Exploring the efficiency of Italian social cooperatives by descriptive and principal component analysis

Abstract

Over the last decade, independent agencies, institutions and research centres (ISTAT-National Statistic Office, Ministry of Economic Development, Confcooperative Legacoop, Unioncamere) have provided studies on the evolution of the cooperative movement in the Third Sector in Italy in order to monitor the development of these organizations over time and to evaluate their economic and employment impact in the country. Following a similar path, this study analyzes the contribution of social cooperatives in Italy at a regional level, highlighting the differences related to their longevity and fields of activity. Moreover, the article evaluates the efficiency and profitability of the social cooperative by adopting principal component analysis to economic and financial indexes.

Twenty Years of Research on the Relationship Between Economic and Social Performance: A Meta-analysis Approach

“…In contrast, the social orientation of the organization does not influence this relationship. Costa et al (2012) Table 4. Metanalysis with sample error correction.…”

Alternative Action Organizations: Social Solidarity or Political Advocacy?

“…All these notions refer in some ways to alternative economic practices, located at the crossroad of the political and the social, initiated by citizen groups and networks ( Kousis & Paschou, 2017 ). They include a wide variety of innovative activities and social relations such as solidary bartering ( Fernández Mayo, 2009 ), local exchange trading schemes ( Granger, Wringe, & Andrews, 2010 ), local and alternative currencies ( North, 2007 ) ethical banks ( Tischer, 2013 ), local market cooperatives ( Phillips, 2012 ), cooperatives for the supply of social services such as in health and education ( Costa, Andreaus, Carini, & Carpita, 2012 ), alternative forms of production ( Corrado, 2010 ), critical consumption ( Fonte, 2013 ), spontaneous actions of resistance and reclaim ( Dalakoglou, 2012 ), and the reproduction of cultural knowledge via oral and artistic expression ( Lamont, Welburn, & Fleming, 2013 ).…”

Unconditional Reciprocity and the Case of Italian Social Cooperatives

“…As shown by Costa, Andreaus, Carini, and Carpita (2012), at the end of 2008, there were 13,938 SCs in Italy, accounting for 19.5% of total cooperatives and 0.3% of the total number of Italian enterprises. Eight out of 10 SCs carry out their activities in the service sector.…”