Abstract
Contemporary business is required to be more sustainable by contributing also to the preservation of the natural environment and to the social wellbeing, in addition to the achievement of traditional financial results. This work deals with sustainability accounting and reporting issues in the context of private family firms. It starts with an extensive literature review on management accounting and control systems related to sustainability arguments. Then, by using the case-study method, it moves to the empirical investigation of sustainability reporting activities in private family firms. Foremost, it embraces the theoretical lens of socio-emotional wealth preservation in family firms to explore the motivations and implications of sustainability reporting activities. Next, it explores the institutionalization of voluntary sustainability reporting, highlighting drivers, outcomes and implications for management control systems. The study contributes to the understanding of why and how firms face and manage environmental and social issues. First, it offers a systematic presentation of frameworks, models and tools developed in the field of sustainability management accounting. Second, it provides empirical evidence on the influence of socio-emotional features on engagement with sustainability and reporting activities, by showing the interaction between the family and the business domain. Finally, it enriches the understanding of the development of accounting practices in private firms, providing insights into organizational drivers and outcomes of sustainability management.