Valentina Minutiello

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.

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.

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.

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.

The importance of introducing a new sustainable development paradigm to safeguard the entire planet is now undisputed. One of the tools aiming to respond to this need consists of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained within the 2030 Agenda. Businesses play a crucial role in achieving these objectives and must prove themselves to be active actors in promoting sustainable practices. However, the integration of these objectives within their business models turns out to be a complex operation, which requires numerous skills and resources. This paper consists of a systematic literature review on the topic of research on the SDGs in the areas of business, management and accounting with the aim of identifying the barriers facing communities and tools to support companies in this process, as well as possible areas for improvement. Furthermore, it allows us to identify gaps on which future research should focus. To achieve this aim, papers related to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs published in journals indexed in the Scopus database between January 2015 and June 2024 were analysed. The results demonstrated a great heterogeneity within the research area and the emergence of some important concepts, such as the circular economy, artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0, and some recurring themes, such as the role of stakeholders in achieving the SDGs and the financial and non-financial benefits of SDG strategies and practices.

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the quality of disclosure of a cutting-edge reporting tool - integrated reporting () - in terms of its effectiveness to report on COVID-19 pandemic information, its ability to provide forward-looking information and risk impact implications, and its quality determinants in challenging times. Design/methodology/approach - Thanks to a content analysis of 247 for FY20, an integrated reporting disclosure score was developed to assess the disclosure quality provided by the sampled companies. Three research questions were tested through logistic regressions. Findings - Non-financial disclosure activities struggle to provide adequate information in terms of potential future scenarios, risk assessment and forward-looking analyses. However, companies incorporated in "Anglo-Saxon" territories drafted integrated reports of higher quality. More recently, incorporated companies have made a greater effort to measure and report COVID-19 pandemic impacts on environmental, social and governance and business activities, also increasing their risk assessment and mitigation efforts. Concerning the determinants of disclosure quality, leverage, corporate governance structures, country of incorporation and belonging to "high impact" industries all lead to a higher quality of disclosure. Originality/value - Examining in detail corporate social responsibility activities and corporate governance integrity is pivotal to orienting strategy towards sustainable trajectories: to do so, corporate reporting and disclosure practices are essential tools. In this context, corporate governance systems that emphasize board diversity are proven, even in disruptive circumstances, to play a crucial role in providing corporate reports of higher quality. High disclosure quality that goes beyond mere financial results is considered to be necessary to remain competitive strategically, socially and environmentally.

Different fields of research have conducted studies on the topic of behavioural research. Accounting researchers' attention to this topic has recently started to grow, and consequently, the need to define the future development of the research field has emerged. This paper aims to conduct a literature review on the topic of behavioural accounting research (BAR) to clarify what has already been studied by researchers and to suggest possible new research developments. For this purpose, a new methodology called 'Systematic Literature Network Analysis' (SLNA) was applied. The findings confirm the need to further explore this research area by conducting new empirical studies on the application of behavioural theories and by using new tools for data collection. The paper's contributions to the literature are the following: it provides a systematic picture of the literature on BAR, applies a new methodology for the analysis of the literature, and provides an agenda for future research.

This study investigates the quality of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) within integrated reporting (IR). We performed a longitudinal analysis with the aim of addressing if a significant IC quality improvement occurred. We analysed 424 integrated reports, issued by 53 international companies operating in different industries over eight years (2013-2020). A manual content analysis was performed to assess the ICD quality. Findings reveal that the average level of ICD quality is low, for IC considered as a whole and for each of its three categories, while the IC category described most is that of relational capital. The quality of ICD increases over time. Investors and stakeholders need to know more about the quality of companies' reports about intellectual capital to guide their decision-making process. The study supports proprietary cost theory as it highlights a limited quality of ICD in IR even if with an improving trend over time.

L'attenzione alla sostenibilità e l'applicazione dei criteri ESG al modello di business sono ormai diventati un presupposto necessario ma non sufficiente per le imprese. Si sta assistendo a un cambiamento radicale nella visione di queste tematiche, anche grazie all'attenzione delle organizzazioni sovranazionali e dell'opinione pubblica sempre più focalizzata sull'impatto delle aziende sulla società e sull'ambiente interno ed esterno. Di conseguenza, i vari attori stanno gradualmente rinnovando il proprio modello di business, i processi e le risorse tangibili e intangibili per soddisfare le nuove richieste degli stakeholder.