IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i1p131-d125955.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Overcoming the Barriers to the Diffusion of Sustainability Reporting in Italian LGOs: Better Stick or Carrot?

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Giacomini

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Brescia, Contrada Santa Chiara, 50, 25122 Brescia, Italy)

  • Laura Rocca

    (Department of Law, University of Brescia, Contrada Santa Chiara, 50, 25122 Brescia, Italy)

  • Cristian Carini

    (Department of Law, University of Brescia, Contrada Santa Chiara, 50, 25122 Brescia, Italy)

  • Mario Mazzoleni

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Brescia, Contrada Santa Chiara, 50, 25122 Brescia, Italy)

Abstract

The role of public-sector organizations (PSOs) in promoting the agenda of sustainability accounting and accountability is not often adequately considered. In the public sector realm, local governments are close to their communities and thus have a particularly important role to play in the pursuit of sustainability goals. Hence, further research is needed to understand if Local Government Organizations (LGOs) are using reporting tools to promote sustainable development. The empirical data showed that the Sustainability Report (SR) is not being as widely used as in past years. Over time, the majority of Italian municipalities have not initiated or continued sustainability reporting due to some barriers including cost reduction, voluntariness, and low SR effectiveness. The findings suggest the popularity of SRs in Italy is falling and the SR tool appears to be “mere trend reporting based on descriptive indicators leading to decreasing interest from internal and external audiences”. The carrot has been unsuccessful. Perhaps the implementation of mandatory requirements could alternatively be used as a stick.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Giacomini & Laura Rocca & Cristian Carini & Mario Mazzoleni, 2018. "Overcoming the Barriers to the Diffusion of Sustainability Reporting in Italian LGOs: Better Stick or Carrot?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:131-:d:125955
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/131/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/131/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kittiya Yongvanich & James Guthrie, 2006. "An extended performance reporting framework for social and environmental accounting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 309-321, September.
    2. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Przemysław Mućko, 2016. "CSR Reporting Practices of Polish Energy and Mining Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Amanda Ball & Jan Bebbington, 2008. "Editorial: Accounting and Reporting for Sustainable Development in Public Service Organizations," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 323-326, December.
    4. Giulio Greco & Nick Sciulli & Giuseppe D'Onza, 2015. "The Influence of Stakeholder Engagement on Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Italian local councils," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 465-488, April.
    5. James Guthrie & Amanda Ball & Federica Farneti, 2010. "Advancing Sustainable Management of Public and Not For Profit Organizations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 449-459, July.
    6. Prakash, Prem & Rappaport, Alfred, 1977. "Information inductance and its significance for accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 29-38, January.
    7. Harzing, Anne-Wil, 1997. "Response rates in international mail surveys: Results of a 22-country study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(6), pages 641-665, December.
    8. Williams, Belinda & Wilmshurst, Trevor & Clift, Robert, 2011. "Sustainability reporting by local government in Australia: Current and future prospects," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 176-186.
    9. John Dumay & James Guthrie & Federica Farneti, 2010. "Gri Sustainability Reporting Guidelines For Public And Third Sector Organizations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 531-548, July.
    10. Chenhall, Robert H., 2003. "Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 127-168.
    11. Patrycja Hąbek & Radosław Wolniak, 2016. "Assessing the quality of corporate social responsibility reports: the case of reporting practices in selected European Union member states," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 399-420, January.
    12. Nick Sciulli, 2011. "The views of managers from a local coastal council on sustainability reporting issues," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(2), pages 139-160, June.
    13. Michelle L. M. Graymore, 2014. "Sustainability Reporting: An Approach to Get the Right Mix of Theory and Practicality for Local Actors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-26, May.
    14. Belinda Williams & Trevor Wilmshurst & Robert Clift, 2011. "Sustainability reporting by local government in Australia: Current and future prospects," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 176-186, September.
    15. Otley, David T., 1980. "The contingency theory of management accounting: Achievement and prognosis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 413-428, October.
    16. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Mercedes Ruiz-Lozano & Pilar Tirado-Valencia & Araceli de los Ríos-Berjillos, 2017. "Promoting Sustainability Transparency in European Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis Based on Administrative Cultures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-20, March.
    17. Panozzo, Fabrizio, 2000. "Management by decree. Paradoxes in the reform of the Italian public sector," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 357-373, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Alexandrina Stefanescu, 2021. "Sustainability Reporting in the Public Realm—Trends and Patterns in Knowledge Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Davide Giacomini & Paola Zola & Diego Paredi & Mario Mazzoleni, 2020. "Environmental disclosure and stakeholder engagement via social media: State of the art and potential in public utilities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1552-1564, July.
    3. Monica Bruzzone & Renata Paola Dameri & Paola Demartini, 2021. "Resilience Reporting for Sustainable Development in Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-24, July.
    4. Ikenna Elias Asogwa & Maria Estela Varua & Peter Humphreys & Rina Datt, 2021. "Understanding Sustainability Reporting in Non-Governmental Organisations: A Systematic Review of Reporting Practices, Drivers, Barriers and Paths for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-26, September.
    5. Anca Gabriela Petrescu & Florentina Raluca Bîlcan & Marius Petrescu & Ionica Holban Oncioiu & Mirela Cătălina Türkeș & Sorinel Căpuşneanu, 2020. "Assessing the Benefits of the Sustainability Reporting Practices in the Top Romanian Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-31, April.
    6. Giuseppe Nicol? & Gianluca Zanellato & Francesca Manes-Rossi & Adriana Tiron-Tudor, 2019. "Beyond Financial Reporting. Integrated Reporting and its determinants: Evidence from the context of European state-owned enterprises," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(2), pages 43-72.
    7. Lucia Biondi & Enrico Bracci, 2018. "Sustainability, Popular and Integrated Reporting in the Public Sector: A Fad and Fashion Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Fridolin Simon Brand & Verena Berger & Katharina Hetze & Jörg E. U. Schmidt & Marie-Christin Weber & Herbert Winistörfer & Claus-Heinrich Daub, 2018. "Overcoming current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting: insights from a Swiss field study [Die Bewältigung der aktuellen praktischen Herausforderungen in der Nachhaltigk," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 35-46, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Enrico Bracci & Mouhcine Tallaki, 2013. "Socio-environmental reporting trends in the Italian local government: Thrive or wither?," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(2), pages 27-46.
    2. Cregård Anna & Sobis Iwona, 2017. "Dissemination of Environmental Information and its Effects on Stakeholders’ Decision-Making: A Comparative Study between Swedish and Polish Municipalities," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 9-47, December.
    3. Jan Alpenberg & Tomasz Wnuk-Pel & Amanda Henebäck, 2018. "Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Davide Giacomini & Paola Zola & Diego Paredi & Mario Mazzoleni, 2020. "Environmental disclosure and stakeholder engagement via social media: State of the art and potential in public utilities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1552-1564, July.
    5. Mădălina Dumitru & Justyna Dyduch & Raluca-Gina Gușe & Joanna Krasodomska, 2017. "Corporate Reporting Practices in Poland and Romania – An Ex-ante Study to the New Non-financial Reporting European Directive," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 279-304, September.
    6. Francisco J. Alcaraz-Quiles & Andrés Navarro-Galera & David Ortiz-Rodríguez, 2020. "The contribution of the right to information laws in Europe to local government transparency on sustainability," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 161-178, March.
    7. Williams, Belinda & Wilmshurst, Trevor & Clift, Robert, 2011. "Sustainability reporting by local government in Australia: Current and future prospects," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 176-186.
    8. Marta Vicente-Lama & Pilar Tirado-Valencia & Mercedes Ruiz-Lozano & Magdalena Cordobés-Madueño, 2023. "The impact of sectoral guidelines on sustainability reporting in ports: the case of the Spanish ports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 25(3), pages 499-519, September.
    9. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Francisco José Alcaraz-Quiles & David Ortiz-Rodriguez, 2018. "Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, June.
    10. Chiba, Soumaya & Talbot, David & Boiral, Olivier, 2018. "Sustainability adrift: An evaluation of the credibility of sustainability information disclosed by public organizations," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 328-340.
    11. Pilonato, Silvia & Monfardini, Patrizio, 2020. "Performance measurement systems in higher education: How levers of control reveal the ambiguities of reforms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    12. Cristina Alexandrina Stefanescu, 2021. "Sustainability Reporting in the Public Realm—Trends and Patterns in Knowledge Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-23, April.
    13. Francesca Francioli & Alberto Quagli, 2021. "Management accounting change and the rise of Vespa (1884-1965)," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(suppl. 2), pages 313-338.
    14. Cäker, Mikael & Siverbo, Sven, 2018. "Effects of performance measurement system inconsistency on managers’ role clarity and well-being," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 256-266.
    15. Widener, Sally K., 2004. "An empirical investigation of the relation between the use of strategic human capital and the design of the management control system," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(3-4), pages 377-399.
    16. Jintao Lu & Licheng Ren & Siqin Yao & Jiayuan Qiao & Wadim Strielkowski & Justas Streimikis, 2019. "Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Soufiane Kherrazi & Karim Saïd, 2022. "Managerial Practices Within Multilateral And Public-Funded R&D Collaborations," Post-Print hal-04205187, HAL.
    18. Shih-Chu Chou & Ramachandran Natarajan & Kenneth Zheng, 2022. "Conglomerate internal informational advantage and resource allocation efficiency," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 717-748, August.
    19. Jafar Ojra & Abdullah Promise Opute & Mohammad Mobarak Alsolmi, 2021. "Strategic management accounting and performance implications: a literature review and research agenda," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    20. David Bedford & Mikko Sandelin, 2015. "Investigating management control configurations using qualitative comparative analysis: an overview and guidelines for application," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 5-26, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:131-:d:125955. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.