Ethical strategic alliances for the sustainable recovering of a territory

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze a case study of an ethical strategic allianceoperating in a depressed territory belonging to the South of Italy, with the aim to investigate whether analliance guided by ethic principles could be effective in recovering a territory while pursuing, at thesame time, economic aims for the alliance itself and for the whole territory.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study approach. The analyses of the casedata, including in-depth interviews and documentary evidence, interpreted by the authors andsupported by literature review, allow for the main research question to be addressed: “Could ethicalnetworks contribute to recover a territory?”.Findings – The case analysis delivers new insights into the relationships between business and ethics.The findings also provide evidence that it is possible, even in a depressed area, to conjugate ethics andbusiness with reciprocal advantages for the organizations and the territory, in the light of the creed of theMagna Grecia, kalokagathìa (the good and the beautiful).Social implications – The findings of the GOEL strategic alliance provide evidence of the role thatcould be played by networks in supporting social innovations, thus highlighting clear implications forpolicy makers, as there is still scarce empirical evidence available to inform governments on how theycan influence, support and facilitate the formation of networks.Originality/value – This is one of the few studies adopting an ethical perspective in studying alliancesand, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first study pursuing the aim to investigate how andwhether an ethical network can succeed in recovering a depressed territory.