Publications

Authors:

Riso, Vincenzo; Cantele, Silvia; Bracci, Enrico

Title:

Sustainable but Not Accountable? A Quality Assessment of Sustainability Disclosure in Benefit Corporations

Year:

2025

Type of item:

Articolo in Rivista

Tipologia ANVUR:

Articolo su rivista

Language:

Inglese

Format:

Elettronico

Referee:

Sì

Name of journal:

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ISSN of journal:

0964-4733

Page numbers:

1-18

Keyword:

auditor presence, B Corp, benefit corporation, disclosure quality, impact report, sustainability reporting

Short description of contents:

Benefit corporations are businesses characterised by a dual purpose: profit and the common good. While these businesses are expected to pursue a high level of transparency, some studies have noted ambiguous and inconsistent behaviour in the quality of their reports and communication with stakeholders. The literature proposed reporting quality indexes and identified explanatory factors, although specific research on disclosure quality among benefit corporations is lacking. This study aimed to fill this gap by proposing a methodology to assess the quality of sustainability disclosure in benefit corporations. Drawing from a sample of their sustainability reporting in Italy, the study applies qualitative content analysis to create the disclosure quality index and uses a regression model to test potential antecedents. The findings indicate a generally low level of disclosure quality and limited impact of third-party certification and control mechanisms. These results raise questions on the accountability of benefit corporations and the limitations of their mandatory reporting.

Note:

AJG 3

Web page:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bse.4311

Product ID:

145393

Handle IRIS:

11562/1160776

Last Modified:

July 6, 2025

Bibliographic citation:

Riso, Vincenzo; Cantele, Silvia; Bracci, Enrico, Sustainable but Not Accountable? A Quality Assessment of Sustainability Disclosure in Benefit Corporations «BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT» , 2025 , pp. 1-18

Consulta la scheda completa presente nel repository istituzionale della Ricerca di Ateneo