Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Made in Carcere: Integral Human Development in Extreme Conditions

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper analyzes the case of Made in Carcere, an innovative social enterprise providing jobs to one of the most marginalized groups in society: convicted women. Relying on an extensive database that covers 8 years of activity, we propose a micro-level analysis of the processes adopted by Made in Carcere to foster the integral human development of convicted women, its target stakeholders. We show that this complex effort has successfully unfolded through two macro-processes: creating a safe space for experimentation and allowing convicted women to bridge their experience to the outside reality. Our work provides evidence of an organization that successfully confronts the restrictive and dehumanizing setting of prisons by means of market mechanisms that can foster convicted women’s integral human development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alvesson, M., & Kärreman, D. (2007). Constructing mystery: Empirical matters in theory development. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1265–1281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquinas, T. (1948) [1273]. Summa theologica. Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Allen, TX: Thomas More Publishing.

  • Associazione Antigone. (2016). I detenuti hanno ricominciato a crescere. Il Pre-rapporto 2016 di Antigone. http://www.associazioneantigone.it/news/antigone-news/2972-i-detenuti-hanno-ricominciato-a-crescere-il-pre-rapporto-2016-di-antigone.

  • Balbo, F. (1962). Idee per una filosofia dello sviluppo umano. Torino: Boringhieri.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battilana, J., & Lee, M. (2014). Advancing research on hybrid organizing—Insights from the study of social enterprises. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 397–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battilana, J., Sengul, M., Pache, A. C., & Model, J. (2015). Harnessing productive tensions in hybrid organizations: The case of work integration social enterprises. Academy of Management Journal, 58(6), 1658–1685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beckford, M. (2012). European prisoner population doubles over decade. In The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9134365/European-prisoner-population-doubles-over-decade.html. Accessed Jan 2017.

  • Bénabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2002). Self-confidence and personal motivation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(3), 871–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedict XVI (2009). Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate.

  • Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1985). A constru¸ cão social da realidade (19a ed.). Petrópolis: Vozes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolsieri, F. (2014). Formazione, crowdfunding, sviluppo umano integrale. Lecce, Italy: Pensa Multimedia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botto, E., Beretta, S., & Citterio, F. (2011). Ripensare lo sviluppo. Sfide e prospettive dalla caritas in veritate. Milano, Italy: Vita e Pensiero—Pubblicazioni dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouckaert, L., & Zsolnai, L. (Eds.). (2011). The Palgrave handbook of spirituality and business. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruce, W. (1994). Ethical people are productive people. Public Productivity & Management Review, 17(3), 241–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brusoni, S., & Vaccaro, A. (2017). Ethics, technology and organizational innovation. Journal of Business Ethics, 143(2), 223–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushway, S. D., Stoll, M. A., & Weiman, D. (Eds.). (2007). Barriers to re-entry? The labor market for released prisoners in post-industrial America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cammarata, G., Pennisi, S., & Scaccianoce, G. (2015). The Italian prisons: An emblematic case of chance of improvement of a public service. In Toulon-Verona Conference “Excellence in Services”.

  • Case, P., & Fasenfest, D. (2004). Expectations for opportunities following prison education: A discussion of race and gender. Journal of Correctional Education, 55, 24–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castellano, T. C., & Soderstrom, I. R. (1997). Self-esteem, depression, and anxiety evidenced by a prison inmate sample: Interrelationships and consequences for prison programming. The Prison Journal, 77(3), 259–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castellano, L., & Stasio, D. (2009). Diritti e castighi: Storie di umanità cancellata in carcere. Il saggiatore.

  • Catta S. J. G. (2015). Svilppo integrale. Aggiornamenti Sociali, 66(3), 260–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Concato, G., & Rigione, S. (2005). Per non morire di carcere. Esperienze di aiuto nelle prigioni italiane tra psicologia e lavoro di rete.

  • Cooney, T. M. (2012). Reducing recidivism through entrepreneurship programmes in prisons. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 13(2), 125–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coyle, A. (2003). Humanity in Prison: Questions of definition and audit. London: International Centre for Prison Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cremers, M. (2017). What corporate governance can learn from catholic social teaching. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(4), 711–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • das Neves, J. C. (2009). Introdução à ética empresarial. Cascais, Portugal: Principia Editora Lda.

  • das Neves, J. C., & Melé, D. (2013). Managing ethically cultural diversity: Learning from Thomas Aquinas. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(4), 769–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dermer, J. (1975). The interrelationship of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 18(1), 125–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Ciaccio, S. (2004). Il fattore «relazioni interpersonali » . Fondamento e risorsa per lo sviluppo economico (Vol. 12). Roma: Città Nuova.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dipartimento Amministrazione Penitenziaria—Ufficio per lo sviluppo e la gestione del sistema informativo automatizzato—Sezione Statistica. (2012). Detenuti inseriti in corsi professionali—II Semestre 2012. https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_1_14_1.page?facetNode_1=0_2&facetNode_2=1_5_29&contentId=SST877282&previsiousPage=mg_1_14.

  • Doise, W., & Palmonari, A. (1988). Lo studio socio-psicologico dello sviluppo individuale. In Interazione sociale e sviluppo della persona, Doise W. e Polmonari A.(a cura di), Il Mulino, Bologna.

  • D.P.R. [Decreto del presidente della Repubblica, “Decree of the President of the Republic”], June 30, 2000, No. 230.

  • Drucker, E. (2013). A plague of prisons: The epidemiology of mass incarceration in America. New York: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duwe, G., & Clark, V. (2013). Blessed be the social tie that binds. The effects of prison visitation on offender recidivism. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 24, 271–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elçi, M., & Alpkan, L. (2009). The impact of perceived organizational ethical climate on work satisfaction. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(3), 297–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falcone, M. (2012). Carceri, lo spazio è finito: Emergenza sovraffollamento nelle prigioni italiane. Italy: Infinito edizioni.

  • Fazel, S., Grann, M., Kling, B., & Hawton, K. (2011). Prison suicide in 12 countries: An ecological study of 861 suicides during 2003–2007. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46(3), 191–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finn, D. K. (Ed.). (2012). The moral dynamics of economic life: An extension and critique of caritas in veritate. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, D. R. (2001). Ex-offenders, the labour market and the new public administration. Public Administration, 79(4), 871–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, D. R. (2004). Reducing re-offending: The enterprise option. London: Small Business Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, P. E., Fred, J., Miller, D., & Paul, J. (1999). Human flourishing. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fruehwald, S., Frottier, P., Matschnig, T., & Eher, R. (2003). The relevance of suicidal behaviour in jail and prison suicides. European Psychiatry, 18(4), 161–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2012). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grassl, W. (2013). Integral human development in analytical perspective: A Trinitarian model. Journal of Markets and Morality, 16(1), 135–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gussak, D. (2007). The effectiveness of art therapy in reducing depression in prison populations. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51(4), 444–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, J. (1991). Pre-employment information services: Employers beware. Employee Relations Law Journal, 17, 45–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haney, C. (2006). The wages of prison overcrowding: Harmful psychological consequences and dysfunctional correctional reactions. Wash. UJL & Pol’y, 22, 265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Keyes, K., Hamilton, A., Uddin, M., & Galea, S. (2015). The collateral damage of mass incarceration: Risk of psychiatric morbidity among nonincarcerated residents of high-incarceration neighborhoods. American Journal of Public Health, 105(1), 138–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, J. M., & Shepherd, D. A. (2011). Toward a theory of discontinuous career transition: Investigating career transitions necessitated by traumatic life events. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 501–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzer, H. J., Raphael, S., & Stoll, M. A. (2004). Will employers hire former offenders? Employer preferences, background checks, and their determinants. In M. Pattillo, D. Weiman, & B. Western (Eds.), Imprisoning America: The social effects of mass incarceration (pp. 205–246). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Italian Law [Legge], No. 354, July 26, 1975.

  • Italian Ministry of Justice (accessed July 2016). https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_1_14.wp?selectedNode=0_2.

  • Kant, I. (1949) Fundamental principles of the metaphysics of morals (trans: Ellington, J. W.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.

  • Kraemer, B. (1998). DEVELOPMENT—Principles for integral human development in Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. International Journal of Social Economics, 25(11/12), 1727–1738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langan, P. A., & Levin, D. J. (2002). Recidivism of prisoners released in 1994. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 15(1), 58–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leo XIII (1891) Encyclical-letter ‘Rerum Novarum’. www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyc-licals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html. Accessed Jan 2017.

  • Lepoutre, J. M., & Valente, M. (2012). Fools breaking out: The role of symbolic and material immunity in explaining institutional nonconformity. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 285–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llano, C. (2004). Humildad y liderazgo: Necesita el empresario ser humilde?. Mexico: Herberto Ruz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loucks, N., Lyner, O., & Sullivan, T. (1998). The employment of people with criminal records in the European Union. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 6(2), 195–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martelli, A., & Zurla, P. (1995). Il lavoro oltre il carcere. [Working beyond the prison] Angeli, Milano.

  • Martìnez, E. (2010). La vocación de la persona al desarrollo humano integral. In Melé, D., & Castellà, J.M. (Eds.), El Desarrollo Humano Integral Comentarios interdisciplinares a la encíclica Caritas in Veritate de Benedicto XVI. Editorial Iter.

  • Melé, D. (2003). The challenge of humanistic management. Journal of Business Ethics, 44(1), 77–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melé, D. (2009). Business ethics in action: Seeking human excellence in organizations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Melé, D. (2015). Three keys concepts of catholic humanism for economic activity: Human dignity, human rights and integral human development. In D. Melé & M. Schlag (Eds.), Humanism in economics and business: Perspectives of the catholic social tradition (Vol. 43, pp. 113–136). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melé, D., Argandoña, A., & Sanchez-Runde, C. (2011). Facing the crisis: Toward a new humanistic synthesis for business. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(1), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melé, D., & Schlag, M. (Eds.). (2015). Humanism in economics and business: Perspectives of the Catholic social tradition (Vol. 43). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1991). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. In P. J. Dimaggio & W. W. Powell (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 41–62). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss, P., & Tilly, C. (2001). Stories employers tell. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musso, G. (2008). L’impero dei balocchi trema? Tendenze, criteri, proposte sul divertimento. Torino: Effatà Editrice.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, I., Baumer, E. P., & Hughes, N. (2008). Recidivism in the Republic of Ireland. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 8(2), 123–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Openpolis (2016). Dentro o Fuori, il sistema carcerario italiano tra vita in carcere e reinserimento sociale, November 2016, Associazione Openpolis.

  • Pagano, L. (1995). Rapporto degli ispettori europei sullo stato delle carceri in Italia. [European inspectors report on the situation of the Italian prison system]. Sellerio, Palermo.

  • Pasinya, M. (2013). Sviluppo integrale, solidale e durevole. http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/it/lectio/sviluppointegrale.html.

  • Patzelt, H., Williams, T. A., & Shepherd, D. A. (2014). Overcoming the walls that constrain us: The role of entrepreneurship education programs in prison. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(4), 587–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, V. I. (1967). Encyclical letter populorum progressio. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 59, 257–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelanda, D. (2010). Mondo recluso: Vivere in carcere in Italia oggi. [Reclused world: living in prison in Italy today] Effata Editrice IT.

  • Pettigrew, A. M. (1990). Longitudinal field research on change: Theory and practice. Organization Science, 1(3), 267–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, J. (2008). Scandinavian exceptionalism in an era of penal excess part I: The nature and roots of Scandinavian exceptionalism. British Journal of Criminology, 48(2), 119–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, H., & Dutta, S. (2012). Free spaces as organizational weapons of the weak: Religious festivals and regimental mutinies in the 1857 Bengal Native Army. Administrative Science Quarterly, 57, 625–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichertz, J. (2007). Abduction: The logic of discovery of grounded theory. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds.), Handbook of grounded theory (pp. 214–228). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ristretti Orizzonti. (accessed March 2017). Morire di carcere: Dossier 2000–2017: http://www.ristretti.it/areestudio/disagio/ricerca.

  • Sandelands, L. (2009). The business of business is the human person: Lessons from the Catholic social tradition. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(1), 93–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandonà, L. (2013). Broadening neoclassical human capital theory for the attainment of integral human development. Journal of Markets and Morality, 16(1), 25–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, F. M. (2012). A positive theory of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics, 111(3), 335–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, F., Pache, A. C., & Birkholz, C. (2015). Making hybrids work. California Management Review, 57(3), 36–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (2014). Expulsions: Brutality and complexity in the global economy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sedgley, N. H., Scott, C. E., Williams, N. A., & Derrick, F. W. (2010). Prison’s dilemma: Do education and jobs programmes affect recidivism? Económica, 77, 497–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (2001). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sison, A. J. G., & Fontrodona, J. (2012). The common good of the firm in the Aristotelian–Thomistic tradition. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(2), 211–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, N. C. (2014). Morality and the market (Routledge Revivals): Consumer pressure for corporate accountability. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Spaemann, R. (2005). Happiness and benevolence (p. 2005). Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzeck, H. (2011). An integrated model of humanistic management. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(1), 51–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Procedures and techniques for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streeten, P. (1994). Human development: Means and ends. The American Economic Review, 84(2), 232–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taggi, F., Tatarelli, R., Polidori, G., & Mancinelli, I. (1998). Il Suicidio nelle Carceri in Italia: Uno Studio Epidemiologico (1996–1997). Rassegna Penitenziaria e Criminologica, 1(3), 197–214.

  • Tartaro, C. (2002). The impact of density on jail violence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(6), 499–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, V. W. (1986). Dewey, Dilthey, and drama: An essay in the anthropology of experience. In V. W. Turner & E. M. Bruner (Eds.), The anthropology of experience (pp. 33–44). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaccaro, A. (2017). Social enterprises and human integral development. In: Proceedings IESE-LUISS conference 2017.

  • Vaccaro, A., & Palazzo, G. (2015). Values against violence: Institutional change in societies dominated by organized crime. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1075–1101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaccaro, A., & Russo, F. (2013). Lo sviluppo umano integrale & le organizzazioni lavorative. Siena, Italy: Edizioni Cantagalli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, J. J. M., Manchin, R., Van Kesteren, J., Nevala, S., & Hideg, G. (2005). The burden of crime in the EU. Research Report: A comparative analysis of the european crime and safety survey (EU CIS), Gallup Europe, Brussels.

  • Walmsley, R. (2016). World prison population list 11th edition. London, England: International Center for Prison Studies. http://prisonstudies.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/world_prison_population_list_11th_edition_0.pdf.

  • Wartna, B. (2009), Presentation to Pompidou Group, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, WODC, 11 September, Research Bureau of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, The Hague.

  • Weeks, W. A., Loe, T. W., Chonko, L. B., & Wakefield, K. (2004). The effect of perceived ethical climate on the search for sales force excellence. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24(3), 199–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Prison Brief. (2017a). Accessed January 2017. http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All.

  • World Prison Brief. (2017b). Accessed January 2017. http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/italy.

Download references

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Human and Animal Rights

This article does not contain any research on animals performed by any of the authors.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, as well as with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants whose identifying information is included in this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Mongelli.

Additional information

Ethical Challenges in Strategic Management: The 19th IESE International Symposium on Ethics Business and Society Editors at the Journal of Business Ethics are recused from all decisions relating to submissions with which there is any identified potential conflict of interest. Submissions to the Journal of Business Ethics from editors of the journal are handled by a senior independent editor at the journal and subject to full double blind peer review processes.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mongelli, L., Versari, P., Rullani, F. et al. Made in Carcere: Integral Human Development in Extreme Conditions. J Bus Ethics 152, 977–995 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3821-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3821-6

Keywords

Navigation