Social entrepreneurship and value creation in the cultural sector. An empirical analysis using the multidimensional controlling model

Abstract

Purpose

Social entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in the contemporary economic and social ecosystem, defining a value proposition that incorporates a plurality of dimensions to be considered. This research work analyzes the externalities of social enterprises driven by arts and culture for the territories they operate in.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method approach of a single case study is performed to consider multiple dimensions in the development of controlling models in the managerial field. The framework adopted is then implemented through a longitudinal analysis over the last three years.

Findings

The empirical evidence shows the evolution of the economic and financial performance, the social effectiveness and the institutional legitimacy of the case, explaining the role played in the reference community, even during crisis time. The predictive power of performance changes emerges as a direct link to socially responsible indexes that amplify the attractiveness of value proposition processes.

Research limitations/implications

The results obtained are aligned with Betzlet et al. (2021) key predictor of the success of social entrepreneurship. A wide sample with multiple social enterprises operating in the cultural and creative field needs to be considered in the future, to further advance the literature through a comparative analysis.

Originality/value

This paper reveals that, in the cultural and creative sector, social entrepreneurship value creation is intrinsically linked to the individual and collective identity dimension able to promote cohesion and community well-being.

Citation

Iodice, G. and Bifulco, F. (2025), "Social entrepreneurship and value creation in the cultural sector. An empirical analysis using the multidimensional controlling model", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 91-111. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-05-2024-0079

Introduction

The contemporary scenario in which enterprises are called to define their value proposition is a theatre of great social, economic and geopolitical changes. In this context, the emergence of mechanisms aimed at sustaining economic activity, even in areas neglected by the state and deemed unprofitable (Di Domenico et al., 2010) plays a fundamental role. With particular attention to value assets provided by all those who carry out organized economic activity for the production or exchange of goods and services, there is growing attention from scholars to the value brought by private subjects in the different legal forms of enterprises at local, regional, national and supranational level (Meneguzzo, 2005).

The focus on which the authors intend to light a beacon is linked to social enterprises and, more specifically, social entrepreneurship (de Bruin and Teasdale, 2019; Alvord et al., 2004; Mair and Marti, 2006; Chell et al., 2010; Dees, 2006; Shaw and de Bruin, 2013). Social entrepreneurship offers the potential to become the starting point of a paradigm of radical becoming (Calás et al., 2018), and social innovation (Dey et al., 2023; Howaldt and Schwarz, 2021) as a complex societal process (Brandsen et al., 2016).

The distinguishability that characterizes this declination of entrepreneurship is to be found in the multidimensionality of the value proposition, not only economic but also social, natural/ecological simultaneously inserted in an operational model (Murphy et al., 2022). Considered as drivers of local development (Carrera et al., 2008) as well as actors of welfare policies (Meneguzzo et al., 2008), social enterprises qualify as social cores around which citizens pursue a collective wellbeing (Fici, 2018). The externalities of social entrepreneurship include, among the achievable outcomes, the promotion of social networks as well as the development of social capital in communities (Albanese and Musella, 2012). In this direction, the need to improve community wellbeing pursued through a sustainable business model (Asgari Ghods, 2019) is emerging. Management literature, in this regard, is showing particular attention (Battilana and Lee, 2014; Wry and York, 2017). Experiments in most European countries on social entrepreneurship (Defourny and Nyssens, 2008) are not exempt from this attention. These scenario assumptions collide, however, with a unanimous and shared vision of the concept of social enterprise (Bacq and Janssen 2011; Sassmannshausen and Volkmann 2018). From the perspective of Galera and Borzaga (2009), the absence of a shared definition at the international level does not respond to a limitation but to the need to define a legal recognition of social enterprise (Galera and Borzaga, 2009). In this direction are projected the contributions and requests of the European Commission that, in the last decade, have addressed European scholars and practitioners to achieve a convergence of definitions starting from the concept of social enterprise promoted by the international research network EMES, according to which the three pillars of the concept are explained as follows:

1. Economic-entrepreneurial: refers to the characteristics that typically characterize the entrepreneurial initiative: the production of goods and/or services in continuous and professional form; a high degree of autonomy both in the constitution and in the management; the remuneration of at least part of the factors of production (capital and labor); and the use of resources not deriving exclusively from donations;

2. Social: relating to producing a good or realizing a service recognized as of general interest by the reference community.

3. Ownership: the dimension that defines the proprietary forms and governance modalities. Specifically, it assumes that the social enterprise is a collective initiative, promoted by a group of citizens and that the governing bodies are open to the participation of different stakeholders. Moreover, the social enterprise is called upon to observe the constraint of non-distributability of profits or, at most, limited distributability.

Scholars inspired by social economy ways of conceptualizing social entrepreneurship, such as EMES, recognize heterogeneity and diversity in the scientific community (Teasdale et al., 2023). Despite the numerous and heterogeneous contributions proposed in the literature, as well as the experiments in place to demonstrate the versatility of social enterprises value proposition, there is a gap in scientific studies dedicated to social entrepreneurship driven by arts and culture (Woronkowicz et al., 2020), in complete opposition to the economic, business and administration field that is dominant (Phillips et al., 2023). These scenario assumptions well coincide with the need to adopt analytical frameworks to restore the plurality of culture to optimize its development and consolidation (Montalto et al., 2019).

Furthermore, the adoption of analytical frameworks in assessing performance, such as multidimensional measurements, is proven to be effective both internally and externally in terms of social accountability and transparency towards stakeholders (Francesconi, 2009). Starting from an examination of the contributions proposed in the literature on the conceptualization of social entrepreneurship with a particular focus on the value proposition conveyed in the cultural and creative sector, this study intends to contribute to the literature by filling this gap by pursuing the following Research Question:

RQ.

What are the social, economic, and institutional externalities that social enterprises address in their communities?

To achieve this goal, the authors adopt a replication logic (Yin, 2009) by taking advantage of the performance analysis and assessment of a single case study, Officine Culturali, which is a social enterprise operating in cultural settings. Specifically, the authors return the results of an empirical analysis using the multidimensional controlling model in managing the selected case.

Literature review

Social entrepreneurship in the creative and cultural sector

Considered as the social inclusion and community well-being center, culture plays a decisive role in the contemporary scenario (Taçon and Baker, 2019). The processes of value proposition in the cultural and creative setting promote social cohesion and community well-being (Mirza, 2005) because of the social aggregation between actors, be they individual or community, of which culture is the protagonist (Iodice et al., 2023). Likewise, a process-based phenomenon through which tangible and intangible resources dialogue with each other is represented by social entrepreneurship (Di Domenico et al., 2010). Social empowerment involves the intersection of financial capital, human capital, social capital to pursue innovative and unprecedented value creation (Chell, 2007).

It is no coincidence that the concept of “Social Enterprise” was introduced by the third sector to respond to community needs through the development of social projects. To detail the introductory framework within which the social entrepreneurial ecosystem within the third sector is defined, it should be stressed that the first country in which this theme flourishes is Italy. The mechanism that determined its birth can be traced in the need to institutionalize innovation prompted by the first “social solidarity cooperatives” (Borzaga et al., 2020). First the political perimeter, then cultural and social one outlined by regional and national legislation such as the social Cooperatives act (law 381 / 1991) or the third sector act (law 106 / 2016), make Italy one of the countries with greater awareness of the role of social enterprises for the welfare of the community (Catala et al., 2023) by subjects other than the Public Administration and outside the world of social enterprise (Musella and Borzaga, 2021).

In the cultural and creative sector, social entrepreneurship is qualified by the overlap between apparently antithetical areas, such as the need to make the entrepreneurial initiative sustainable through the marketing of goods and/or services and the non-distributability – or limited distributability – of profits for reinvestment in the business activity. While safeguarding its economic stability, social entrepreneurship in the cultural setting aims to create social development in the community in which it conveys its process of value proposition for its primary stakeholders (Cucari et al., 2020). The scientific literature returns, in merit, the perspective according to which the figure of the social actors responsible for the entrepreneurial initiative, and therefore the social entrepreneurs, demands a valorization because of their contribution for the development of the territory (Vosta and Jalilvand, 2014) in terms of significant and positive impact on social value creation, and environmental sustainability (Li et al., 2022).

Social entrepreneurship can be identified as a direct evolutionary trajectory of the cultural and creative sector (Lange, 2009), in line with the need to return to the community positive externalities including the development of community well-being (Jung and Park, 2023), strengthen community bonds and form new hubs of social activity (Beck and Brooks, 2019).

In this direction, it becomes necessary for social enterprises to have entrepreneurial models and efficient management to respond adequately to the market in which they enter and to the social challenges to which they intend to contribute (Musella, 2006). The measurement of the impact they can generate, in the different possible declinations, is essential. Among the elements to be considered in the measurement of impact, effective performance is determined by the simultaneous interrelationship between technological component, sociocultural outcomes, economic system and legal and institutional frameworks (Galera and Borzaga, 2009).

Social value creation processes driven by arts and culture

The value proposition of social enterprises aims to positively impact society by satisfying unmet needs (Yunus, 2006) and creating added value both for individuals and communities (Stokes et al., 2010) in a logic of social well-being (Ratten, 2022). Indeed, value-creating processes are distinguished by the perceived role of internal and external stakeholders as active resources (Vargo and Lusch, 2004) to create innovative products and services (Solakis et al., 2022) together with costumers (Grönroos and Voima, 2013). In this perspective, value creation can be identified as an interactional creation of value which “opens up one entity’s activities to other entities across the traditional value creational system” (Ramaswamy and Ozcan, 2018). This presupposition constitutes a characterizing element, as well as distinguishability, of social enterprises (Dees, 1998; Peredo and McLean, 2006; Zahra et al., 2009).

The entrepreneurial ecosystem to which social enterprises belong, both those oriented to profit and those belonging to the third sector and therefore distant from the logic of incomes, responds to the ability to recognize a need to be met and intercept the most appropriate opportunities to develop a proposal of values that incorporate different outcomes to be achieved. The value creation process is structured around the sequencing of construction, evaluation and pursuit of opportunities to achieve social change (Palacios-Marqués et al., 2019; Roberts and Woods 2005). The success of the initiative is determined by both financial and social resources, regarding the social networks activated (Weber and Kratzer, 2013). Similar processes find affirmation in communities affected by discomfort (Dayson, 2013). Their management implies models, practices and procedures that differentiate social businesses from traditional enterprises (Naderi et al., 2019), making them, among other things, owners of competitive advantages in the markets in which they operate (Nicholls, 2007).

The proposition of social value is a significantly impactful element in the cultural and creative sector (Dans and González, 2019), linked to the role that stakeholders occupy and the relations between these and businesses driven by arts and culture (Bifulco and Iodice, 2023; Altinay et al., 2016). In this direction, an emerging perspective is the need to understand the mechanisms by which social enterprises in the cultural and creative sector create value, meanings and experiences through consumption with their users/consumers (Majdoub, 2014). One of the most attentional declinations of social value activated by non-profit social enterprises is linked to social innovation. The literature returns in merit the perspective according to which this value acts on a double binary. For the enterprise, it constitutes a lever through which to increase the quality of products, processes and services; for the stakeholders to which it turns, instead, it is translated into the generation of outcomes like the creation of new capabilities, the development of relationships and a better use of assets and resources (Dainienė and Dagilienė, 2015).

As an economic entity that can pursue, in addition to profit, also social purposes with the sole constraint of survival through mechanisms of coordinating tangible and intangible resources (Borzaga, 2013). An effective and efficient value proposition cannot be separated from a measurement of the performance and impacts generated. The analytical aspect is a strategic aspect in the understanding of the social mission that has been accomplished (Grieco et al., 2015) and in the systematization of value creation processes (Ormiston and Seymour, 2011) of which the different types of stakeholders benefit in different forms and measures (Zamagni et al., 2015).

It highlights, in this vein, the opening of a gap in analytical studies on social enterprises in the cultural and creative sector (Lavanga and Schützle, 2013), with a particular focus on the changes triggered by social imbalances, political and environmental of the last three years in the proposal of cultural value (Ratten, 2022). Within this gap to be closed, the need to measure the performance and impact generated by arts and culture-led social enterprises fits (Berman Swan and Atkinson, 2012) after the codification of a new terminology with contemporary needs (Tricarico et al., 2020).

Methodological approach

The theoretical framework within which this study finds concrete implementation at the action level has highlighted the need to correlate the value proposition elaborated by social enterprises driven by arts and cultures to the measurement of their performance, and consequently, the impact they are capable of generating in the territory in which they express themselves. Managerial studies highlight, in this regard, the role occupied by the measurement of performance as a determining factor of the success of the entrepreneurial initiative of a social nature (Siti-Nazariah et al., 2016). Managerial analysis becomes, therefore, instrumental to the return of accountability-oriented reporting (Gray, 2001).

This study aims to make its contribution to the literature by analyzing the externalities of social enterprises driven by arts and culture for their reference community. In achieving this goal, the authors adopted a single case study following the “replication logic” (Yin, 2009).

Within this context, the performance of a single case study (Mariotto et al., 2014) was carried out with the adoption of a mixed methodological approach (Bazeley, 2015). The methodology adopted responds to the need to include qualitative and quantitative variables in the measurement of business performance (Arifeen et al., 2014), to consider multiple dimensions in the development of controlling models in the managerial field (Parshukov et al., 2021; Bieńkowska, 2020; Kumar, 2022).

In detail, the authors chose to carry out their empirical analysis using the multidimensional controlling framework (Figure 1), consistent with the empirical nature of managerial studies on social entrepreneurship (Bagnoli and Megali, 2011), particularly used in the Italian setting (Cosentino, 2020; Corazza and Cisi, 2012).

The authors have chosen to contextualize this model and implement it by adopting a longitudinal analysis (Petersen, 1993). Longitudinal research is gaining attention in social entrepreneurship literature as shown by prior studies (Zulkifle and Aziz, 2023; Hota, 2023; Letaifa, 2016). This study adopts a longitudinal approach to return an evolution of the multidimensionality of impact generated by a single case study (Yin, 2009), in three different years (Farrington, 1991): 2020, 2021 and 2022. The qualitative longitudinal analysis is now widely recognized as a distinct methodological paradigm (Thomson and McLeod, 2015) in understanding social phenomena with a greater time perspective through secondary analysis and archival work (McLeod and Thomson, 2009).

The single case study selected is Officine Culturali, a social enterprise engaged in activities of involvement, education, communication, protection and research within the cultural and creative sector. The proposition of social value culture-driven lies in the mediation and social communication of cultural heritage made accessible and understandable through inclusive and participatory forms. This case study was selected based on the multiplicity of outcomes that social enterprise pursues, in terms of generating social impact, socio-cultural education and combating the phenomenon of educational poverty and social exclusion, within the framework of a general vision of cultural welfare.

Officine Culturali activities are mainly focused on a regional perspective (Sicily, Italy). It should be noted, however, that the goal of the organization is to have a wider impact on cultural participation both regionally and nationally. Indeed, their emphasis on cultural inclusion attracts participants from all over Italy, in terms of contributing to value-creation processes as customers and as partners.

A key insight of social enterprise management that will be further discussed in the analysis that follows concerns the internal staff. As of December 31, 2023, the company has 14 employees, 9 of them are women. These personnel are permanently, demonstrating a commitment to long-term employment with the business.

Data collection

The Research Framework adopted is performed through secondary analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, which can provide meaningful insights (Chatfield, 2020):

In detail, the research objective is pursued using secondary sources such as website content, social media pages and industry reports (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). The reports used are published on the official channels of the selected social enterprise, under the name of “Social Report” for each annuity to be consulted, as required by Legislative Decree 112/2017 on social enterprises. An in-depth analysis of the Web-based contexts was followed (Kozinets, 2002) along with observations of the interviews publicly available on the case official social media platforms (Youtube).

In this vein, there are numerous examples in the literature where content shared through social media platforms have been successfully used as a secondary source of information. Prominent work, such as “From concept to data: Sleuthing social change-oriented youth voices on YouTube” by Caron et al. (2017) advocate the value of YouTube content in contributing to theory development in social sciences. In the same direction, Giglietto et al. (2012), and Highfield and Leaver (2016) base their study on the usage of information that is publicly available on social media platforms. While these studies discuss ethical concerns in analyzing videos, photos etc. publicly available on social media platforms, we treated the interviews published by the case study on their official pages as a set of nonhuman documents or quantifiable data (Patterson, 2018), following prior studies (e.g. Choi and Behm-Morawitz, 2017; Porter and Hellsten, 2014; Rotman et al., 2009).

Findings

Economic and financial performance

The measurement of economic financial performance is determined by general components of performance, in terms of profit, value added etc. at par with analytical results in the form of KPIs. The data analysis and processing process uses a set of metrics and tools to quantify financial health and success of a social enterprise. Liquidity, solvency, efficiency and profitability (Fatihudin, 2018).

The literature highlights the presence of a series of tools particularly appreciated by the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship in the measurement of economic performance financial because of the plurality of declinations to which they lend themselves. This is the case, for example, of the use of the balanced scorecard and social return on investment as effective tools (Syrjä et al., 2015), as well as data envelopment analysis to account for the dual bottom-line objective of social and financial value creation (Bruneel et al., 2017). It fits into this direction cost effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis (Öncer, 2019). A holistic approach to understanding performance measurement in social entrepreneurship that reveals the sustainability of economic and financial initiatives considers in the perspective of Bagnoli and Megali (2011) two main trajectories:

1. Economic efficiency, comprehensive of all parts of the income statement.

2. Financial situation, showing assets, liabilities and net equity.

In the case of the social enterprise Officine Culturali, below is a longitudinal analysis of the economic financial situation for the last three years (2020–2022), as shown in the following tables (Tables 1 and 2).

The longitudinal analysis relating to the income statement of the case study selected over the last three years (Table 1) shows the dynamism of the costs and revenues made by Officine Culturali in a period of great economic, social and political upheavals. The nascent social enterprise was called to face, in fact, just two years after the adoption of a new legal profile, a cyclical crisis due to the crisis from COVID-19. Despite the critical issues related to the health emergency, the consequences of which have drastically impacted the economic sectors of the multitude of companies belonging to the third sector and not, Officine Culturali has not closed in loss the budget of exercise neither of the first year of emergency sanitary, neither of the successive ones. The income from operations for the last three years shows an increase from initial equity (2020) to the last phase of the longitudinal analysis (2022) equal to 2.103% for the effect of management, confirming, however, a very low market trend for all productions in 2020.

In detail, it should be noted the increase in revenues (production value) obtained in the first phase of analysis (2020) equivalent to €234,706, increased by 6% in the next phase (2021) to reach a +114% in the final phase of survey (2022). The revenues mentioned are linked to the introduction of new projects and activities simultaneously with the consolidation of the value of the existing activities. To have a clear and complete economic picture, it is necessary to subtract the costs to the reported value of production, equal to the cash outflows and the asset value reductions. The most important item in relation to the costs returned by the longitudinal analysis reveals a considerable attention to the purchase of raw materials, subsidiaries, consumption and goods, as well as remuneration for employees/employees of the social enterprise. The management operations that led to the final operating result reveal, in summary, a social enterprise in constant growth and improvement from year to year.

The financial economic photography through which the value proposition of Officine Culturali is concretized is completed by the longitudinal analysis of the balance sheet for the last three years. The statement of financial position explicitly quantifies the material and financial resources available to the social enterprise in terms of equity (given by the difference between the assets and liabilities). Specifically, the data of the balance sheet published by Officine Culturali in the last three years qualify in absolute terms the operating capital, highlighting the investments made by the company, constantly increasing in the three years, the related modalities of debt financing, also progressively increasing in the three years with a significant growth of 184% from the first phase of analysis (2020) to the last (2022).

Social effectiveness

The concept of social effectiveness responds to a multifaced dimension of meaning that integrates different aspects of the interaction between social actors and the resulting behaviors. In literature, this concept is often associated with social skills, social functioning and social competence. A recent perspective identifies social effectiveness as the key to the measurement of social activities in terms of cost-effectiveness of resource allocation (Terziev, 2019). In the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship, social effectiveness is an essential characteristic for achieving goals of collective well-being (Bagnoli and Megali, 2011).

In the performance measurement model (Kendall and Knapp, 2000; Kendall, 2004), the analysis of this aspect requires careful observation of the inputs used in the enterprise activity; outputs, in terms of results, activities and projects carried out; outcomes, the benefits or impact for various stakeholders; and impact, qualified as externalities for the community. The following table (Table 3) sets out the application of the performance measurement model concerning contextualized social effectiveness for the selected case study, Officine Culturali.

The longitudinal analysis concerning the social effectiveness of Officine Culturali reveals a significant influence determined by the inputs in the value proposition of social enterprise. In detail, in the chronological period investigated, the staff including the staff involved in the creation of the asset value is expanding on different contractual levels. The nine professionals, of which seven women, contracted with a permanent employment relationship (part-time 25H a week), in the last phase of survey (the year 2022) were joined by seven resources hired with a fixed-term contract. There has also been an increase in paid internships for the support of staff experienced in the management and management of InfoPoint activities, as well as university internship contracts for curricular placements, also for the accompaniment of operators in educational activities and fruition (more than four times compared to the first stage taken into consideration). In line with the increase in human resources engaged in the activities of ideation, planning and execution of the productive trajectories of the case analyzed, there is an increase in terms of the number and heterogeneity of the project activities carried out, to confirm the social effectiveness of which Officine Culturali is an expression.

Institutional legitimacy

Institutional legitimacy is a complex concept in which regulatory incentives, trust and successful institutional change converge (Wang and Ching, 2013). The attention of Literature to the practical role of institutional legitimacy Buchanan (2018) qualifies the latter as a determinant of behavior, performance, and survival organizational institutionalism (Deephouse et al., 2017). Compliance with the levels imposed by regional and national directives is, therefore, the fundamental characteristic for the analysis and measurement of this model dimension.

Applying these conditions to the case under investigation, Officine Culturali has taken the legal form and qualification of the Social Enterprise pursuant to the Code of the Third Sector Social Enterprise Association, with Legislative Decree 112 / 2017 and Legislative Decree 117 / 2017. The reform of the Third Sector represented for Officine Culturali a challenge for a responsible management model undertaken in the past as part of its membership history. The transition from cultural association to social enterprise on the legal level has projected, in fact, Officine Culturali in the group of small businesses, while maintaining the nature of the non-profit organization and the associative character engaged in activities of cultural involvement.

In detail, the institutional legitimacy of Associazione Officine Culturali Impresa Sociale ETS is expressed by respect for the following legislative frameworks:

• Legislative Decree 117/2017, known as the “Code of the Third Sector”, supplemented with the Legislative Code 112/2017, containing the “Review of the discipline on social enterprise.”

• MLPS Circular No. 3 of 16 February 2022, concerning the Fund for Wage Integration, Information and Trade Union Consultation (Art. 14, D. Lgs. No. 148/2015).

• Law on health and safety in the workplace and law on privacy of workers and users.

• Acquisition in the national register of third sector – RUNTS.

• Regulation of public-private partnership introduced by the new code of public contracts (art. 151, paragraph 3 of d. lgs. n. 50/2016) that introduces simplified procedures of choice of the partner finalized to the valorization of the cultural property state property.

Regarding the longitudinal analysis that has affected the institutional legitimacy, in the period of interest (year 2020- year 2022), there is a consolidation and full achievement of this dimension through acquisition into the RUNTS, which occurred during the last phase of analysis, the year 2022.

Implications and conclusions

Measuring the performance of a company is an important step in the evaluation of every single element that makes up the process of creating value. Focusing on the performance held by a social enterprise operating in the third sector, and therefore not oriented to the achievement of a profit, the analysis of the elements that determine the productive result, in terms of economic and financial performance, social effectiveness and institutional legitimacy allows a multidimensional reading of the role played by the company in the territory in which it is located and the value conveyed to the reference community. The empirical analysis carried out translates into a series of theoretical and managerial implications to be considered. First, from a theoretical perspective, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of multidimensional tools in the evaluation of the performance of a social enterprise, fitting into the line of studies related to the necessary performance measurement, given the smallness (Woronkowicz et al., 2020; Francesconi, 2009).

At the managerial level, the evidence revealed by the research implies the need to consider two main aspects, to better consolidate the role played by social enterprises in the territory in which they exist and strengthen their competitiveness:

• The adoption of interdisciplinary approaches in the training of human resources, able to provide a set of soft skills capable of co-operating in complex and interrelated activities, in one sector, the cultural and creative, characterized by strong economic and managerial skills gaps.

• The creation of a network of support for entrepreneurship, in cooperation with public and private bodies not only local, but national and European to consolidate the role played by the company in peer training and to project this offer on international levels.

Despite the cultural and creative sector were among the hardest hit by the COVID crisis, opportunities stemming from the it such as inventiveness, community reinforcement and enlargement, stronger integration through digitalization (Iodice et al., 2024; Radermecker, 2020), highlighted the resilience and adaptability of businesses, including cultural and artistic enterprises. The case study selected, according to a replication logic, aims to demonstrate that the intensity of state involvement, the favorable economic situation before the pandemic and the propensity of self-employment are key points (Betzler et al., 2021) in predicting according to a multidimensional perspectives success of social entrepreneurship. The case study presented revealed, specifically, an apparent overperformance linked to the socially responsible index that amplified the attractiveness of its value proposition even during crisis time, revealing a significant predictive power over performance changes.

It should be noted, however, that this study is not without limitations. The authors assume that bias may be introduced by relying mostly on self-reported information from official reports. In a similar setting, the perspectives of stakeholders might not accurately reflect those of the larger community and other pertinent players engaged in the processes of value creation and co-creation. Furthermore, developing and testing new frameworks for assessing the social, economic and environmental impacts of the additional project taken on by the case selected could help improve the understanding of the impact for both internal and external resources, and provide a comparable set of insights for benchmarking analysis.

Given these limitations, future research direction includes the opportunity to widen the sample by including multiple social enterprises operating in the cultural and creative field to compare and contrast their performances. In this direction, a longitudinal analysis over the same chronological period analyzed in this study could be performed to track the evolution of social impact and performance dimensions in social enterprises within the cultural sector.

Moreover, broadening the scope of the study to embrace a wider variety of stakeholders’ perspectives, including beneficiaries, community members and policymakers, may enhance the comprehension of the social value generated by these firms and the internal dynamics of their community engagement.

Figures

Figure 1.

The multidimensional controlling model (Bagnoli and Megali, 2011)

Table 1.

Longitudinal analysis of Officine Culturali income statement

Income statement	31/12/2022	31/12/2021	31/12/2020
A) Production value
1) Revenues from sales and services	€ 361.511,00	€ 142.358,00	€ 183.704
5) Other revenues and income
Grants for the year	€ 25.000,00	€ 0,00	€ 24.152
Others	€ 116.661,00	€ 105.683,00	€ 26.850
Total other revenues and income	€ 141.661,00	€ 105.683,00	€ 51.002
Total production value	€ 503.172,00	€ 248.041,00	€ 234.706
B) Production costs
6) Cost of raw materials, consumables and merchandise	€ 113.280,00	€ 19.749,00	€ 10.273
7) Cost of services	€ 54.403,00	€ 68.179,00	€ 114.470
8) Cost of rents and leases	€ 1.832,00	€ 0,00
9) Personnel costs
a) Salaries and wages	€ 195.108,00	€ 92.238,00	€ 61.766
b) Social security and welfare contributions	€ 55.948,00	€ 16.622,00	€ 17.758
c), d), e) Employees’ termination benefits	€ 19.959,00	€ 6.897,00	€ 5.210
c) Directors’ termination benefits	€ 16.614,00	€ 6.897,00	€ 5.210
e) Other personnel costs	€ 3.345,00	€ 0,00
Total costs for personnel	€ 271.015,00	€ 115.757,00	€ 84.734
10) Amortisation, depreciation and write-downs
A), b), c) Amortisation	€ 5.538,00	€ 4.960,00	€ 301
a) Amortisation	€ 4.765,00	€ 4.765,00	€ 250
b) Depreciation	€ 773,00	€ 195,00	€ 51
Total depreciation	€ 5.538,00	€ 4.960,00	€ 301
12) Accruals for provisions	€ 18.135,00	€ 0,00
14) Other operating expenses	€ 15.498,00	€ 16.410,00	€ 18.742
Total production costs	€ 479.701,00	€ 225.055,00	€ 228.520
Difference between production value and production costs (A–B)	€ 23.471,00	€ 22.986,00	€ 6.186
C) Financial income and expenses
17) Interest and other financial expenses
On financing from subsidiaries	€ 168,00	€ 0,00
On bonds	€ 1.366,00	€ 0,00
Total interest and other financial charges	€ 1.534,00	€ 0,00
Net extraordinary gains and losses	(€ 1.534,00)	€ 0,00
Net income before income taxes	€ 21.937,00	€ 22.986,00	€ 6.186
20) Current and deferred income taxes
Current taxes	€ 0,00	€ 2.799,00	€ 5.190
Total current income tax	€ 0,00	€ 2.799,00	€ 5.190
21) Net income (loss)	€ 21.937,00	€ 20.187,00	€ 996

Source: Authors’ elaboration

Table 2.

Longitudinal analysis of Officine Culturali balance sheet

Balance sheet assets	31/12/2022	31/12/2021	31/12/2020
B) Fixed assets
I - Intangible fixed assets	€ 32.008,00	€ 36.773,00	€ 1.221
II - Tangible fixed assets	€ 5.810,00	€ 574,00	€ 7.703
III - Financial fixed assets	€ 133,00	€ 133,00	€ 100
Total fixed assets (B)	€ 37.951,00	€ 37.480,00	€ 9.024
C) Current assets
II - Receivables
Due by the following financial year	€ 64.013,00	€ 18.959,00	€ 16.763
Total receivables	€ 64.013,00	€ 18.959,00	€ 16.763
IV - Cash and cash equivalents	€ 202.201,00	€ 91.908,00	€ 87.539
Total current assets (C)	€ 266.214,00	€ 110.867,00	€ 104.302
D) Accruals and prepayments	€ 1.221,00	€ 0,00	€ 670
Total balance sheet assets	€ 305.386,00	€ 148.347,00	€ 113.996
Balance sheet liabilities and net equity	31/12/2022	31/12/2021	31/12/2020
A) Net equity
V - Statutory reserves	€ 10.296,00	€ 10.296,00
VI - Other reserves	(€ 1,00)	€ 1,00	€ 9.301
VIII - Retained earnings (losses)	€ 20.187,00	€ 0,00
IX - Current earnings (losses)	€ 21.937,00	€ 20.187,00	€ 996
Total net equity	€ 52.419,00	€ 30.484,00	€ 10.297
B) Provisions	€ 45.081,00	€ 0,00
C) Employees’ termination benefits provision	€ 55.259,00	€ 43.685,00	€ 36.788
D) Payables
Due by the following financial year	€ 152.516,00	€ 47.232,00	€ 9.903
Total payables (D)	€ 152.516,00	€ 47.232,00	€ 53.807
E) Accruals and deferrals	€ 111,00	€ 26.946,00	€ 13.104
Total balance sheet liabilities and net equity	€ 305.386,00	€ 148.347,00	€ 113.996

Source: Authors’ elaboration

Table 3.

Social effectiveness of Officine Culturali

Effectiveness variables	Key factors	Results
Inputs	Human resources	Officine Culturali is a labour-intensive organization, and as such devotes particular attention to the well-being of the human resources employed in the business activity. The internal staff is made up of members, employees and volunteers, and operates with respect for gender equality, human rights, the fight against corruption, the guarantee of the rights of minors, the elderly and the disabled. a clear example of how much explicit is represented by the increasing previewed remuneration for the inner human resources to the team of the social enterprise, second heterogeneous contractual forms to each other. From the € 61,766 of total salaries awarded in the year 2020, Officine Culturali recorded a total of production costs for staff in terms of wages and salaries equal to € 92,238.00 in the year 2021. Value that reached the figure of € 195,108.00 in the successful year, 2022, corresponding to the last phase of longitudinal analysis of this work, as can be seen from the analysis of economic and financial performance. The growing remuneration and contractualization of new human resources, in a period of severe economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic by COVID, shows the attention of Officine Culturali to the social welfare of the company, as demonstrated by the official reports in which this role is crucial. «In the widespread uncertainty that characterizes this present, Officine Culturali is working so that internal cohesion can be key to address the objective difficulties and a resource available to the public of culture and the reference communities» [Extract from the minutes of the meeting of 3 June 2022]
	Purchasing policies	Purchasing policies are defined during the year, according to the methodology of learning by doing. Specifically, purchasing policies of the tangible resources necessary for the business activity are expressed in a wide and heterogeneous range of sources, as well as public and private stakeholders involved. In detail, we note the centrality of the contractual form provided by public private partnerships for the co-financing of project activities in progress and in anticipation. A clear example of this is the BeeDINI project, on which € 21,216.85 from the anticipation provided by Fondazione CON IL SUD were invested, plus the relative co-financing by Officine Culturali in the year 2020. During the following year, in 2021 € 40,318.44 from the anticipation provided by Fondazione CON IL SUD were invested on the same project, plus the related co-financing by Officine Culturali for the costs of the second segment of works. In the same year, the purchase costs of raw materials were increased by number and type. During the central phase of the longitudinal analysis, in fact, € 5,903.49 was invested for the purchase of books and € 5,444.39 for the purchase of products, both aimed at animating the commercial and cultural activity of the bookshop at the Benedictine Monastery, under the management of Officine Culturali. They also invested € 4,031.72 for materials essential to educational services. The propensity to invest is confirmed, finally, by the data relating to the last phase of the analysis (2022), according to which € 16,714.81 were invested for the purchase of books and € 17,712.62 for the purchase of products, both aimed at animating the commercial and cultural activity of the bookshop at the Benedictine Monastery. They also invested € 1,627.32 for materials of use in educational services, € 2,588.24 for computer materials, and € 3,374.19 for the printing of maps and postcards aimed at enhancing the Benedictine Monastery. Officine Culturali aims at a speeding up of services to be reached in the long term through the recruitment, and training of a responsible figure of purchases, dedicated to incoming and outgoing flows
	Work conditions	Following the rules governing the exercise of the economic activity of the social enterprise, the conditions of the workers are constantly monitored in each of the three phases of the longitudinal analysis of this study. Specifically, the involvement of users’ workers and other stakeholders directly involved in the activities has been monitored and ensured, with adequate tools for constant information and participation in the most significant operational and management phases of the organization. The appropriate economic and regulatory treatment of workers was ensured, considering the existing collective agreements and the maximum wage differential parameter. It has also been guaranteed compliance with the requirements relating to volunteers by keeping a special register and ensuring insurance obligations
	Governance model	Since 2020, the Board of Directors has been constituted for the absolute majority by four councillors women and at the same time employees of the organization, operating downstream of the annual indications of the Shareholders’ Meeting and Members. Gender issues are a subject particularly cared for by Officine Culturali and constantly monitored by the Board of Directors, with an absolute majority of working women with voting power. The workers (both partners and non-members) are constantly involved in the operational decisions that the Board of Directors takes during the year, through meetings in presence or digital conversations
Outputs	Activities	The proposition of social value guided by arts and culture of officine culturali provides a precise and well-defined architecture. The value creation process is built on four pillars. The first pillar is linked to cultural design and finds concrete implementation at the level of action in the definition of outputs related to the game, the narration and the involvement of the senses in the enjoyment of culturally based experiences. The second pillar on which the value proposition of the case is analyzed is linked to educational services, and in detail to the construction of co-designed projects with a cultural matrix for the territories and communities. In this direction, families, schools and museum play a fundamental role in the educational process of boys and girls. It follows the pillar of cultural participation, with hybrid initiatives and activities dedicated to the enjoyment of audiences with different needs. In the final analysis, among the outputs put in place by officine culturali, mention should be made of the training and accompanying activities through curricular internships, aimed at emerging or already started cultural and social enterprises in the creation of new scenarios of self-employment
	Products/services obtained	The outputs realized by the social enterprise investigated include obtained commercial activities of publishing and craft products aimed at greater knowledge of the history and of creativity of the territories. The social effectiveness of the outputs fielded by Officine Culturali does not go beyond the data extrapolated from the economic and financial performance, according to which the value of production in the first phase of analysis (year 2020) stands at a figure of € 234,706, to increase by € 13,335 in the following year (2021) until reaching a total value of production in the last phase of analysis (2021) equivalent to € 503,172.00. In terms of social effectiveness, the evidence shows a significant reinvestment of revenues and revenues from products sold and services provided projected to the consolidation and expansion of business activity
Outcomes	Positive effects to intended beneficiaries	Officine culturali pursues a multiplicity of objectives that aim to elicit effects in the communities to which they are addressed. Among the outcomes likely to be verified, the social enterprise investigated aims at the enhancement of cultural heritage through the activation of virtuous processes aimed at the scientific dissemination of cultural value. This presupposition is linked to the creation of employment and professionalization in the cultural and creative sector. Among the greatest positive effects to be conveyed to the beneficiaries of the value proposition of officine culturali is, therefore, the creation of an economic induced in favor of all those social actors and legal entities that gravitate in the orbit of the social enterprise investigated
Impact	Long-term impacts on the wider community	The impact that the selected case study intends to generate on the territory responds effectively to emerging social phenomena. Through the co-planning and the pro-active involvement of stakeholders involved in the creation of value of the company, Officine Culturali aims to create assumptions, tools and practices to combat the phenomenon of educational poverty within the framework of a general vision of cultural welfare with the aim of social cohesion. Impact assessment is a central issue in demonstrating the social effectiveness of the social enterprise under investigation. Since 2018, Officine Culturali has published the annual social report on its website, in line with the provisions of Legislative Decree 112 / 2017 on social enterprises, a qualification it acquired in that year. According to official documents, the publication of the generated impact does not respond to a simple formal fulfillment but represents an opportunity to share in a more structured way what Officine Culturali is, what the team produces in terms of outputs and outcomes, and what are the long-term impacts to achieve

Source: Authors’ elaboration