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

• Autor(a) principal: Ferrarini, Marta
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/26251
• topic: Social innovation; Social entrepreneurship; Social enterprises; Cross-sector partnering; Inovação social; Empreendedorismo social; Empresas sociais; Parcerias intersetoriais; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

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 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 even more 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 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.