The re-edition of a 15th Century book provides a topical guide for the creation of a well-rounded business

A keen yet well-rounded entrepreneur, careful about his accounts and his human resources. In short, a humanist entrepreneur. It is possible to sum up under various forms the ideal entrepreneurial figure. It can be tracked along a path that many people – in spite of appearances -, dare to undertake albeit with alternating results. To guide you, you should read “Arricchirsi con onore. Elogio del buon imprenditore” (Getting rich honourably. Eulogy of the good entrepreneur) by Benedetto Cotrugli merchant, entrepreneur, philosopher and humanist, who was born in Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and put down on paper his ideas about entrepreneurship and more generally about doing business in 1458.

This is a trade manual – one of the first – but also a business manual, one that is still topical today, after five centuries of neglect. Rewritten in today’s modern Italian, the book can almost be ready in one go, and it is packed with suggestions but also proposals that are absolutely applicable to all “modern” businesses.

The “Libro de l’arte de la mercatura” (Book of the art of merchantry) – this was the original title of the book -, has value because while the financialisation of the economy and subsequent crises seem to have undermined the basic rules of business, it reminds us that there may also be a “healthy and profitable” way to get rich and to enrich society at the same time. The entrepreneur as a social subject first and foremost, and then ans the organiser of production, after. At the heart of everything is Cotrugli’s idea that sees the merchant-entrepreneur as a “universal man” starting from an assumption: the accounts have to be in order but this order is not enough, intellectual, professional and human characteristics are also necessary, if not indispensable.

To explain his idea, Cotrugli then enumerates the 15 rules “to get rich honourably”, ranging from trusting your own strengths, to the ability to withstand hardships and anxieties, the pursuit of quality and precision, the knowledge of finance and respect for partners and commitments, from culture to the ability to be in the public eye and then again the awareness of the importance of children and family and of soil as the best investment. The work ends with an epilogue (where, among other things, he strikes a blow for young people) and twenty aphorisms that sum up together the type of ideal entrepreneur and the path to get there.

But beyond the rules dictated, reading Cotrugli’s work is good for the awareness of the importance of the mission of the entrepreneur who manages to communicate.  An awareness that comes from afar but that is all absolutely topical.

The book is supplemented by a note by Riccardo Wagner and an introduction by Bunello Cucinelli who recalls the idea of “humanistic capitalism” and the value of entrepreneurship that has morals, awareness of the gift, “affection for one another”, social sentiment and spirit of sacrifice.

Arricchirsi con onore. Elogio del buon imprenditore (Getting rich honourably. Eulogy of the good entrepreneur)

An investigation into start-ups and their role of organisational and territorial social innovation

New, innovative companies. An important combination, yet one that is not always achieved. A question of the environment, of ability, but also of business culture capable of combining the new organisation of production with the necessary innovation for the company to embark upon a different path from the normal one. Then, when it comes to small and medium-sized companies, everything becomes even more complex.

The research by Rocco Reina and Marzia Ventura (from the “Magna Graecia” University of Catanzaro) and Walter Vesperi (from the University of Messina) investigates a particular aspect of innovation present in start-up companies: that is to say, social innovation. The authors start with the consideration that the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, which is historically characterised by SMEs, has witnessed the emergence in recent years of a new form of entrepreneurship based on technological innovation. But in addition to this, it has been observed how entrepreneurship can become an extraordinary activator of processes of change of a social, economic and technological nature.

All new ventures (start-ups), technological and organisational innovation forms a framework of technical but especially human relations that should be investigated and known in full. Especially because it can outline a work method to be replicated in various environments.

This is exactly what the three researchers have done, starting with a review of what has already been done on the subject, then moving on to outlining the overview of the research and then the investigation “on the field” of start-ups  in Calabria which are investigated not so much with a quantitative method, but particularly through a “tale” of experience enjoyed by those who created them.

The particular attention of the authors however focuses on the social impact that newly-established innovative companies may have on the territory in which they are set up and where they produce. An impact contrasted by all kinds of difficulties and that however indicates a desire for entrepreneurial growth even in difficult areas.

The study by Reina, Ventura and Vesperi does not aim to provide a comprehensive picture of newly-established innovative companies from the point of view of their social and territorial impact, but it can be taken as an important part of a drawing that has yet to be outlined in many aspects.

Innovazione sociale nelle startup innovative: un approccio narrativo (Social innovation in innovative start-ups: a narrative approach)

Rocco Reina, Marzia Ventura, Walter Vesperi

Paper presented at XII Scientific Colloquium on Social Enterprise, 25-25 May 2018, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento,

ISBN 978-88-909832-7-6

Pondering on facts and figures. Making decisions in full knowledge of the weight and meaning of questions and acting with responsibility, based on knowledge. This is how a ruling class behaves (or rather: how it should behave) when it is fully abreast of its role and its duties. In politics. In economics. In society. Beppe Sala, mayor of Milan, is right when he declares: “Assolombarda with its Milan Observatory supports in a tangible manner the work of the entire economic and social system by providing it with the most precious of items: data. Data which are not just collected punctually, but analysed and examined in the light of their social and economic context. It is extremely valuable work, a rampart for simplifications and a great service for democracy”.

Data. And democracy. Knowledge about how things really stand. And the choices which follow from that. We are living in contentious times, in which “factoids” (nothing which is actually true or really happened, but something plausible, passed off as the truth by social media without verifications or controls) enjoy a premium over facts, propaganda outweighs reliable news, and shouting and insults characterise differences of opinion. And therefore, in order to defend the truth of facts and, precisely, democracy, one civil choice of responsibility might be to start once again by reasoning on the basis of data, and of numbers. And to claim that during public debate this should happen more and more often. Much more good sense. And less passion and feeling. More questions and fewer presumptuous declarations. Closer attention paid to doubts, less to rhetoric. To express it in literary terms, more Sciascia and less D’Annunzio (in order nevertheless to leave illiterates on the sidelines: at least D’Annunzio knew how to use punctuation, the tenses of verbs and syntax, the consecutio temporumnd the exact and formidable impact of words).

A truly appalling sign, then, is the attitude of the new government vis-à-vis ISTAT, the Central Statistical Institute, based at least on the declarations of the under-secretary of the Ministry for the Economy, Laura Castelli (M5S), “concerning the synergy required to be brought into line with a policy aimed at achieving the objectives of the government contract”. Political synergy? Connection with government objectives? There is serious cause for concern here. The role and responsibility of ISTAT is to collect updated and reliable data, to “photograph” and document economic and social reality, to deliver to political decision-makers true and clear information upon which they can base their choices. The only “synergy” is to guarantee ISTAT autonomy and authority. So that it can work on the data. Everything else is self-serving thinking. A risk of scientific degradation. And therefore of political degradation. And of the hypothesis of good government.

Politics, naturally, is not mathematics nor an exact science. It is nourished by passions, sometimes grim ones. By the voices of particular interests, often partisan ones. It must quite rightly take into account feelings, worries and fears. It must drive hopes. It needs to outline and build the future. To feed a better vision of the world. To seek compromises between differing opinions and tensions. To calculate carefully the contrasting balances of power and construct programmes. It is a noble job, politics, even when it has to handle ignoble substances. It cannot just make lists of numbers, but it can use them productively in order to reinforce a dream. With a great sense of responsibility. And a robust sensitivity as to its pivotal role. Ruling class, is how it is described in English. The class which makes the rules and respects them. No good rules, unless they are made with knowledge and competence, by interpreting facts and tendencies and by taking a long-term view of the future.

Let us return to the data, then. Knowing how to gather them, put them together, analyse them, and compare them is an indispensable scientific activity. And pivotal for liberal democracy, because in the absence of knowledge there can be no critical ability, and no fully aware choices. There can be no freedom or delegation with a clear understanding of values and interests.

In its small way, the Milan Observatory is exemplary. Founded in 2017 from an agreement between the Municipality and the Assolombarda association, it uses 221 various indicators in order to “measure” Milan, in comparison with other similar European cities (Barcelona, Lyon, Munich and Stuttgart) but also with major capitals (Berlin, London, Paris) and conurbations in the USA (New York and Chicago) and in the Far East (Shanghai and Tokyo). At the end of June, its new 2018 edition was published. And it will continue to move forward, bringing the data up to date regularly. A long-term choice.

The work is the result of the original collaboration between the research centres of Assolombarda, the Banca d’Italia, the Chamber of Commerce, the Polytechnic University, Confcommercio, the Ambrosianeum Foundation, Intesa San Paolo, PIM, Clas Group and a series of other institutions and businesses (Fiera Foundation, Vodafone, MasterCard, Ernst&Young, Cusimano & Wakefield, Voices from the Blogs) to describe accurately the attractiveness (for people and capital, talent and international investment) and reputation of Milan, its social and equitable dynamics, its accessibility, its urban and green development, its “smart city” appeal, its leisure time, its qualified human capital, the relationships between its public administration and its citizens, and its innovation and start-up aspects.

The result is a well-documented account of a metropolis in the course of an intensive transformation, the most international city in Italy, altogether different from somewhere closed in upon itself and focused on its own issues, and a city which, if anything, is taking good care not to take pride in the “model” but to open itself up to the rest of the country, to act as a stimulus, a direction, a lever. With its eyes wide open towards Europe and the rest of the world. By using to their best advantage its “vocations”, always scrupulously documented by the Observatory: life sciences, agricultural and food industry, 4.0 manufacturing, art, culture and design, finance.

These are interesting data which can also be extracted from the “Report about the city – Milan 2018” prepared by the Ambrosianeum Foundation and published yesterday (the person in charge is Angela Lodigiani, a well-documented researcher): numbers and analyses particularly in relation to economic and social questions, with a sound memory of the past and a perspective directed towards the “2040 Agenda”: major cities need a wide-ranging programme for public initiatives and private investments. The new government itself will be able to take this into account, as it tries to deal competently with the investments linked to the “Pact for Milan”, in order to sustain innovation, infrastructure, research, the development of the Human Technopole and everything else which will be required to avoid plunging into crisis the growth of the most dynamic area of the Italian economy, the “locomotive” which can drive forward the train of future growth.

Data, which are clear and well-classified, can also be found in another document which was revealed to the public over recent days: the Social Balance Sheet of the Palace of Justice of Milan, a summary of the activities of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Tribunal, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Republic Prosecutor’s Office, Juvenile Court and Court of Protection. The “justice system” investigated (with the cooperation of the SDA Bocconi Business School and of Assolombarda) in all those of its aspects which have an impact on its stakeholders: citizens, businesses, other public administrations. Here too, data and analyses, comparisons and assessments of measurement and efficiency, effectiveness and timeliness. The cliché of slow justice applies only modestly to Milan: despite the lack of magistrates and judicial personnel, the backlog has been reduced and, just to quote one statistic, the average duration of a civil appeal case was 545 days (one year and six months), half the 1,061 days of the national average and in fact less than the 631 days of the average for the European benchmark.

There still remains much to do, naturally. But actually the data, when they are carefully collected and explained, show that in Milan in fact there is a connection between the way the metropolis functions, development, competitiveness, attractiveness and social equilibrium, such as that which can be guaranteed by a sound justice system. Data, not chatter.

The roads are marked by the combination of circular economy methods with the social company model

The horizon of good corporate culture is now also outlined by practices that are connected to the circular economy and the social company. Different paradigms from traditional ones (even if only in part, upon closer observation), these approaches to the production facts need to be known. Especially if you think about the relationships between business activities and social context, between factories and the territory. “L’economia circolare per il rilancio dell’impresa sociale” (The circular economy for the relaunch of the social company) by Ilaria De Benedictis (University of Naples Parthenope) is therefore something you would do well to read for various reasons: it provides an updated and clear framework of concepts, linking together the circular economy with the social company. Providing a glimpse of important developments for all production organisations.

The circular economy – according to the author -, is an economic model that goes beyond the boundaries of the company and that implies significant, far-reaching changes to processes not just within the companies wishing to adopt this model but also in the relations between social players”. And not just that, because the approach of the circular economy “is not only environmental or ethical, i.e. it does not not merely aim to reduce emissions, to preserve our planet and to avoid the indiscriminate use of its resources, but it represents an effective economic model since it creates opportunities for innovation and synergies, it creates new jobs, it produces efficiency and hence savings and it creates new profit”.De Benedictis goes on to explain that when the circular economy is joined by the work of a social company, then this can indeed lead to new roads capable of taking even traditional companies extremely far.

The article by De Benedictis is not only extremely smooth to read, but it also provide a clear analysis of the topics. It then initially illustrates the social economy and the social company, and then the circular economy and subsequently the latter seen as a “new development model” for social companies. It thus outlines a sort of new development path with respect to the past, made up of a corporate culture that is more attentive to man and together with productivity, the environment and well-balanced growth.

L’economia circolare per il rilancio dell’impresa sociale (The circular economy for the relaunch of the social company)

Ilaria De Benedictis (University of Naples Parthenope)

Paper presented at the XII Scientific Meeting on the social company, 25-25 May 2018, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, ISBN 978-88-909832-7-6

Describing the bonds between business ethics and management and exploring the role of entrepreneurs in civic life

Business ethics and social ethics. Good economy and good society. Businesses as local players and progress drivers. Binomials such as these should be consolidated and common. On the contrary, they are still not as broadly disseminated as they should be. More often than not, the convention is towards degeneration. On the contrary, ethics (also corporate) should be the foundation on which to build. This is the topic of Francesco Corti’s dissertation entitled “Corporate Ethics as a Resource for Social Development and Company Development to Fight the Mafia” presented to the Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Science of Milan University.

Corti applied the concept according to which corporate ethics are intrinsically linked to the nature of entrepreneurs themselves, one made of creativity, pride, dedication for their company, ability to enhance people and intelligent professional choices. So, good economy is based on good entrepreneurs, that is on people who are dedicated to their company and who are first and foremost true workers.

On these premises, Corti developed his thesis presenting the underlying principles of ethics applied on manufacturing before moving onto the relationships between corporate ethics and social responsibility (including the degenerations of this relationship). He then explored a selection of corporate ethics case studies focusing on affairs related to the Mafia and economics and providing examples of good corporate economics. The text touched on the working experiences of Marco Vitale and Giovanni Falcone, the cases of Libera Terra, Addiopizzo, Altromercato, Officina Casona and La Tela.

Francesco Corti’s writing style is heart-felt and accurate. In one of the last paragraphs, he states: “Corporate ethics (…) must be lived, metabolised and seen as intrinsic to the economic organisation”. In relatively few pages, Corti successively condensed an extensive knowledge and, more importantly, a corporate feeling that is worth being cultivated and disseminated. The result is a text that spans beyond that of simple dissertation.

Corporate Ethics as a Resource for Social Development and Company Development to Fight the Mafia”

Francesco Corti

Dissertation, Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Science, Milan University, 2017

With the end of the school year, also the Educational programme for the 2017/2018 academic year comes to a close for its summer break.

This year, about 100 classes and 2000 students took part in the teaching activities planned and put on by the Pirelli Foundation, with a choice of 20 thematic courses.

A whole array of subjects were examined, ranging from the design and production of a tyre to the evolution of advertising graphics and visual communication, from the organisation and editing of a top-name magazine to the analysis of historic archive photographs, through to corporate cinema and road safety issues.

This year, primary and upper- and lower-secondary schools were able to bring some of the courses to their own classrooms. Pirelli Foundation Educational thus went to a number of schools in Milan and Lombardy, taking its own multimedia supports and creative materials.

The tours to find out about the Bicocca area were again greeted with great enthusiasm. Lower- and upper-secondary school students were able to visit the Pirelli Headquarters and they examined archival materials and watched historic videos, learning how the district has changed over the years. They were able to enter the chemical analysis laboratories and find out about the materials that make up a tyre, watching the main indoor tests that a tyre is subjected to during the design stage in the Research and Development laboratories.

Again this year, Pirelli Foundation Educational also opened its doors to the Industrial Centre in ​​Settimo Torinese and the Next MIRS factory in Milano Bicocca, two of Pirelli’s most technologically advanced plants, to show the students the world of Industry 4.0, the digital, robotic, interconnected factory.

Lastly, 60 teachers took part in the sixth edition of the programme with the Cinema & History training and refresher course organised in collaboration with Fondazione ISEC and the Fondazione Cineteca Italiana. The course, entitled For a Lexicon of the Contemporary World: Understanding and Teaching the Contemporary Age, examined some important issues concerning the contemporary world, such as geopolitics, the new frontiers of work, and the relationship between finance and the real economy, through lessons, workshops and film screenings.

Follow us on fondazionepirelli.org to find out what’s new in the 2018/2019 programme.

A piece of research carried out by INAPP sets out and explains the conditions needed for the creation of business networks

Joining forces to deal better with events. It may not be a new idea, but it is undoubtedly still a valid one. Even if  – especially if – we are talking about the economy and production. It is not an easy endeavour, mind you, to ‘get together’ to do more and do it better. It requires careful scrutiny, especially in terms of how to utilise human resources. Which is what the research group headed by INAPP has provided, with an analysis of the links between the need to create networks between companies, existing human resources and the need for training. “Reti d’imprese come sistemi dinamici. Uno studio sul modello organizzativo delle competenze” (Business networks as dynamic systems. A study of the organisational model of skills) is the report – edited by Anna Vaiasicca –  which emerges from this set of investigations.

The basis for the study is the constant need to confront globalisation with robust and competitive business networks. A need which Italian companies appear to have met with positive results so far, but which could still be improved even further. Starting with training and the development of relevant skills.

The report is laid out in four successive parts. The first contains a summary of the general topic of “business networks as the integration of knowledge”, followed by an in-depth look at the Italian experience, with a particular focus on network contracts. Next there is a closer look at the setting up and activity of “business network systems”, examining their internal dynamics and the role of human resources. It is in this section that we can find recommendations related to skills to develop. The study then concludes with an in-depth analysis of several case studies (though they are almost all anonymous). The case studies include “a first group of networks of both small and medium-sized manufacturing companies which operate in the mechanical and mechatronic sectors,” and “a network made of companies in the Varese province and a second group of companies operating in the tourist industry.”

The description of the networks found in the final part of the document is exhaustive and comprehensive. “The network system, therefore, is based on the integration of knowledge, which is also industry-specific, where every part makes a contribution in order to realise general objectives, carrying out activities which are continually redefined by the interactions of the people which participate in the execution of tasks necessitated on an occasional basis. Knowledge circulates in multiple directions. Vertically, putting management and owners in contact with suppliers, clients and production cycles, and horizontally, from individual ventures across the working team and from there, further enriched, once again towards the production units. In this shared knowledge, the rule of complex systems prevails, where it is no longer possible to distinguish between the contribution of the individuals and individual ventures, which determines a dynamic equilibrium between a shared heritage and the inside of each individual company.”

Reti d’imprese come sistemi dinamici. Uno studio sul modello organizzativo delle competenze (Business networks as dynamic systems. A study of the organisational model of skills)

Anna Vaiasicca (INAPP)

The best Italian companies are working tirelessly to produce, to innovate, to become more competitive and to export to and invest in the most dynamic markets. They are striving to make the best of their capital and intelligence so they can grasp all the opportunities  the ‘digital revolution’ has to offer (an idea reflected in recent days at the Make in Italy Festival in Thiene, Vicenza, as well as at the Festival dell’Economia in Trento). The problem is that they then find themselves slowed down by a bottleneck which makes their work far less productive: a lack of infrastructure. And so they are forced to hobble along in comparison to their rival companies from other European countries (such as Germany and France) which boast better and more efficient infrastructure: not only railways, roads, ports and airports, but also telecommunication networks and broadband for digital connections.

The fact that inadequate infrastructure and logistics are a significant constraint on Italy’s growth is confirmed in “Keep calm & Made in Italy”, the latest report on exports from SACE (the public limited company which supports foreign investments), presented on 12 June. To start with, a piece of data: Italy loses 70 billion euros in exports annually, 4% of its GDP, due to the lack of commercial infrastructure, particularly rail and maritime. And though there has been investment in recent years (147 billion euros in logistics from 2013 to 2017), we are still behind Germany (248 billion euros invested over the same period), though a little better than France (122 billion), which had done much more in the long preceding period. Italy’s investments have also been slowed down by bureaucratic inefficiencies and a climate of hostility in certain areas of public opinion which finds its way into political agendas and ‘agreements’.

The comparison with Germany is compulsory: Italy is the second biggest manufacturing country in Europe after Germany, and the first in several industry sectors (chemical, mechatronics, cutting edge pharmaceuticals and home furnishings). Our companies, especially in the ‘A4 Region’ (along the motorway route from Piemonte to Friuli and extending towards Emilia with its ‘pocket-sized multinationals’), have an extraordinary international dynamism, but we pay a ‘logistical’ cost which is too much of a restriction on our competitiveness.

This is also demonstrated by an international index, the World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index, which awards first place to Germany and only 19th place to Italy. The Global Competitive Index from the World Economic Forum is in agreement. It awards first place for the quality of infrastructure related to international trade to the Netherlands, followed by Germany, Japan and the US. France is in 9th position, the UK in 11th and Italy just 26th (“IlSole24Ore”, 9 June).

According to the SACE Report, the explanation for this lowly position lies in Italy’s ‘sea routes’: we have actually done very little – we have failed to exploit the extraordinary geographical position at the centre of the Mediterranean and, as a result of the “insufficient investment in maritime and port infrastructure between 2013 and 2017, Italy has lost connectivity concerning the principal international maritime networks.”

Infrastructure is a key area for growth, then, in order to improve the connections between Italy and its companies, the rest of Europe and the world.

Especially in a moment in which there is discussion of radical changes and regulations of international trade (as the recent G7 summit shows), with tensions on the rise regarding customs duties in the open game being played by the US. It is essential that Italy’s system, the government, the political parties and the relevant social actors define a clear strategy for growth which includes infrastructure and industrial policy among its fundamental principles.

There are some worrying tendencies emerging in this area from the majority which supports the government and seeks to banish infrastructure to the margins in the name of mistaken environmental interests. It is well worth listening to the positions of the presidents of the various regions, including Chiamparino, PD, in Piemonte and Zaia, Lega, in Veneto (“La Stampa”, 8 and 9 June), as well as Toti, Forza Italia, in Liguria, Bonaccini, PD, in Emilia Romagna and Beppe Sala, PD, the mayor of Milan. Though of differing political persuasions, they all insist that infrastructure and ‘large-scale works’ are central to the program of government and in the resulting decisions regarding investment.

There are also great international games unfolding which are seeking out Italy and its companies. Beginning with the Belt and Road Initiative, the project for a ‘new Silk Road’ between the Far East and the West, which China insists on and invests in, and which was recently at the centre of a series of meetings and initiatives from the Italian-Chinese Business Forum.The Mediterranean and the Italian ports could well have a major role to play, while Italian companies could seize extraordinary opportunities for growth in new markets. The SACE Report is very clear: “For Italy, the Belt and Road Initiative in its current configuration is an incentive for the modernisation of logistical infrastructure, a chance for collaboration and a stimulus for growth.”