Searching for the determinants of new social enterprises: the case of Italian social start-ups

Social start-ups constitute a subclass of the innovative entrepreneurship market and they are a relatively new topic in the literature from both the scientific and normative perspectives. In Italy, a start-up can be registered as social-oriented innovative startup (SIAVS), after demonstrating its ability to make social impacts and satisfy a set of normative requirements. This paper describes and models (at the territorial level) the presence of these innovative companies focused on social, cultural, and/or environmental needs. We combine data on the number of SIAVS and other start-ups in Italy with other socio economic quantities at the territorial level (NUTS 3 regions). Variables such as population density, metropolitan cities, number of certified incubators and percentage of non-profit organisations are identified as determinants of new social enterprises through the application of generalised linear models, while also considering the presence of zero inflation.