The Relationships Between CSR, Good Governance and Accountability in the Economy of Communion (EoC) Enterprises

Abstract

The chapter aims to propose a reflection on the new frontiers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the principles and practices of good governance that are based on the experience of the Economy of Communion (EoC) enterprises which can be defined as companies with an “ideal motive” in that they are the results of a charismatic founder (Chiara Lubich) and the fruit of an ethical substratum, that directs every field of human behavior and, therefore, that economic behavior too. The experience of EoC enterprises was initiated in Brazil in 1991 to solve poverty problems near the São Paulo area, and now it has developed all over the world with 1,000 enterprises that are located in every continent. After presenting the theoretical framework, the study is based on the empirical analysis of two cases of Italian EoC businesses (Ridix spa and Rainbow Library Engraved in Val d’Arno-FI (Florence)) in which the principles of communion and reciprocity enter as fundamental elements of the mission, governance and accountability. A specific attention has been addressed to the mechanisms (operating procedures, decision-making processes and the logic of power) relative to the governance, trying to outline how the relationship develops dynamically with the CSR and the communion which is declined in this context as: dialogue, trust and reciprocity. The comparative perspective in which the cases are presented highlights the different economic results that are achieved in spite of the same intense application of CSR and the EoC pillars in managing the businesses. The reflections that emerged contribute to deepen the knowledge of a phenomenon which has been studied by scholars in various fields, to offer insights on the coherence of the enterprise’s governance according to the EoC project guidelines and to diffuse good examples of a new culture of solidarity.