Global Corporate Accountability

Global corporate accountability refers to the performance of a publicly traded company in non-financial areas such as social responsibility, sustainability and environmental performance. The emergence of global civil regulation is rooted in the perception that economic globalization has created a structural imbalance between the size and power of global firms and markets and the capacity and/or willingness of governments to adequately regulate their corporate conduct. The objective of economic sustainability implies the development within the firm of a societal corporate accountability system, which will help the firm to manage its economic and societal responsibilities and to periodically report to its different stakeholders

Circular Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Literature Review

The CE model assures a different approach on the relations between economy, environment and society. The CE concept have been investigated in the recent literature above all in understanding the approaches of businesses towards this new model. The paper presents a short literature review aimed at exploring how the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and (CE) are analysed in literature directing attention on how the companies incorporate the CE concept in their sustainability practices. The work contributes to provide insights on how the companies are integrating the CE activities in CSR practices and shows that a deeper investigation of the topic is needed

Circular Economy and Relationship-Based View

In this paper, we provide early insights about a rethinking of the dominant logic of circular economy (CE) systems, which are described by the literature as still too strongly focused on the circularity of physical resources primarily for economic and environmental benefits. We could observe that the traditional narrative of the CE is being challenged by new strategies that include the relationships among stakeholders and the reallocation of stakeholder roles. This is even more evident in the current health crisis, COVID-19. Circular economy can have higher integrated impacts beyond the mere economic and environmental spheres if it is conceptualized as an open and dynamic loop of relationships, where stakeholders’ power, roles and responsibilities overlap and converge into an emergent joint-value creation process

Corporate Global Responsibility and Reputation Risk Management

The increasing attention placed by corporations on sustainable development due to the growing importance attributed to this issue by institutions at an international level, leads to a reconsideration of the concept of the global responsibility of companies as a pre-requisite for effective multi-stakeholder relationships. All levels of responsibility are taken into consideration within this broad spectrum: legal, social, economic and environmental, leading to a more integrated approach to management of reputation risk.  This study is a theoretical reflection on the relationship between the interests of stakeholders, the extent of corporate responsibility and management of reputation risk

Blockchain Technology in the Food Industry

This paper analyses how blockchain technology works in agri-food supply chains. It also intends to identify the benefits and limitations associated with the potential widespread use of this technology to improve efficiency and sustainability performance. Despite the undeniable benefits of blockchain and the possible improvements to enhance transparency, reliability and accuracy of information, considerable challenges to its widespread adoption persist. The transformational potential of blockchain technology can be unlocked by: a) the creation of a pre-competitive space for unprecedented horizontal collaboration amongst supply chain actors to reduce cost and maximise benefits; b) the redesign of centralised governance systems of existing tracking and information-sharing platforms; c) the integration of blockchain and Internet of Things devices

Stakeholder Relationships and Responsibilities: A New Perspective

The intensifying debate about stakeholder-oriented relational approaches replacing a pure economic-based perspective has contributed to new stakeholder thinking based on cooperative relationships and mutual and shared responsibilities. In this paper, we provide a new configuration of stakeholder relationships and responsibilities by first discussing three main antecedents of such a differentiated perspective: (a) the failure of the separation thesis; (b) the importance of stakeholder continuous engagement and joint value creation; and (c) the key role of creative imagination. Second, we use these antecedents to illustrate a multi-stakeholder value map that sheds light on the centrality of all stakeholders in a joint value creation emergent process. We posit that adopting such an approach might increase the value creation for all actors, whether directly or indirectly involved in specific multistakeholder alliances, and benefit the firm, the industry and the society from a larger perspective beyond one that is merely economic-based

A Goal in Every Cup. Lavazza Approach in Integrating the SDGs into Strategy

The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a multi-stakeholder approach, calling upon governments, international organizations, nonprofit organizations and companies to act, everyone in its own capacity and within its sphere of influence. In their efforts to adopt an effective sustainability strategy, Lavazza and Lavazza Foundation gave themselves a mission, which is summarized in the so-called “Goal Zero”: spreading the SDGs message to as many stakeholders as they can, by using all possible and efficient ways and means. The article describes how Lavazza’s people and suppliers, as well as young people and local communities, have been involved in an ambitious project to increase knowledge, understanding and achievement of the SDGs. Then, the article focuses on Lavazza’s categorization of the Goals into three levels: Priority, Impacted and Tool Goals

Virtual Cultural Experiences: the Drivers of Satisfaction

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary research work on the emergence and impact of virtual technologies on the valorization of cultural experience. After reviewing the literature on immersive museography and the concepts of immersion, interaction and social interaction within a cultural experience, we focus our analysis on the drivers of the users’ satisfaction through a three-step research path. Firstly, we realized a preliminary qualitative overview of users’ reactions to virtual environments in a series of selected cultural experiences. Secondly, we designed a model focusing on immersion and social interaction as the two potentially critical drivers of satisfaction. Thirdly, we realized a quantitative study of a project concerning an intangible cultural asset. The results of this study give evidence to the link between immersion and emotion and emphasize the essential mediating role of social interaction. These conclusions are consistent with present technological and market trends, concerning the integration of virtual reality and social networks

The Transposition of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive in the UK, France and Italy

The aim of this study is to investigate how EU Member States used their discretion in transposing EU Directive n. 2014/95/EU. The Directive provided the opportunity to achieve similar levels of companies’ transparency on social and environmental matters, as well as increasing trust and encouraging more sustainable corporate behaviors. The comparison of the transposition laws in France, Italy, and the UK indicates that significant differences shape company obligations at the country level.

The Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the High-Tech Industry

The challenges of  the 4th Industrial Revolution (I40) entail new business models to improve customer value creation. So far, academic investigation into I40 has been extensively focused on large enterprises, and only marginally on SMEs. The present paper aims to answer to the following four research questions: How do manufacturing SMEs perceive the I40 phenomenon? How do manufacturing SMEs innovate their business models because of I40? How do manufacturing SMEs behave with their suppliers because of I40? How do manufacturing SMEs behave with their customers because of I40