A state of the Art of CSR diffusion in Italy: limits and potentials Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe

The work aims to provide a framework on the evolution and future prospects of the spread of CSR in Italy, taking into account the specificities of the socio-economic fabric of this country, consisting primarily of small and medium-sizedenterprises and of the cultural factors that have led to the widespread entrepreneurial development in different Italian regions. The paper is divided into two main parts. In the first, it contains a review of the empirical researches conducted at national and regional level. This section is aimed at detecting the spread of knowledge of the philosophy and the socially responsible-oriented practices among the different types and classes of companies (large, medium and small-sized enterprises). In the second part the paper addresses a critical evaluation of the different approaches to the development of CSR themes and tools. Following the models elaborated in literature (Albareda et al., 2007, 2008; Midttun, 2005) that take into consideration the different patterns of public action in the European context, it focuses on the “Italian way to CSR”, through a comparison with other European countries (the “Nordic model or partnership model”; the “Business in the community model”; the “Sustainability and citizenship model”; the “Agorà model”). In particular, the paper identifies and proposes, as a result of a review of studies conducted on a regional basis, a specific model which depends on contingency factors (social, economic and cultural factors) of the Italian context (the so called "Territorial social responsibility model"). Therefore, after a brief presentation of several research cases, the empirical analysis addresses the territorial social responsibility’s esperiences of two Italian regions (Marches and Liguria) highlighting the tie between Italian companies and their respective local (regional) stakeholders and the effectiveness of the CSR-oriented network governance at the local level. A final section summarizes the considerations developed in the previous parts and presents the concluding reflections.