Laura Colombo is a Senior Lecturer in Management Studies at the University of Exeter Business School and Programme Director for BSc Business and Environment (Penryn). She is a graduate in Political Science from the University of Milan, holds an MSc in Social Economics from the University of Bologna and a PhD in Management Studies from the University of Exeter.
She joined the School in 2014 as a visiting scholar, awarded a studentship from the University of Bologna, to research the discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union funding programmes Horizon 2020. In 2015, she was awarded a fully funded PhD scholarship from the University of Exeter Business School and joined the department of Management to research social agricultural cooperation practices in Italy, with a focus on approaches and processes of scaling.
Before joining Exeter University, she worked as a project developer for the European project “Hungry for Rights. Global Learning from Local Solutions in Alternative Food Systems”, on behalf of the NGO Mani Tese. Through participatory design and development of a non-formal peer education process, the project supported the creation of local multi-stakeholder platforms on Alternative Food System issues, amplifying their voices within the national and EU food agenda. Before that, she worked across Europe as a project designer, bidding on national and European funding schemes, building partnerships with NGOs, associations, cooperatives and environmentally motivated social enterprises.
Nationality: Italian
Qualifications
MSc Social Economics
PhD Management
FHEA
Research interests
- Social and co-operative entrepreneurship
- Civic management education
- Scaling strategies of social enterprise
- Social and ecological innovation
- Alternative food systems
- Social farming
- Environmental virtue ethics
My research interests revolve around social entrepreneurship and its role in transforming relationships among people and with nature. Social enterprises – and particularly those which are environmentally motivated and cooperatively run – constitute the key focus of my research.
In this context, I’m particularly interested in understanding approaches and processes of scaling. While in the context of for-profit enterprises scaling is considered as a synonym for organisational growth, social enterprises consider scaling as a more complex matter, including processes of scaling up (e.g. organisational impact on policies), scaling out (e.g. organisational multiplication) and scaling deep (e.g. organisational impact on culture).
As part of my doctoral research, I have focused on the scaling processes of Social Agricultural Co-operatives in Italy, which are rapidly growing multi-stakeholder organisations, closely linked to social farming networks, solidarity purchasing groups, anti-mafia alliances and environmental justice movements.
My research also explores the ethical matrix of social enterprises, focusing on environmental virtue ethics as a philosophical approach that allows a redefinition of their traditional mission (e.g. from human to ecological promotion) as well as their vision (e.g. from human to ecological flourishing).
In relation to that, I am interested in Civic Management Education and its ‘praxis’. That is, reflection and action needed to reconfigure business schools around the pursuit of ecological flourishing, inclusive of human flourishing.
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Colombo LA (2023). Civilize the Business School: for a Civic Management Education.
Academy of Management Learning & Education,
22(1), 132-149.
DOI.
Colombo LA, Bailey AR, Gomes MVP (2023). Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives.
Organization, 135050842211474-135050842211474.
Abstract:
Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives
it has become normative in organization and management studies literature to consider scaling as a synonym for organizational growth. Scaling is typically understood as scaling-up. This article demonstrates that, in the context of post-growth organizations, scaling involves a more complex set of dynamics. Directing scholarly attention to scaling in the context of Italian Social Agricultural Cooperatives (i.e. organizations that hold a different rationale and modus operandi from the capitalist enterprise), this research contributes to the literature on scaling the impact of post-growth organizations by identifying nine different scaling routes: organizational growth (vertical and horizontal); organizational downscaling; impact on policies; multiplication; impact on organizational culture; impact on societal culture; aggregation; and diffusion. This article demonstrates that post-growth scaling: (1) requires the synergistic interaction of different strategies; (2) focuses on impacting societal culture; (3) does not necessarily require organizational growth; and (4) is a relational process, embedded in socio-ecological systems. The typology presented in this article empowers post-growth organizations to become more aware of different available scaling routes, unlocking their transformative potential and supporting the transition towards a post-growth future, in which the goal of economics is the pursuit of human and ecological flourishing.
Abstract.
DOI.
Sforzi J, Colombo LA (2020). New opportunities for work integration in rural areas: the 'social flavour' of craft beer in Italy.
Sustainability (Switzerland),
12(16).
Abstract:
New opportunities for work integration in rural areas: the 'social flavour' of craft beer in Italy
The last decade has seen a flourishing of social agriculture cooperatives and the exponential growth of the craft beer sector in Italy. Social microbreweries (social cooperatives that operate in the craft beer sector) have started emerging but have not yet been a focus of research. This paper explores the relationship between social agriculture and microbreweries in Italy, bridging the gap between social agricultural cooperation and craft beer production. It deploys a qualitative multiple case study methodology, based on the in-depth analysis of three case studies: Vecchia Orsa, one of the oldest social microbreweries in Italy; Pintalpina, which operates in a unique alpine setting; Articioc, established by a group of friends with a love of craft beer. This research suggests that the craft beer sector provides important opportunities for social innovation in social cooperatives, with a particular focus on the work integration of vulnerable people. In addition, this paper highlights different pathways for scaling social microbreweries, including focusing on organisational growth (growing the size of the business), scaling out (impacting greater numbers) and scaling deep (impacting cultural roots). Different scaling approaches are united by a common scaling strategy: network and partnership building. This emerges as an essential action to increase the impact of social microbreweries.
Abstract.
DOI.
Colombo LA, Pansera M, Owen R (2019). The discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union: an analysis of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and Horizon 2020.
Journal of Cleaner Production,
214, 653-665.
Abstract:
The discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union: an analysis of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and Horizon 2020
In recent years, the search for innovative pathways towards sustainability has been brought to the forefront of international agenda settings. While international organisations and institutions, such as the United Nations and the European Union (EU), mobilised around the grand challenge of sustainability, on both a local and a global scale, eco-innovation as a key concept (or buzzword) started emerging and consolidating in policy documents and funding schemes. By focusing on the European context, this paper aims to explore how the discourse of eco-innovation has been framed by the EU research funding programmes Horizon 2020 since the introduction of the 2011 Eco-Innovation Action Plan. The review was conducted by using content analysis methods designed to disclose the framing of eco-innovation in the EU programmes. The article presents three main findings: the eco-innovation discourse in the EU programmes has mostly become constructed around the notion of eco-efficiency; eco-innovation is overwhelmingly framed as a dialectic between the state vs private actors whereas stakeholders in the third sector such as cooperatives, non-governmental organisations, social enterprises, and community-based initiatives are largely neglected; eco-innovation as a buzzword has been losing relevance through the years in favour of the new rising discourse of the ‘circular economy’. The article concludes by suggesting that the construction of a new discourse on circular economy may provide opportunities to embrace more eco-centric and inclusive approaches to economics, towards stronger sustainability and the more systematic inclusion of not-for-profit organisations.
Abstract.
DOI.
Chapters
Boehm S, Sandover R, Pascucci S, Colombo L, Jackson S, Lobley M (2022). Circular food systems: a blueprint for regenerative innovations in a regional UK context. In Sage CL (Ed) A Research Agenda for Food Systems, Edward Elgar.
Publications by year
2023
Colombo LA (2023). Civilize the Business School: for a Civic Management Education.
Academy of Management Learning & Education,
22(1), 132-149.
DOI.
Colombo LA, Bailey AR, Gomes MVP (2023). Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives.
Organization, 135050842211474-135050842211474.
Abstract:
Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives
it has become normative in organization and management studies literature to consider scaling as a synonym for organizational growth. Scaling is typically understood as scaling-up. This article demonstrates that, in the context of post-growth organizations, scaling involves a more complex set of dynamics. Directing scholarly attention to scaling in the context of Italian Social Agricultural Cooperatives (i.e. organizations that hold a different rationale and modus operandi from the capitalist enterprise), this research contributes to the literature on scaling the impact of post-growth organizations by identifying nine different scaling routes: organizational growth (vertical and horizontal); organizational downscaling; impact on policies; multiplication; impact on organizational culture; impact on societal culture; aggregation; and diffusion. This article demonstrates that post-growth scaling: (1) requires the synergistic interaction of different strategies; (2) focuses on impacting societal culture; (3) does not necessarily require organizational growth; and (4) is a relational process, embedded in socio-ecological systems. The typology presented in this article empowers post-growth organizations to become more aware of different available scaling routes, unlocking their transformative potential and supporting the transition towards a post-growth future, in which the goal of economics is the pursuit of human and ecological flourishing.
Abstract.
DOI.
2022
Boehm S, Sandover R, Pascucci S, Colombo L, Jackson S, Lobley M (2022). Circular food systems: a blueprint for regenerative innovations in a regional UK context. In Sage CL (Ed) A Research Agenda for Food Systems, Edward Elgar.
2020
Sforzi J, Colombo LA (2020). New opportunities for work integration in rural areas: the 'social flavour' of craft beer in Italy.
Sustainability (Switzerland),
12(16).
Abstract:
New opportunities for work integration in rural areas: the 'social flavour' of craft beer in Italy
The last decade has seen a flourishing of social agriculture cooperatives and the exponential growth of the craft beer sector in Italy. Social microbreweries (social cooperatives that operate in the craft beer sector) have started emerging but have not yet been a focus of research. This paper explores the relationship between social agriculture and microbreweries in Italy, bridging the gap between social agricultural cooperation and craft beer production. It deploys a qualitative multiple case study methodology, based on the in-depth analysis of three case studies: Vecchia Orsa, one of the oldest social microbreweries in Italy; Pintalpina, which operates in a unique alpine setting; Articioc, established by a group of friends with a love of craft beer. This research suggests that the craft beer sector provides important opportunities for social innovation in social cooperatives, with a particular focus on the work integration of vulnerable people. In addition, this paper highlights different pathways for scaling social microbreweries, including focusing on organisational growth (growing the size of the business), scaling out (impacting greater numbers) and scaling deep (impacting cultural roots). Different scaling approaches are united by a common scaling strategy: network and partnership building. This emerges as an essential action to increase the impact of social microbreweries.
Abstract.
DOI.
2019
Colombo LA, Pansera M, Owen R (2019). The discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union: an analysis of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and Horizon 2020.
Journal of Cleaner Production,
214, 653-665.
Abstract:
The discourse of eco-innovation in the European Union: an analysis of the Eco-Innovation Action Plan and Horizon 2020
In recent years, the search for innovative pathways towards sustainability has been brought to the forefront of international agenda settings. While international organisations and institutions, such as the United Nations and the European Union (EU), mobilised around the grand challenge of sustainability, on both a local and a global scale, eco-innovation as a key concept (or buzzword) started emerging and consolidating in policy documents and funding schemes. By focusing on the European context, this paper aims to explore how the discourse of eco-innovation has been framed by the EU research funding programmes Horizon 2020 since the introduction of the 2011 Eco-Innovation Action Plan. The review was conducted by using content analysis methods designed to disclose the framing of eco-innovation in the EU programmes. The article presents three main findings: the eco-innovation discourse in the EU programmes has mostly become constructed around the notion of eco-efficiency; eco-innovation is overwhelmingly framed as a dialectic between the state vs private actors whereas stakeholders in the third sector such as cooperatives, non-governmental organisations, social enterprises, and community-based initiatives are largely neglected; eco-innovation as a buzzword has been losing relevance through the years in favour of the new rising discourse of the ‘circular economy’. The article concludes by suggesting that the construction of a new discourse on circular economy may provide opportunities to embrace more eco-centric and inclusive approaches to economics, towards stronger sustainability and the more systematic inclusion of not-for-profit organisations.
Abstract.
DOI.
I care about education as an opportunity for students and teachers to engage with societal and environmental challenges. I approach it as a practice of 'educere', an empowering activity seeking to liberate our critical and creative thinking.
Since 2016, I have contributed to several initiatives within the University of Exeter as a lecturer, a tutor and a facilitator, introducing undergraduate and postgraduate students to understanding organisations from a sustainable and critical viewpoint (e.g. in the context of ‘Food for Thought’ Grand Challenge; Exeter Progression Programme; BEM2020 Organisational Behaviour, BEMM772 Hospitality Service Management; BEM2032 Startup Entrepreneurship; BEM1018 Business and Society; BEP1110 Environment, Society and Business; BEP2070 Social Enterprise Management).
Modules
2022/23
