L'Economia di solidarietà: il Fattore C studiato attraverso la Social Network Analysis

This thesis is an empirical research carried out in two indigenous associations –one Peruvian and the other Chilean-; which work according to solidarity economy principles; I spent two months in each. The theoretical framework adopted is developed by Luis Razeto. He discovered the presence of the solidarity as an economic factor and called it: factor C. The C letter represents the joint actions, such as: “Cooperation, Community and Collaboration” (Razeto 2015c). The research objectives are two: to check if the case studies are really part of solidarity economy and to point out Factor C effects on individuals, the associations as a whole and its capacity to be an attractive force for the operator outside the solidarity movement. The methodology is the social network analysis (SNA). I administered two specific surveys and operationalized the factor C through the calculation of structural indicators. It was possible to prove that factor C is really at work in both case studies and to check its effects. The indicators show that the groups are tight. The individuals are reinforced. It is a force of attraction due to the partaking of members in solidarity economy networks. A limit of the methodology is that SNA surveys are always difficult to be administered because they involve sensitive data. An advantage, network data allow to track the interaction between case studies and the social environment, this allow to grasp the presence of threats and opportunities to their growth.