Public–Private Collaboration and Digital Transformation for Social Sustainability: A Case Study of a Rural Area

This article explores how public–private collaboration can drive digital transformation in rural areas to foster social sustainability. Using the strategic approach to social sustainability as an analytical framework and drawing on an in-depth case study of the partnership between Convergenze S.p.A. Società Benefit and the municipal administrations of several small towns in Italy’s Cilento region, the research analyses the roll-out of fiber-to-the-home infrastructure in underserved and unattractive territories. The study identifies three interdependent factors that make collaboration effective (community needs, mutual trust, and proximity) and shows how these elements enable digital investments to translate into social sustainability outcomes. The article demonstrates that public–private collaboration aimed at driving the digital transformation of rural areas can generate significant social sustainability impacts, which, in turn, reinforce the very foundations of the collaboration, thereby supporting new rounds of digital transformation and triggering a self-sustaining virtuous cycle. On this basis, the study proposes a circular model linking public–private collaboration, digital transformation, and social sustainability in rural contexts. It contributes both theoretically and practically to the literature on social sustainability and to the broader discourse on rural digitalization, offering actionable insights for policymakers, local administrators, and entrepreneurs.