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Does Social Innovation Contribute to Sustainability? The Case of Italian Innovative Start-Ups

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  • Michela Piccarozzi

    (Department of Economics, Engineering, Society and Business Organization, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

Abstract

Start-ups, among other enterprises, play a major role in the development and/or commercialization of new technologies and the development of national economies, given that firms are the innovation locus for an entire society. In Italy, a recent regulatory intervention has focused on start-ups creating a framework where innovative start-ups are defined and regulated. Among innovative start-ups, those with a social vocation are of particular interest, since they are understudied in the literature. Indeed, the aim of this paper is twofold: to analyze the relationship between social innovation and sustainability in the latter businesses, and try to understand how sustainability could be fostered through them. Italian cases of innovative start-ups will be studied through content analysis applied to the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by firms. Results show that the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by innovative start-ups explicitly pays attention to social innovation and sustainability in different ways. However, the document does not show the link between social innovation and sustainability. Nonetheless, going through these documents, the link between social innovation and the three aspects of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) clearly emerge and therefore could be better managed.

Suggested Citation

  • Michela Piccarozzi, 2017. "Does Social Innovation Contribute to Sustainability? The Case of Italian Innovative Start-Ups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2376-:d:123590
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Paola M. A. Paniccia & Silvia Baiocco, 2018. "Co-Evolution of the University Technology Transfer: Towards a Sustainability-Oriented Industry: Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Georg M. Eichler & Erich J. Schwarz, 2019. "What Sustainable Development Goals Do Social Innovations Address? A Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Social Innovation Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Francisco Adro & Cristina I. Fernandes & Pedro M. Veiga & Sascha Kraus, 2021. "Social entrepreneurship orientation and performance in non-profit organizations," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1591-1618, December.
    4. Yu-Xia Tu & Oleksandr Kubatko & Vladyslav Piven & Bohdan Kovalov & Mykola Kharchenko, 2023. "Promotion of Sustainable Development in the EU: Social and Economic Drivers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Christian Omobhude & Shih-Hsin Chen, 2019. "Social Innovation for Sustainability: The Case of Oil Producing Communities in the Niger Delta region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-26, November.
    6. Paul Courtney & John Powell, 2020. "Evaluating Innovation in European Rural Development Programmes: Application of the Social Return on Investment (SROI) Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, March.
    7. Michela Piccarozzi & Barbara Aquilani & Corrado Gatti, 2018. "Industry 4.0 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Sanja Franc & Deniza Karadžija, 2019. "Quintuple helix approach: The case of the European Union," Notitia - journal for economic, business and social issues, Notitia Ltd., vol. 1(5), pages 91-100, December.
    9. Sabrina Tabares & Andrés Morales & Sara Calvo & Valentín Molina Moreno, 2021. "Unpacking B Corps’ Impact on Sustainable Development: An Analysis from Structuration Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, December.

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