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Overcoming sustainability barriers through Formalized Network Contracts (FNCs): the experience of Italian SMEs

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Abstract

The role of formal business networking in SMEs is receiving more attention from scholars and practitioners. However, several aspects remain unclear, including if and how, corporate sustainability approaches are implemented and aligned within such networks, mostly created for competitiveness and resource efficiency purpose. With the aim of filling this gap in the literature over Small Business Social Responsibility, an empirical investigation is proposed by analyzing 389 Formalized Network Contracts and their original legal document, following Bocken et al. (2014) business model archetypes and NBS (2012) studies on sustainable innovation and, normative-making perspectives. Findings include the addition of a new general aims for such FNC that is the creation and enablement of clusters, following the perspective of Creation of Shared Value. In addition, we demonstrate that FNC is a suitable tool for micro, SMEs, and individual entrepreneurs to meet sustainability issues introducing eco-innovations, eco-efficiency and shared value herein their products/services, business models and organizational changes as roughly half of these contracts include a reference to sustainability issues.

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  • Laura Corazza & Maurizio Cisi & Greta Falavigna, 2018. "Overcoming sustainability barriers through Formalized Network Contracts (FNCs): the experience of Italian SMEs," IRCrES Working Paper 201803, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY.
    • Handle: RePEc:csc:ircrwp:201803
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    1. Laura Corazza & Maurizio Cisi & Greta Falavigna, 2022. "The enabling role of formalized corporate networks to drive small and medium‐sized enterprises toward sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 545-558, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Formalized Network Contracts (FNCs); Sustainability; Creation of Shared Value (CSV); Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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