Patrizia Tettamanzi

The interest of academics in Integrated Reporting (IR) has shifted over the years from identifying the determinants of its adoption to the factors that improve its quality. Among these, the ownership structure can play a fundamental role in its connection with companies' corporate governance and its influence on corporate disclosure. This study, through the analysis of 184 integrated reports, aims to increase the existing knowledge on the determinants of IR quality by analyzing its relationship with the presence of sustainable investors. Three types of investors are considered: the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatories, the investors with a long‐term perspective and the institutional investors. The results, interpreted in the light of the stakeholder theory and the institutional theory, demonstrate a positive effect of the presence of sustainable investors on the quality of the reports.

This study presents a bibliometric analysis combined with a structured literature synthesis on the evolution of sustainability reporting in the context of digital transformation. The aim is to map the field, identify emerging research streams, and highlight key gaps in digitalization and sustainability reporting research. The analysis is based on 148 peer‐reviewed articles on sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, online corporate communication, digitalization, and social media, retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science up to 2025. A systematic literature review integrated with bibliometric analysis combining publication trend analysis, citation analysis, and keyword co‐occurrence network analysis is conducted. Six interrelated clusters are identified, illustrating the evolution of the field and the growing integration between digital technologies and sustainability reporting systems. Findings show a dual role of digitalization: it enhances transparency, efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and traceability of sustainability information, while also creating challenges such as data fragmentation, lack of standardization, symbolic disclosure, algorithmic opacity, and greenwashing risks. The study contributes by offering an integrated mapping of the digitalization–sustainability reporting nexus and shows that effects are context‐dependent. It provides conceptual and practical insights for organizations and future research.

Recent regulatory initiatives, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), are reinforcing the demand for more structured, transparent, and accessible sustainability reporting. However, empirical evidence on how digital tools influence the narrative dimension of these disclosures remains limited. This study explores the relationship between digitalization and the textual attributes of sustainability reporting in a civil law country context. Focusing on Italian listed companies, it investigates how the presence of digital tools and references within non‐financial reports relates to the quality of narrative content, with attention to aspects such as clarity, conciseness, and tone. Using content analysis and multivariate regression, the research explores how digital content relates to dimensions such as completeness, conciseness, readability, and tone. The findings highlight complex and differentiated effects of digitalization on the narrative quality of sustainability reports, offering implications for firms, regulators, and scholars engaged in shaping future ESG communication practices.

This study aims to investigate the role of non-financial information (NFI) in shaping Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies in the food sector. It seeks to map the intellectual structure of the field and identify the main research streams and emerging trends. A Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA) is applied to 688 academic articles published between 1975 and 2024, integrating systematic literature review techniques with bibliometric and network analysis tools in order to provide a structured overview of the research domain. The findings highlight the central role of NFI in supporting sustainability performance through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators, including carbon emissions, resource use and supply chain transparency. The results also show that structured and reliable non-financial disclosure enhances corporate legitimacy, strengthens consumer trust and supports strategic innovation aligned with stakeholder expectations. The study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive and network-based mapping of research on NFI in the food sector, identifying key thematic clusters and emerging research directions. From a practical perspective, the findings underline the importance of robust non-financial reporting frameworks to improve transparency, comparability and informed decision-making.

Purpose: This study examines how sustainable practices are implemented and communicated in Italian restaurants awarded the Michelin Green Star restaurant (MGSR). This study aims to assess the level of online transparency and identify the gap between operational sustainability and how it is communicated to the public. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods research approach was adopted. Firstly, a content analysis was carried out on the official websites of all 58 MGSR restaurants in Italy, with a view to examining six key dimensions of sustainability. Secondly, an in-depth case study was conducted through an interview with the chef at Casa Format, a restaurant renowned for its advanced sustainability practices. Findings: The findings highlight a clear imbalance in sustainability communication. While high-profile practices, such as sustainable menus, are widely publicised (94%), more complex and less tangible aspects – such as energy efficiency (14%) and community engagement (28%) – continue to be poorly communicated. The case study also highlights a significant gap between implementation and communication, demonstrating that even the most advanced practices often fail to translate into effective signals for stakeholders. These findings suggest that sustainability communication in the luxury hospitality sector is selective and fails to fully capture the depth of operational commitment. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to website-based analysis and a single case study. Future research should broaden the empirical scope through more comprehensive qualitative and quantitative approaches and explore alternative communication channels, including interactions between customers and staff and on-site communication. Practical implications: The findings provide practical guidance for restaurants, policymakers and industry bodies on how to improve transparency on the topic of sustainability. In particular, regarding the adoption of minimum disclosure standards and how the incorporation of communication practices into sustainability certification schemes could enhance the visibility and credibility of sustainable gastronomy. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature by conceptualising the gap between implementation and communication as a failure of reporting, demonstrating how limited disclosure prevents sustainability practices from gaining legitimacy and standing out. Furthermore, it expands research on luxury services by highlighting the challenges associated with communicating sustainability in experiential and intangible contexts.

In recent years, organizations are adapting their control systems to meet institutional demands for sustainability disclosure. However, the process of integrating sustainability within management control systems (MCSs) remains underexplored, despite extensive literature on sustainability controls. Through the review of 85 articles, we investigate how the integration process unfolds, how and why it is addressed by different actors and identify avenues for future research. We developed an analytical framework that highlights key actors shaping the process, their purposes, the main dimensions of integration and its potential barriers. We contribute to theory by proposing an extended framing of the process, which comprises a conceptual dimension (embedding of sustainability values and interconnection of MCSs and sustainability control systems) and a technical dimension (architecture design). We also offer practical and policy insights, clarifying the influential actors' roles, suggesting different ways to configure integrated systems and illustrating how organizations respond differently to institutional pressures.

Purpose: This study aims to examine how university students’ eating habits are formed and negotiated at the intersection of health perceptions, sustainability concerns, cultural values, and structural constraints. It seeks to identify the main factors influencing students’ food choices, the role of health and environmental considerations, and the presence of intercultural differences in consumption patterns. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative, inductive research design, using semi-structured interviews with 14 university students aged 18–26 from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds across seven countries. Data were analysed using the Gioia methodology, enabling the development of first-order concepts, second-order themes, and aggregate dimensions to build a conceptual model of eating habit formation. Findings: The findings show that students’ food choices are not driven by isolated individual preferences but emerge from dynamic interactions between structural determinants (e.g. affordability, availability, time constraints), culturally embedded food values, and selective engagement with health and environmental responsibility. While participants demonstrate growing awareness of healthy and sustainable eating, economic constraints, information asymmetries, and social dynamics often limit the translation of values into practice. Environmental concerns are widely acknowledged but inconsistently enacted, partly due to scepticism toward sustainability labels and greenwashing. Significant intercultural differences were observed in food norms, priorities, and constraints. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by proposing an integrative model that explains how university students’ eating habits are shaped through the interaction of structural conditions and cultural values, moderated by selective engagement with health and sustainability. By moving beyond attitude–behaviour explanations, the paper offers a nuanced understanding of young consumers as active agents navigating competing constraints and provides relevant insights for policy, education, and institutional food strategies.

The agri-food sector is facing increasing sustainability pressures owing to environmental and socioeconomic issues and regulatory efforts in the European context. Given this effervescent background and the growing interest of academia and players in this important industry, a systematic literature review was conducted to organise the contributions of researchers to sustainability business practises and processes, investigate current and emerging trends, and highlight possible directions for future studies. Short food supply chain (SFSC) and circular economy (CE) models have emerged as the main thematic findings and promising strategies for improving sustainability from both the environmental and social perspectives. Moreover, digitalisation, including IoT, blockchain, AI, and machine learning, is crucial for implementing SFSC and CE practises, and consequently, sustainability in the agri-food sector.

Integrating environmental and social practices into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains challenging, particularly, due to limited corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation and the lack of effective environmental management tools. This study explores the drivers behind sustainability adoption and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure among 196 Italian manufacturing SMEs in the northern region. Using a mixed-methods approach and PLS-SEM analysis, the research identifies the main factors influencing SMEs' alignment with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Results show that corporate beliefs are more influential in guiding sustainability strategies than leaders' personal backgrounds or firm characteristics. Additionally, the availability of sustainability accounting tools and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated sustainability transitions. The study provides early but significant insights into how SMEs are approaching responsible practices and offers guidance for policymakers and institutions to support this shift. It highlights the urgent need for targeted frameworks that help SMEs fully integrate social and environmental considerations, thus contributing meaningfully to the global SDGs agenda.

In un contesto giuridico sempre più interconnesso con il mondo economico-finanziario, saper leggere e intrepretare le scritture contabili e il bilancio di esercizio sono divenuti elementi cruciali nell'esercizio della professione legale. Oltre a evidenziare come l'integrazione delle competenze contabili nelle professioni giuridiche consenta una gestione più efficace ed efficiente dello studio legale, il presente contributo analizza in che modo l'accounting costituisca un vantaggio competitivo nell'esercizio della professione legale, in particolare nella gestione delle controversie in cui sono coinvolti numerosi aspetti economico-finanziari. L'articolo si conclude con un invito a valorizzare maggiormente l'insegnamento della contabilità nei percorsi formativi rivolti ai giuristi.