Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Family Responsibility: Reflections in theory and practice. The case of Elica Group: “the best Place to Work

The present work examines the relationship between governance systems and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies toward labor and employees, particularly focusing on Corporate Family Responsibility (CFR). Through which CSR practices do companies assume responsibilities towards their employees? How do CSR practices impact on employees, their work, and their family life? How effective are these practices, and how can they positively impact on the difficult “work- life balance”? To respond to these questions, this paper analyzes the case of Elica Group, a large, multinational Italian family company that has been named one of the “best places to work” in the national and European contexts. The points of reflection that emerge from this qualitative study are centered on the factors that induce the company to adopt such policies, and the factors that impact their effectiveness. The results reveal that a robust ethical foundation on the parts of the company’s founder and of its management, as well as their commitment to sharing values and objectives with the entire organization, are keys to Elica’s success and render it a public globalized company centered on the person that aims to carry out a holistic development (economic, social and environmental development). This stems from the fact that it is based on strong, essential, authentic values, which are the product of a particular cultural fabric that the company - despite its presence in a number of foreign countries - has been able to preserve, enrich and adapt to the diverse cultural contexts in which it finds itself.