The Evolution and Evaluation of the Italian Legislation on Social Cooperatives and Social Enterprises: Facilitator or Obstacle to Their Diffusion?

Historically, the Italian cooperative movement has represented a pivotal backbone of the national economy, since cooperatives were able to satisfy their members’ needs through the provision of products and services at affordable conditions. Started as grassroot organizations to answer local social needs, social cooperatives have become key actors in the provision of welfare services in Italy over the last decades. The legal acknowledgment came long after the establishment of social cooperatives in the civil society and the legal framework defined social cooperatives as the first multistakeholder entrepreneurial form with a social mission, rather than a profit maximization objective. Several laws on socially-oriented organizations have followed. Over time, social cooperatives have progressively accomplished the social mission of cooperative organizations, while cooperatives are more focused on growth. In the context of grand societal challenges, the strong orientation of social cooperatives on their social impact and their embeddedness in the local territory supports them in the development and implementation of local resolution to these global challenges.