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The Role of Social Cooperatives in the Work Inclusion of People with Disability During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Case from Italy

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Towards Digital and Sustainable Organisations (ItAIS 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation ((LNISO,volume 65))

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Abstract

One of the more striking effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the worsening of inequalities, especially for already vulnerable people. This is the case for people with disability who came into the COVID-19 crisis already facing significant exclusion from employment. Based on a single case study research project concerning an Italian province, the current paper highlights the role social cooperatives played in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic on the work inclusion of people with disability during the most acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. By triangulating multiple sources of evidence (both qualitative and quantitative), the study identifies local embeddedness and organisational hybridity as the most relevant properties that allowed cooperatives to play that role. This result confirms social cooperatives as fundamental actors for social innovation and primary partners for public administration within a plural welfare system.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Insubria, Como, Italy

    Walter Castelnovo, Giuseppe Aquino & Paola Consonni

  2. PoliS Lombardia, Milan, Italy

    Federico Rappelli

Authors
  1. Walter Castelnovo
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  2. Giuseppe Aquino
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  3. Paola Consonni
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  4. Federico Rappelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Walter Castelnovo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Milano, Italy

    Alessandra Lazazzara

  2. Department of Law, Economics and Sociology, Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy

    Rocco Reina

  3. Department of Management and Business Administration, University "G. d'Annunzio", Pescara, Italy

    Stefano Za

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Castelnovo, W., Aquino, G., Consonni, P., Rappelli, F. (2024). The Role of Social Cooperatives in the Work Inclusion of People with Disability During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Case from Italy. In: Lazazzara, A., Reina, R., Za, S. (eds) Towards Digital and Sustainable Organisations. ItAIS 2022. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation, vol 65. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52880-4_2

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