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Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Giovanna Mauro

    (Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 24, 56127 Pisa (PI), Italy)

  • Lino Cinquini

    (Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 24, 56127 Pisa (PI), Italy)

  • Elena Simonini

    (Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and University of Trento, 56127 Pisa (PI), Italy)

  • Andrea Tenucci

    (Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 24, 56127 Pisa (PI), Italy)

Abstract

Over recent years, the meaning of accountability has evolved and has reshaped what public sector institutions are expected to account for and how. Consequently, a large number of initiatives have emerged promoting non-financial reporting. In this context, public universities have started to experiment with sustainability reporting initiatives, but these efforts are still limited and challenged by the parallel development of multiple forms of reporting, which include integrated reporting (IR). IR has been interpreted as a further step in the reporting journey, suitable for representing the creation of public value and addressing accountability pressures. The current research aims at understanding if and how IR constitutes a feasible next step for improving the reporting practices of public universities. For this purpose, the research carries out a content analysis of social or sustainability reports written by a number of Italian public universities to find out which of the key elements of IR have already been included in such reports. Results show that some of those elements are already included, but often in a fragmented and non-homogeneous way. The findings pave the way for further considerations on how the potential adoption of IR may strengthen the value of social and sustainability reporting by integrating the information reported in different documents, fostering toward a bureaucracy that is more sustainable and providing more opportunities of innovation in reports on public sector organizations’ accountability.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Giovanna Mauro & Lino Cinquini & Elena Simonini & Andrea Tenucci, 2020. "Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:8:p:3172-:d:345592
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. 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.
    3. Luc Salemans & Tjerk Budding, 2022. "Operationalizing public value in higher education: the use of narratives as an alternative for performance indicators," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 337-363, June.
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    5. Gloria Fiorani & Chiara Di Gerio, 2022. "Reporting University Performance through the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda: Lessons Learned from Italian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Giuseppe Scandurra & Antonio Thomas, 2023. "The SDGs and Non-Financial Disclosures of Energy Companies: The Italian Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Juan Abello-Romero & Claudio Mancilla & Katherine Restrepo & Walter Sáez & Ivette Durán-Seguel & Francisco Ganga-Contreras, 2024. "Sustainability Reporting in the University Context—A Review and Analysis of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.
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