Filip Majetić,

Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia

E-mail: Filip.Majetic@pilar.hr

Performance of work integration social enterprises in Croatia, Slovenia, and Italian regions of Lombardy and Trentino

Matej Makarovič,

School of Advanced Social Studies, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

E-mail: matej.makarovic@fuds.si

Dražen Šimleša,

Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia

E-mail: Drazen.Simlesa@pilar.hr

Tea Golob,

School of Advanced Social Studies, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

E-mail: tea.golob@fuds.si

Abstract. This paper analyses objective and subjective social and economic performance of Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) in Croatia, Slovenia, and Italian regions of Lombardy and Trentino. More specifically, the main aim is to test: a) the consistency between subjective and objective performance of WISEs and b) the compatibility between their economic and social performance. The rationale of the study is based on the fact that WISEs are commonly labelled as significant socioeconomic actors in Europe that often face various performance-related, i.e. managerial staff shortages. To the best of our knowledge, none of the previous studies have investigated this subject among WISEs in the analysed area. The data was collected using an online administered questionnaire between October 2017 and February 2018. The final sample included 109 organizations (23 organizations from Croatia, 36 from Slovenia, 39 from Lombardy, and 11 from Trentino). Each organization was represented by one highly ranked executive. The objective economic performance indicator was the profit-loss ratio; the objective social performance indicator was the share of disadvantaged population employed at a WISE. The subjective social and economic performance was measured using 18 indicators, and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that this type of performance should be regarded as a unidimensional concept. The correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between objective social performance and subjective socioeconomic performance, which indicates that the applied indicators of subjective socioeconomic performance are also relevant as potential predictors of objective social performance and demonstrates that representatives of WISEs tend to be realistic when evaluating their subjective socioeconomic performance.

Received: November, 2018

1st Revision: February, 2019

Accepted: March, 2019

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2019/12-1/17

JEL Classification: Z13

Keywords: Work Integration Social Enterprise, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Lombardy, Trentino, objective socioeconomic performance, subjective socioeconomic performance