• change managment
• sociology of emotions

A vast literature in the field of management studies is dedicated to the study of emotions at an organisational level (e.g. Callahan and McCollum, 2002; Kiefer, 2002). These contributions generally deal with organisational structures that are strictly hierarchical and in which the study of emotions enquires their effect on organizational efficiency, performance and change. The literature of organizational change in third sector organisations, on the other hand, generally does not deal with the contribution to this dynamics of individual or collective emotions. The question that is regarded as most interesting seems instead to focus on the risks that can arise for the social mission of these organisations as a by-product of their struggle to survive in the market. This thesis offers a different viewpoint on the
topic of organisation change in that it studies the role of the emotional dimension of organisations such as social enterprises (SEs), which are characterised by a democratic structure and a socially-oriented missions. To this end, this study nmoves from the perspective of organisation theory rather than from a managerial viewpoint. As a consequence, the aim of this work will be neither to offer guidelines for managers nor to examine the implications of emotions for organizational efficiency or performance. On the contrary, I will show that, in participated organisations, emotions can be considered a crucially important element in defining the collective rationality of the collective decision making process. This aspect is particularly evident in situations in which profound organisational change is required to ensure survival in a rapidly evolving context. For this reason, it is important to frame such processes of change in the historical, political and institutional context in which they take place.

Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, many organisations across Europe have been going through a phase of profound changes. In particular, the crisis has produced a transformation in southern European welfare systems, especially since 2011, when governments started cutting funds for the third sector and social intervention. In this context, the balance in the relationship between the fundamental elements of the welfare state has changed. In southern countries, third sector organisations have been dealing with two problems: a social crisis, which has increased the needs of the less advantaged segments of the population, and austerity policies, which have drained resources from social welfare systems, and thus affected the work of third sector organisations and SEs addressing those social needs, sometimes jeopardising their survival. SEs such as SCs and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have often experienced a high level of uncertainty due to their financial dependence on local or national administrations, and with the crisis they have been forced to find new solutions to address a continuously changing environment. I examine the cases of a sample of organisations that have dealt with uncertainty, focusing first on how external and internal relationships were affected in organisations that experienced transformations as they adapted to the harsher external environment.

I then study how organisational emotions can affect decision making processes in situations characterised by uncertainty and ambiguity. To this aim, I propose an Action Research approach based on four investigative areas (social belonging, information, interaction and leadership) to uncover how the internal dynamics of organisations can facilitate collective learning processes in an dynamic environment. First, I look at the macro dimension by analysing whether a specific context can foster the development of particular organisational traits and types. Once the effect of the context is clarified, the lens of organizational complexity theories helps us understand how organisations thrive or collapse by highlighting the relationship between the internal and external context. The empirical part of the thesis focuses on the internal organisational environment in two case studies from southern European countries - Italy and Spain - where I implemented Action Research projects aimed at studying the internal dynamics of democratic SEs. In both cases the organisations operated in the same field and geographical region and were going through a profound internal reorganisation, thus providing an ideal test bed to shed light on how the emotions that surface during phases of organisational change can affect the outcome of the process in both positive and negative ways. I discuss the empirical evidence by relating it to four areas of investigation, which help us synthetically capture the essence of the dynamics that are activated at the organisational level during organizational learning processes.

Key evidence from this work lends support to the idea that democratic organisations that recognise the relevance of the emotional dimension and of an open discussion develop greater flexibility during phases of internal change, while those that have difficulty allowing for democratic exchange among members influence organisation evolution have to deal with implicit emotional burdens that block or hinder change. Analysing the case studies through the lens of the investigative areas allows us to shed light on how democratic social enterprises experience and manage emotions, cope with environmental changes, and learn to be more flexible in pursuing their social mission.