The Performance of Italian Cooperative Enterprises Dedicated to Education: Quantitative Results from Analysis of Financial Statements

The study uses an analytical approach to examine Italian cooperative enterprises’ economic and financial performance in the education sector. The objective is to address knowledge gaps concerning this strategically significant yet under-researched field, particularly from an economic perspective. The survey focused on 2,770 companies classified under the ATECO code 85, with financial statements analysed for 2014-2023. The analysis focused on four size variables: revenues, total assets, equity, and number of employees. The findings indicate a substantial augmentation in cooperatives’ mean economic and asset magnitude, accompanied by a pronounced internal polarisation, characterised by a predominance of micro-enterprises and a limited number of substantial enterprises. The data distributions are characterised by high skewness and kurtosis, while the median and mode report central values much lower than the averages. The sector’s heterogeneity suggests the need for alternative valuation tools to the classic parameters taken from financial statements, which are often inadequate in the cooperative context due, among other things, to the peculiarities of the rebate to members. The study will inform the construction of a permanent observatory on these companies’ economic and financial sustainability.