Formal Cooperation for Developing Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Among Tourism SMEs in Italy: Insights, Limits and Potentialities of the Network Contract

Abstract

This work deals with the theme of businesses’ networks through the network contract (Italian Law. n. 33 of 9th April 2009 and subsequent modifications). Furthermore it develops several preliminary reflections that have emerged from an analysis of current literature and from empirical research on the role of the network contract (NC) in sustaining the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourist sector and at the same time making the most of the territory. The paper is made up of two main parts. The first presents the theoretical framework focused on forms of inter-firm collaboration which include the network contract. The second part underlines the results of a first exploratory investigation into network contracts drawn up in the tourist sector until 2013 with the aim of identifying, on the basis of the kinds of objectives shared by companies, its potential and impact on the dissemination of the culture of sustainability and responsibility. The initial results highlight that today the network contract is not yet widely used in the tourist sector, although recent signs of growth indicate a development in the future and its effectiveness for the diffusion of forms of sustainable tourism. Even if the objectives followed through this tool of inter-firm collaboration are mainly geared toward marketing strategies, integration in the tourist industry and internationalization, they contribute to promoting the territory opening up new spaces for economic, social and environmental growth.