Economia civile: fondamenti storici e buone pratiche attuali. Il caso "ospedale regionale di Locarno"

The great financial crisis started in 2007 in the Western world has spread its bad effects to the economies of many countries and is still generating serious social problems, particularly in Europe. The globalization of markets and a financial system increasingly self-regulated are now bringing a charge against the further sustainability of the mainstream economics. Going back to the sources of the economic studies, we discover that the country where economics became an independent research field was actually Italy. In fact Antonio Genovesi, born near Naples, established the first Faculty of Economics in the mid of the 18 th century. Far away from the present market economic model, the one proposed by his School was closer to the idea of economics as a social science, aimed to find out the best rules and ways of creating general well-being. Under the name of Civil Economics, values like mutual confidence, respectful relationships and ethical behavior are the essential background for individual and general progress. Other Italian famous thinkers of the time (Verri) and Adam Smith, from Scotland, took advantage from these studies for their analysis and research about the reasons of wealth and ways of growth of nations. Beccaria, Romagnosi and Cattaneo, following the same path, gave further relevant contributions in the 19th century. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution and the role of market as the main regulatory body of the economic system diverted the interest to the neoclassical or mainstream economics. Only more recently, some schools of management revalued such principles at a corporate level, introducing the concept of a plurality of stakeholders and the corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper aims to verify whether the values proposed by Civil Economics can find an application in the present situation, at least at the microeconomic level of corporate organizations. Once identified an organization undertaking these values as a driver for strategies and day-by-day management, we made an appraisal of the consequences on qualitative and economic performances. Following this criteria, the case chosen is “Ospedale Regionale La Carità di Locarno” (OdL), in Switzerland, well-known for its best practices among Swiss organizations, in (and out) the health services sector. We found out that the long-time investment the management has been realizing into those ethical principles contributes to build up an intangible asset generating economic and social value. Organizational behaviors and rules fostering innovation and individual commitment create ongoing qualitative improvements, high levels of stakeholders’ satisfaction and first-rate economic performances, placing OdL as an example of excellence in its field of activity.