Exploring drivers and factors of benefit impact reports quality: Retracing a stakeholder theory approach

Abstract

In the pursuit of global sustainability, firms play an increasingly pivotal role. In this scenario, Benefit Corporations aim to seamlessly integrate profit-making endeavors with sustainable practices. This corporate model has spread around the world and in Italy; it was adopted through Law No. 208/2015 introducing Italian Benefit Corporations (BCs). Italian BCs must produce a Benefit Impact Report (BIR) alongside their financial statements, as a strategic communication tool for demonstrating the company's commitment to advancing common societal benefits to stakeholders. Leveraging stakeholder theory, this study adopts a mixed methodological approach that incorporates manual content analysis of BIRs from 132 Italian BCs, combined with a regression model exploring the impact of firm characteristics on the quality of BIRs. Findings highlight a positive relationship between firm size, financial leverage, and profitability on the quality of BIRs. This study is the first to explore the quality of BIRs and their determinants, providing academic and practical implications.