IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v29y2022i5p1546-1559.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Culture and sustainable development: The role of merger and acquisition in Italian B Corps

Author

Listed:
  • Patrizia Gazzola
  • Stefano Amelio
  • Daniele Grechi
  • Chiara Alleruzzo

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the relationship between the phenomenon of B Corp and M&A operations carried out by these companies. Italy is the second country at the international level and the first country at the European level to have been particularly active in this direction (Law n.208/2015). Therefore, a questionnaire was developed and sent to the certified Italian B Corps. The medium‐long‐term vision emerged in particular, and the values that guide these companies are ethics, sustainability and transparency. These are aspects that particularly characterise the ideals, identity and culture of B Corps, which are also involved in social and environmental issues. The research shows how corporate culture influences these companies from a merger and acquisition perspective. Cultural compatibility is important, as it allows the companies to operate according to common or similar visions regarding certain aspects that other companies probably find less important.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrizia Gazzola & Stefano Amelio & Daniele Grechi & Chiara Alleruzzo, 2022. "Culture and sustainable development: The role of merger and acquisition in Italian B Corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1546-1559, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:29:y:2022:i:5:p:1546-1559
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2290
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2290
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2290?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrizia Gazzola & Daniele Grechi & Paola Ossola & Enrica Pavione, 2019. "Certified Benefit Corporations as a new way to make sustainable business: The Italian example," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1435-1445, November.
    2. Doukas, John A. & Zhang, Rongyao, 2021. "Managerial ability, corporate social culture, and M&As," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Vincenzo Vastola & Angeloantonio Russo, 2021. "Exploring the effects of mergers and acquisitions on acquirers' sustainability orientation: Embedding, adding, or losing sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1094-1104, February.
    4. Wendy Stubbs, 2019. "Strategies, practices, and tensions in managing business model innovation for sustainability: The case of an Australian BCorp," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1063-1072, September.
    5. Wendy Stubbs, 2017. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship and B Corps," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 331-344, March.
    6. Baudot, Lisa & Dillard, Jesse & Pencle, Nadra, 2020. "The emergence of benefit corporations: A cautionary tale," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    7. Freeman, R. Edward, 1994. "The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions1," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 409-421, October.
    8. Simon Segal & James Guthrie & Johannes Dumay, 2021. "Stakeholder and merger and acquisition research: a structured literature review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(2), pages 2935-2964, June.
    9. Ioannis Tampakoudis & Evgenia Anagnostopoulou, 2020. "The effect of mergers and acquisitions on environmental, social and governance performance and market value: Evidence from EU acquirers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1865-1875, July.
    10. Fang Zhang & Minghui Li & Meilan Zhang, 2019. "Chinese Financial Market Investors Attitudes toward Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, May.
    11. Adel A. Al‐Sharkas & M. Kabir Hassan & Shari Lawrence, 2008. "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Efficiency of the US Banking Industry: Further Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1‐2), pages 50-70, January.
    12. Angeloantonio Russo & Rosamartina Schena, 2021. "Ambidexterity in the context of SME alliances: Does sustainability have a role?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 606-615, March.
    13. Kling, Gerhard & Weitzel, Utz, 2011. "The internationalization of Chinese companies: Firm characteristics, industry effects and corporate governance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 357-372, September.
    14. Constanza Bianchi & Valentina Reyes & Veronica Devenin, 2020. "Consumer motivations to purchase from benefit corporations (B Corps)," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1445-1453, May.
    15. Lorenzo Ardito & Rosa Maria Dangelico & Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, 2021. "The link between female representation in the boards of directors and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from B corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 704-720, March.
    16. Adel A. Al‐Sharkas & M. Kabir Hassan & Shari Lawrence, 2008. "The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Efficiency of the US Banking Industry: Further Evidence," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1‐2), pages 50-70, January.
    17. Carol Lin & Yu-Chen Wei, 2006. "The Role of Business Ethics in Merger and Acquisition Success: An Empirical Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 95-109, November.
    18. Muñoz, Pablo & Cacciotti, Gabriella & Cohen, Boyd, 2018. "The double-edged sword of purpose-driven behavior in sustainable venturing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 149-178.
    19. Milton Friedman, 2007. "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits," Springer Books, in: Walther Ch Zimmerli & Markus Holzinger & Klaus Richter (ed.), Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance, pages 173-178, Springer.
    20. Malu Villela & Sergio Bulgacov & Glenn Morgan, 2021. "B Corp Certification and Its Impact on Organizations Over Time," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 343-357, May.
    21. Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2022. "Mapping the emergence of a new organisational form: An exploration of the intellectual structure of the B Corp research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 107-123, January.
    22. Ronald Weber Kirst & Miriam Borchardt & Maurício Nunes Macedo de Carvalho & Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira, 2021. "Best of the world or better for the world? A systematic literature review on benefit corporations and certified B corporations contribution to sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1822-1839, November.
    23. Emanuele Luca Maria Bettinazzi & Maurizio Zollo, 2017. "Stakeholder orientation and acquisition performance," Post-Print hal-02312007, HAL.
    24. Deng, Ping, 2009. "Why do Chinese firms tend to acquire strategic assets in international expansion?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 74-84, January.
    25. Janine Hiller, 2013. "The Benefit Corporation and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 287-301, December.
    26. Yeuseung Kim, 2021. "Certified corporate social responsibility? The current state of certified and decertified B Corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1760-1768, November.
    27. Stefano Poponi & Andrea Colantoni & Sirio R.S. Cividino & Enrico Maria Mosconi, 2019. "The Stakeholders’ Perspective within the B Corp Certification for a Circular Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, March.
    28. Giorgia Nigri & Mara Del Baldo & Armando Agulini, 2020. "Governance and accountability models in Italian certified benefit corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2368-2380, September.
    29. Yaakov Weber & Oded Shenkar & Adi Raveh, 1996. "National and Corporate Cultural Fit in Mergers/Acquisitions: An Exploratory Study," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(8), pages 1215-1227, August.
    30. Antonio Salvi & Felice Petruzzella & Anastasia Giakoumelou, 2018. "Green M&A Deals and Bidders’ Value Creation: The Role of Sustainability in Post-Acquisition Performance," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(7), pages 96-105, July.
    31. Silvia Cantele & Alessandro Zardini, 2020. "What drives small and medium enterprises towards sustainability? Role of interactions between pressures, barriers, and benefits," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 126-136, January.
    32. Bereskin, Fred & Byun, Seong K. & Officer, Micah S. & Oh, Jong-Min, 2018. "The Effect of Cultural Similarity on Mergers and Acquisitions: Evidence from Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(5), pages 1995-2039, October.
    33. Edurne A. Inigo & Laura Albareda & Paavo Ritala, 2017. "Business model innovation for sustainability: exploring evolutionary and radical approaches through dynamic capabilities," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 515-542, July.
    34. Emanuele L. M. Bettinazzi & Maurizio Zollo, 2017. "Stakeholder Orientation and Acquisition Performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(12), pages 2465-2485, December.
    35. Nagano, Mamoru, 2013. "Similarities and differences among cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI determinants: Evidence from Asia and Oceania," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 100-118.
    36. Kyumin Cho & Seung Hun Han & Hyeong Joon Kim & Sangsoo Kim, 2021. "The valuation effects of corporate social responsibility on mergers and acquisitions: Evidence from U.S. target firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 378-388, January.
    37. Laura Girella & Stefano Zambon & Paola Rossi, 2019. "Reporting on sustainable development: A comparison of three Italian small and medium‐sized enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 981-996, July.
    38. Giorgia Nigri & Mara Del Baldo, 2018. "Sustainability Reporting and Performance Measurement Systems: How do Small- and Medium-Sized Benefit Corporations Manage Integration?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, November.
    39. Mara Del Baldo, 2019. "Acting as a benefit corporation and a B Corp to responsibly pursue private and public benefits. The case of Paradisi Srl (Italy)," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-18, December.
    40. Franck, Guillaume, 1990. "Mergers and acquisitions: Competitive advantage and cultural fit," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 40-43, March.
    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. Patrizia Gazzola & Audrey Paterson & Stefano Amelio & Daniele Grechi & Stefano Cristina, 2023. "The role of individual social responsibility and corporate social responsibility in the tax fraud war: A comparison between the priorities of Italian and Romanian consumers," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2265-2277, September.
    2. Irene Marcuzzi & Matteo Podrecca & Marco Sartor & Guido Nassimbeni, 2023. "Out of social accountability: Reasons and alternative paths for SA8000 decertification," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3140-3158, November.
    3. Eva Velasco‐Balmaseda & Izaskun Larrieta‐Rubín de Celis & Nagore Embeita Izaguirre, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility as a framework for gender equality: Mapping of gender equality standards for sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1905-1920, May.

    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. Ronald Weber Kirst & Miriam Borchardt & Maurício Nunes Macedo de Carvalho & Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira, 2021. "Best of the world or better for the world? A systematic literature review on benefit corporations and certified B corporations contribution to sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1822-1839, November.
    2. Giorgio Mion & Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2020. "Understanding the purpose of benefit corporations: an empirical study on the Italian case," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2022. "Mapping the emergence of a new organisational form: An exploration of the intellectual structure of the B Corp research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 107-123, January.
    4. Silvia Cantele & Chiara Leardini & Luca Piubello Orsini, 2023. "Impactful B Corps: A configurational approach of organizational factors leading to high sustainability performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1104-1120, May.
    5. Giorgio Mion & Cristian Rolando Loza Adaui & Angelo Bonfanti, 2021. "Characterizing the mission statements of benefit corporations: Empirical evidence from Italy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2160-2172, May.
    6. Elsa Diez-Busto & Lidia Sanchez-Ruiz & Ana Fernandez-Laviada, 2021. "The B Corp Movement: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Valerie Paelman & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2023. "Mission alignment with employees and financiers: Probing into the workings of B Corp certification," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1632-1644, July.
    8. Yeuseung Kim, 2021. "Certified corporate social responsibility? The current state of certified and decertified B Corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1760-1768, November.
    9. Rosaria Ferlito & Rosario Faraci, 2022. "Sustainable Hybrid Business Model of Benefit Corporation: The Case of an Italian Film Production Company," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Vincenzo Riso & Mouhcine Tallaki & Enrico Bracci & Silvia Cantele, 2024. "The transition towards benefit corporations: What are the roles for stakeholders?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 904-916, February.
    11. Silvia Cantele & Giacomo Troisi & Bettina Campedelli, 2021. "Le societ? Benefit in Italia: un?analisi sulla diffusione e sulle prassi di rendicontazione," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(2), pages 107-126.
    12. Valerie Paelman & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2020. "Effect of B Corp Certification on Short-Term Growth: European Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    13. Luis Fonseca & Vitor Silva & José Carlos Sá & Vanda Lima & Gilberto Santos & Rui Silva, 2022. "B Corp versus ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications: Aligned, or alternative paths, towards sustainable development?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 496-508, May.
    14. Giorgia Nigri & Mara Del Baldo & Armando Agulini, 2020. "Governance and accountability models in Italian certified benefit corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2368-2380, September.
    15. Emanuele Teti & Alberto Dell'Acqua & Paolo Bonsi, 2022. "Detangling the role of environmental, social, and governance factors on M&A performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1768-1781, September.
    16. Christoph Kayser & Henning Zülch, 2024. "Understanding the Relevance of Sustainability in Mergers and Acquisitions—A Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability and Its Implications throughout Deal Stages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-44, January.
    17. Chaoyuan She & Giovanna Michelon, 2023. "A governance approach to stakeholder engagement in sustainable enterprises—Evidence from B Corps," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5487-5505, December.
    18. Yang, Na & Zhang, Yuan & Yu, Lu & Wang, Jue & Liu, Xiaming, 2022. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions, regional cultural diversity and acquirers’ corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 565-578.
    19. Valerie Paelman & Philippe Van Cauwenberge & Heidi Vander Bauwhede, 2021. "The Impact of B Corp Certification on Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-16, June.
    20. Mara Del Baldo & Federica Palazzi, 2023. "High-Growth Benefit Corporations: Leveraging on Intangibles—Insights from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:corsem:v:29:y:2022:i:5:p:1546-1559. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.