Secondo welfare e imprese : nesso e prospettive

“Second welfare” and companies: connection and perspectives With the recent economic crisis exacerbating the retrenchment of the welfare state, a number of actors begin entering in the welfare arena, leading to a new “welfare mix” or – as it has been named in the Italian debate – “second welfare”. Among these actors, the contribution of business has become a primary issue. Although a growing number of large and often multinational companies in Italy set up welfare systems in order to offer benefits and services to their employees, the Italian industrial system is made up of SMEs -­‐ small, medium and even micro enterprises -­‐ that cannot afford the costs of goods and services provided to the workforce. Other social actors -­‐ such as trade unions and employers organizations, local and regional governments, and private companies and consultants -­‐ have started to study and implement “territorial” networks for welfare in order to favour SMEs’ through the sharing of costs and services as well as to advocate for “service infrastructuring” at the local level.