Green coops: Drivers of innovation for circular strategies among Italian cooperatives

The distinct characteristics of cooperatives, grounded in values such as self-help, selfresponsibility, etc. (ICA) make them a distinctive form of enterprise that necessitates examination. As other forms of enterprise, cooperatives bear the same onus of ensuring sustainability. To comprehend the social and economic contribution of cooperatives, we investigate their impact and role in attaining environmental sustainability, focusing on circular strategies. Preliminary literature in EI finds that cooperatives facilitate the implementation of some circular economy (CE) processes with general cooperation as an EI driver. After reviewing the literature on the drivers behind the introduction of EI in SMEs, we sought to investigate the specific drivers for cooperatives. To do this, we employed an econometric model to examine CES behaviour in a sample of over 280 Italian cooperatives across various regions and sectors in Italy. The findings underscore the role of cooperation and key managerial factors as drivers for implementation of circular economy innovative strategies. While innovation drivers have been researched for SMEs, the absence on research focusing on the cooperative model, makes this paper strongly relevant to investigate how a specific firms structure would lead to their transition to be a circular innovative cooperative or rather “green” cooperative.