Abstract
Start-ups, among other enterprises, play a major role in the development and/or commercialization of new technologies and the development of national economies, given that firms are the innovation locus for an entire society. In Italy, a recent regulatory intervention has focused on start-ups creating a framework where innovative start-ups are defined and regulated. Among innovative start-ups, those with a social vocation are of particular interest, since they are understudied in the literature. Indeed, the aim of this paper is twofold: to analyze the relationship between social innovation and sustainability in the latter businesses, and try to understand how sustainability could be fostered through them. Italian cases of innovative start-ups will be studied through content analysis applied to the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by firms. Results show that the Social Impact Assessment Document provided by innovative start-ups explicitly pays attention to social innovation and sustainability in different ways. However, the document does not show the link between social innovation and sustainability. Nonetheless, going through these documents, the link between social innovation and the three aspects of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) clearly emerge and therefore could be better managed.
Highlights
Start-ups, among other enterprises, can play a role in the development and commercialization of new technologies and the development of national economies, given that firms are the innovation locus for the entire society [1,2,3].Well aware of the role that start-ups as well as other innovative firms could play within the economic system, many countries have recently been adopting ambitious intervention programs aimed at strengthening and modernizing their innovation ecosystems [4]
Before presenting the social aspects of sustainability results from the Social Impact Assessment Documents of innovative start-ups, it is worth mentioning the technology used by innovative start-ups to perform their social innovations
Performing content analysis on the Social Impact Assessment Document of innovative start-ups of the sample, it clearly emerges that many innovative start-ups put in place some actions and/or initiatives deemed to achieve one or more pillars of sustainability
Summary
Start-ups, among other enterprises, can play a role in the development and commercialization of new technologies and the development of national economies, given that firms are the innovation locus for the entire society [1,2,3].Well aware of the role that start-ups as well as other innovative firms could play within the economic system, many countries have recently been adopting ambitious intervention programs aimed at strengthening and modernizing their innovation ecosystems [4]. The attention devoted to these firms by the Italian government for the first time is based on the assumption that start-ups are important for promoting sustainable growth, technological development, employment (youth employment in particular) and other social aspects [5]. Based on this assumption, a specific regulation regarding these firms has been issued, of which the aims are: (1) to develop an environment able to foster the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities, innovation, and social mobility; (2) to strengthen the links between universities and businesses; and (3) to attract investments and talented people to Italy from abroad [6]
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