Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Next Stage of Responsible Business

This paper analyzes the concept of a business’ “holistic development,” paying particular attention to the importance of “territorial” (or territory-based) firms in such a model. The work develops the concepts of a “territorial” business, its rootedness, cohesion, and social capital both theoretically and empirically, and, in highlighting the interconnectedness of the links between holistic development of the firm and its territory, posits a new analytical framework through which researchers can examine the relationships between businesses and their surroundings. Methodologically, the paper utilizes multiple case studies of two “territorial” firms located in the Marche region of central Italy. The empirical analysis helps formulate propositions that synthesize the attributes of “territorial” companies and the model of holistic development. The study also helps identify the bi-directionality of the links between the holistic development of a business and of its surrounding territory.