How partnerships shape social enterprises' strategies: the case of Progetto QUID

• Ano de defesa: 2018
• Autor(a) principal: Ferrarini, Marta
• Orientador(a): Vasconcelos, Isabella Freitas Gouveia de
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Palavras-chave em Português: Inovação social; Empreendedorismo social; Empresas sociais; Parcerias
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Social innovation; Social entrepreneurship; Social enterprises; Cross-sector partnering
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/10438/24455

The purpose of this thesis is the study of the effect the cross-sector partnering has on social enterprises’ strategies. The recent literature suggests partnerships can help social enterprises to scale impact, to sustain profitability and to enter new markets, but the resulting interactions moved by distinctive goals can also push social enterprises to drift away from their mission. The thesis is structured as an explorative case study. The case of Progetto QUID, an emerging Italian social enterprise in the Fashion industry, offers practical insights towards the possible challenges and opportunities deriving from the engagement of different stakeholders, and how a team can manage them. All the data about Progetto QUID were personally collected with the help of Professor Tommaso Ramus in the period between 2017 and 2018. The case study is interesting for the types of partners QUID has, for-profit and non-profits, which stress the complexity of managing a hybrid organisation. The presence of these external actors derives from the appealing business model that combines three elements: the social mission through work inclusion, the environmental goal of recovering waste raw materials and the economic dimension, which supports the dual purpose and differentiate them of similar entities. The case touches on multiple aspects aiming to unify some theoretical and empirical knowledge as well as engaging students in this realm that is both growing and consolidating, but which needs further research. The case does not include interviews with the partners, which could provide supplementary knowledge and possible dissimilar viewpoints. In addition, the short time available limits the possible findings and recommendations. From this study, SE can understand how the business model and the team capabilities are strategic elements that allow managing the tensions. The examples of QUID offers new insights into the literature considering, for example, the ‘combination-separation’ of the commercial and social side. This seems the most viable solution in the scaling-up process to ensure the success of the social enterprise. This observation is particularly important because it is able to describe a possible solution for managing tensions in hybrid organisations. Moreover, it emerges how social enterprises should analyse systematically their collaborations to clearly understand how they create value internally and externally. The investigation can rely on a few questions. The research towards value creation, costs and benefits and the management of a partnership are just in the early stages. My thesis addresses the topic at a different level of analysis to enable a deeper comprehension of partnerships as multidimensional vehicles for economic and social effects across organizations. Moreover, students interested in this filed could have an additional opportunity to get in touch with these raising realities.