengo, I., Gerli, F., & Colzani, P. (2020). An Institutional Analysis of the Rise of Benefit Corporations Outside of the US: The Case of Italy. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0635.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Arena, M., Francesco Gerli and Paola Colzani. 2020 "An Institutional Analysis of the Rise of Benefit Corporations Outside of the US: The Case of Italy" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0635.v1
Abstract
This paper contributes to the current debate about Benefit Corporations, presenting the development of this organisational model in Italy, the first country to introduce this hybrid form after the US. Grounded on an institutional logic perspective, it provides a picture of the institutional dynamics that have characterised the rise of this new entrepreneurial form outside the US. The analysis provides an in-depth foundational study of the Italian case and highlights the relevant influence of different institutional pressures in explaining the rise of and constraints in the diffusion of Benefit Corporations. Empirically, it combines secondary data, available from different public sources, and primary data collected through interviews with a series of knowledgeable informants. Based upon the analysis, two aspects appear peculiar for the development of Benefit Corporations in Italy: the interplay between the Benefit Corporation legal form and the certified B Corp model, and the rise of tensions between social entrepreneurship and the third sector ecosystem. This paper concludes that the peculiar institutional pressures leading to the birth of Benefit Corporations in Italy may be source of permanent tensions and of concern for the diffusion of the model.
Keywords
benefit corporation; b corp; institutional logic; hybrid entrepreneurship; social entrepreneurship; social enterprise
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Accounting and Taxation
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
