Young Entrepreneurship for Good: Evidence from the “Parallelo” Case Study

Entrepreneurship is a crucial driver of economic growth and social development (Acs, 2006; Acs et al., 2018; Audretsch et al., 2006; van Praag and Versloot, 2007). However, the current debate around sustainability-related goals (SDGs above-all) and the so-called “Grand Challenges”, led us to further investigate the entrepreneurial process by focussing on what’s […really…] “good” for business and for society. With the aim to contribute to the current debate, the Chapter focuses on a single longitudinal case study, namely “Officina Casona” (also known as “Parallelo”). Founded in 2017 by four young Italian social entrepreneurs, Parallelo promotes social inclusion of fragile categories and foreign people. The “formula” is the “social lab” involving creative craftsmen that collaborate in the design and creation of sustainable products based on recyclable/discarded materials. By implementing a narrative approach, the study aims at contributing to the current debate about entrepreneurial processes/goals that go beyond “pure” economic performance.