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Quanto sono inclusive le aziende della distribuzione moderna? Una ricerca condotta nel 2022 da ALTIS Graduate School of Sustainable Management e Federdistribuzione ha mostrato un ampio spettro di approcci e iniziative nel declinare l’inclusione. Alla luce di tali risultati, nel 2024 è stato istituito l’Osservatorio Diversity, Equity & Inclusion nella Distribuzione Moderna con l’obiettivo di monitorare nel tempo la diffusione di iniziative volte a promuovere la DE&I e favorire un confronto aperto fra le aziende della distribuzione moderna.

Despite the increasing relevance of environmentally friendly practices in the wine industry, which are mainly shaped by family firms, research has yet to examine in detail the internal drivers of eco-innovation in such firms. Intra-family succession as a driver of eco-innovation is an intriguing topic of study, as prior studies indicate that it may create new opportunities. Accordingly, a field study of 28 family firms was conducted to examine the internal drivers of eco-innovation in depth, with a specific focus on family firms and intra-family succession. The results revealed that intra-family succession encourages family firms to engage in eco-innovation, to different extents, in three ways: (i) becoming a facilitator in the community; (ii) fostering environmental consciousness; and (iii) developing environmental passion. Overall, this study widens the examination of internal factors influencing eco-innovation, improves the understanding of eco-innovation among family firms, and provides evidence of how to support next-generation members to develop their future orientation and consciousness about the importance of protecting natural resources and their responsibility towards stakeholders and the community.

The present study aims at further understanding the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Stakeholder Dialogue (SD) by exploring whether and how corporate motives for CSR affect the engagement into SD under institutional voids. The study also builds on the vast existing literature discussing the role of institutional mechanisms, analyzing how local ethics influence the vision of stakeholders, and on the resource-based view, highlighting how the availability of resources shapes CSR and SD. The paper discusses the results of a study we ran in Mozambique and which involved 235 domestic and foreign firms operating in the country. Mozambique is an interesting setting to analyze CSR as it is characterized by institutional voids, it has a vibrant economic environment, and it is influenced by Ubuntu ethics. Our findings confirm that under institutional voids corporate motives for CSR influence firms’ commitment to SD, especially with regards to profitability, whereas firm driven by legitimacy reasons resulted in being less involved in activities towards stakeholders. Contrary to previous studies, the study highlights that ethics do not affect SD. Differently, the study support literature on the role of resources in influencing the behaviour of companies towards CSR and SD.

The chapter examines the most recent megatrends, here defined as transformative phenomena that will shape the future development at societal, cultural, economic, and political level. Megatrends have been classified in three categories: technological megatrends, political and economic megatrends, social and environmental megatrends. For each megatrend the chapter highlights the fundamental aspects and the main impact on the business activity. The chapter also examines the tools which facilitate the consideration of megatrends by companies and their integration into CS, together with recommendations on how they should be considered according to corporate characteristics.

El objetivo de esta propuesta es indagar en la figura de la marquesa viuda de Dos Aguas, María Elena de Lanuza, casada desde 1745 con el III marqués Ginés Rabassa de Perellós y viuda desde 1765. Junto con su esposo desarrolló una intensa actividad como mediadora cultural en la Valencia del Setecientos, incrementando el patrimonio familiar mediante la promoción de ciertos artistas y la adquisición de numerosos bienes. Sin embargo, se trata de un personaje poco trabajado por la historiografía. Tras su fallecimiento se realizó un inventario de todos sus bienes en 1807, un impresionante patrimonio conservado en el palacio de los marqueses de Dos Aguas. Entre ellos, además de lujosas piezas propias de una noble de su posición, se encuentra una extensa biblioteca familiar que pudo pertenecer a su marido, fallecido en 1765. Sin embargo, dado el extenso periodo entre la muerte de su esposo y la suya propia, seguramente ella misma, junto con otros familiares, amplió la colección con nuevas adquisiciones, que no solamente se encontraban en el espacio de la biblioteca sino también en otras áreas de la casa como el oratorio o el dormitorio. Tras su muerte este patrimonio libresco fue legado a sus herederos, y vendido a la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Valencia en 1843. Mediante este análisis, por lo tanto, buscamos indagar en el papel de las mujeres como administradoras y transmisoras del patrimonio familiar a finales del siglo XVIII. Concretamente, nos interesa trazar algunos indicios de lectura e indagar en la medida de lo posible en los usos que las mujeres podían dar a estas obras en el hogar mediante un estudio centrado tanto en la biblioteca como en los espacios de lectura.

Il contributo tratta dei temi di sostenibilità e di come questi possono essere integrati e possono modificare la Corporate Strategy di un'impresa. In particolare, il capitolo discute: - la varietà delle misure di natura socio-ambientale che possono essere adottate per introdurre in uno o più business la logica della sostenibilità; - l’economia circolare, come modello che propone di ripensare i processi aziendali o, nei casi più complessi, rivedere interamente uno o più business,; - lo sviluppo/acquisizione di un nuovo business a valenza sociale e/o ambientale. - la trasformazione dell’intero portafoglio business verso la logica della sostenibilità.

This paper analyses women's participation in sociability networks and the formation of libraries in the eighteenth century. These were connections and spaces that were formed, or that they themselves built, at the crossroads of the circulation of ideas, fashions and objects with a strong transnational component. On the one hand, I will analyse the participation of the first Duchess of Almodovar, María Joaquina Monserrat, in different intellectual and social circles as a result of her work as ambassadress consort in different European countries. On the other hand, I will delve into the figure of her niece Josefa Dominga Catalá, future Duchess of Almodóvar, and the importance of training and environment for the development of the management skills of family libraries., Este trabajo analiza la participación de las mujeres en las redes de sociabilidad y la conformación de bibliotecas en el siglo XVIII. Se trataba de conexiones y espacios que se conformaron, o que ellas mismas construyeron, en la encrucijada de la circulación de ideas, modas y objetos con un fuerte componente transnacional. Por un lado, analizaré la participación de la primera duquesa de Almodóvar, María Joaquina Monserrat, en diferentes círculos intelectuales y de sociabilidad como resultado de su labor como embajadora consorte en diferentes países europeos. Por otro, ahondaré en la figura de su sobrina Josefa Dominga Catalá, futura duquesa de Almodóvar, y en la importancia de la formación y el entorno para el desarrollo de la capacidad de gestión de las bibliotecas familiares.

Anemia is one of the most frequent diseases worldwide, affecting one-third of the general population. Anemia in general and in particular, iron-deficient anemia (IDA), has been associated to a higher risk of thrombotic manifestations, including ischemic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), as well as systemic extra-cerebral arterial and venous thrombosis. Despite these data, anemia is seldom considered as an etiological factor of stroke. An individual case encompassing all known neurovascular and systemic arterial and venous thrombotic manifestations related to IDA is presented with the focus on clinical reasoning issues in the diagnostic pathways, starting from the neuroradiological signs. The main questions have been identified and addressed in a narrative review of the most relevant data in the literature from a pragmatic and clinical viewpoint. The presented case concerns a 46-year-old man admitted to the Stroke Unit because of acute ischemic stroke with multiple thrombi in large intracranial and extracranial vessels, multifocal ischemic lesions in several arterial territories and the concurrent finding of asymptomatic CVT, pulmonary embolism with lung infarction and aortic thrombosis. An extended diagnostic work-up excluded the main etiologies (arterial dissection, cardiac embolism, genetic and acquired prothrombotic disorders, such as cancer and antiphospholipid syndrome), except for a severe IDA, such as to require blood transfusions followed by anticoagulant therapy for the several thrombotic manifestations. Neuroimaging and systemic vascular findings have been analyzed, and the main issues proposed by the case in the diagnostic pathway have been identified and discussed in a pragmatic clinical road map reviewing the data provided by the literature. Conclusions: IDA is a common but treatable condition that, independently or synergically, may increase the risk of thrombotic events. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach has not yet been defined, and

Purpose The stakeholder theory is a prominent management approach that has primarily been adopted in the past few years. Despite the increase in the theory’s use, a limited number of studies have discussed ways to develop, execute and measure the results of using this strategic approach with stakeholders. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by conducting a systematic review of the stakeholder management process. Design/methodology/approach Five databases were selected to search articles published from 1985 to 2015. The keywords used were stakeholder management, stakeholder relationship and stakeholder engagement. Starting from 2,457 articles identified using a keyword search, 33 key journal articles were systematically reviewed using both bibliometric and qualitative methods for analysis. Findings The results highlight that stakeholder management is increasingly embedded in corporate activities, and that the coming of the internet, social networking and Big Data have put more pressure on companies to develop new tools and techniques to manage stakeholders online. In conclusion, synthesizing the findings and developed framework allows the understanding of different streams of research and identifies future steps for research. Originality/value While literature reviews are a widespread practice in business studies, only a few more recent reviews use the systematic review methodology that aggregates knowledge using clearly defined processes and criteria. This is the first review on stakeholder management in which the structure is existing knowledge on strategy development, execution and the measurement of performance.

Il termine delocalizzazione produttiva identifica la decisione di un’impresa di spostare parte della propria attività in Paesi diversi da quello di origine, al fine di avvantaggiarsi di condizioni di produzione migliori, spesso associate a minori costi del lavoro e delle materie prime. Tale processo può determinare numerosi vantaggi, tra cui una maggiore competitività dell’impresa e la possibilità di trasferire posti di lavoro, conoscenze e tecnologia al contesto di destinazione. Tuttavia, evidenti sono i rischi: dall’impoverimento dei Paesi di origine, fino all’acuirsi di situazioni di sfruttamento del lavoro e depauperamento delle risorse in quelli in cui si sposta l’attività. La DSC rileva la complessità del fenomeno e richiama alla necessità di proporre modelli di sviluppo capaci di promuovere la dignità e la creatività umana, lo sviluppo integrale solidale dei Popoli, una più equa distribuzione della ricchezza e un maggiore rispetto per l’ambiente e la qualità della vita.

The paper presents a study that aims to compare the contribution of social and environmental practices along the purchasing process to economic performance, competitiveness, and risk mitigation of the buying firm. The number of studies dealing with the topic has significantly increased in the last few years. The majority of the extant research is focused on the environmental dimension, whereas fewer studies have explored the social dimension or the combination of both factors. The results are mixed, with some scholars supporting the existence of a positive relationship between socially and environmentally oriented purchasing management and financial performance, competitiveness and risk mitigation and others being more cautious. Relying on suggestions from earlier literature, the study presents an analysis of a database made up of 189 international buying companies operating in Italy, and the results have provoked two main observations. Data were collected through a closed-question questionnaire to purchasing managers, which was defined from items and variables identified in the previous literature. On the one hand, the results corroborated the hypotheses of the study, confirming that both dimensions contribute to firm performance. On the other hand, the findings showed that differences do exist and that the positive relationship between social and environmental dimensions and firm performance depends upon the stage into which those criteria are integrated. The integration of social criteria has proven to impact only risk mitigation throughout the purchasing process, whereas the environmental dimension contributes to risk mitigation and competitiveness when included in the supplier selection phase and to economic performance when considered in supplier relationship management.

Purpose - This paper intends to compare the sustainability reporting (SR) in three different national and institutional contexts, namely Italy, Brazil and USA, and aims to investigate whether companies show a different approach to SR depending on the institutional setting where they operate. Design/methodology/approach - To reach this goal, a sample of 150 reports was content-analyzed through a methodology based on a coding process which overcomes part of the limitations in previous works. Findings - Results observed a relationship between the SR and the characteristics of institutional contexts, thus suggesting that while there is a general acceptance and use of international SR standards and initiatives, the content is influenced by and shaped on the characteristics of the national institutional context. In other words, although a widely diffused base of data and information can be found in the SR of companies in different contexts, the accent is put on specific issues which reflect the political, cultural, religious, legal and otherwise defined institutions in the national system. Originality/value - Using the institutional theory the paper demonstrated that institutional contexts is one of the drivers of contents of sustainability reports.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that features progressive, disabling motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Nevertheless, some non-motor symptoms, including depression, REM sleep behavior disorder, and olfactive impairment, are even earlier features of PD. At later stages, apathy, impulse control disorder, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment can present, and they often become a heavy burden for both patients and caregivers. Indeed, PD increasingly compromises activities of daily life, even though a high variability in clinical presentation can be observed among people affected. Nowadays, symptomatic drugs and non-pharmaceutical treatments represent the best therapeutic options to improve quality of life in PD patients. The aim of the present review is to provide a practical, stage-based guide to pharmacological management of both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. Furthermore, warning about drug side effects, contraindications, as well as dosage and methods of administration, are highlighted here, to help the physician in yielding the best therapeutic strategies for each symptom and condition in patients with PD.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that features progressive, disabling motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Nevertheless, some non-motor symptoms, including depression, REM sleep behavior disorder, and olfactive impairment, are even earlier features of PD. At later stages, apathy, impulse control disorder, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and cognitive impairment can present, and they often become a heavy burden for both patients and caregivers. Indeed, PD increasingly compromises activities of daily life, even though a high variability in clinical presentation can be observed among people affected. Nowadays, symptomatic drugs and non-pharmaceutical treatments represent the best therapeutic options to improve quality of life in PD patients. The aim of the present review is to provide a practical, stage-based guide to pharmacological management of both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. Furthermore, warning about drug side effects, contraindications, as well as dosage and methods of administration, are highlighted here, to help the physician in yielding the best therapeutic strategies for each symptom and condition in patients with PD.

Il report analizza l'integrazione della sostenibilità nelle politiche di gestione sviluppate e approvate dai consigli di amministrazione.

The role of the institutional context in the pattern of the implementation of responsible procurement management (RPM) has been object of very limited previous research, although it has been found that it affects the approach to both CSR and supply chain management. The article presents the results of an in-depth comparative study drawing on 47 interviews with managers of 13 companies in Italy and Germany, which have been previously related to different national institutional settings. The analysis demonstrates that the perception of factors influencing RPM implementation differs between Italian and German companies, and suggests that the institutional context affects not only the overall CSR behavior of the company, but also its institutionalization into a specific function. Results show that the institutional context mainly determines the boundaries within which practitioners are able to operate, whereas the ability to effectively bring about changes in their activity mainly depends upon organizational environment.

The emphasis on the role of stakeholder dialogue in managerial systems has recently increased in the extant literature, but empirical evidence on the determinants of stakeholder dialogue initiatives is still fragmented. This paper applies institutional theory to analyze the stakeholder dialogue practices realized by companies. It proposes a broader perspective on its pattern of development. The study is based on an analysis of 2797 SD initiatives realized by 418 companies listed in the FTSE4Good Global index on December 31st 2011 from 20 different countries (in Europe, North America, and Asia). The findings confirm the existence of distinctions among the stakeholder dialogue realized by companies in different national institutional contexts. Thus, it is suggested that SD should not be intended only as a voluntary, but firms should recognize it as a necessary managerial practice to build a broad information base useful to align sustainability performance and managerial systems to the institutional context where the company operates.

The majority of studies discussed the existence of a trade-off between financial performance and outreach, pointing out those MFIs that look for higher profits lead to lower outreach. Another stream of research discussed the phenomena of mission drift, which see MFIs leave from their social mission, which is to provide micro financial services to break the cycle of poverty by reducing financial exclusion and move away from the traditional microcredit business model by three different ways. The paper contribute to the debate focussing the impact of mission drift phenomena on both financial performance and outreach of MFIs. This paper uses a dataset of 194 microfinance institutions (MFIs), 788 annual ratings from 2001 to 2010, collected by MicroFinanza Rating, an international MFIs’ rating agency, to study and test three hypotheses on the relationship between mission drift, financial performance and outreach of MFIs. Data analysed with mixed effect regressions shows that a trade-off exist between financial performance and outreach. Results show that mission drift positively impacts on financial performance but it reduces outreach. MFIs should be encouraged to clearly define if their main aim is to assure remuneration of shareholders or if they want to contribute to the outreach of poor.

Despite the growth of the sector, microfinance's academic research in developed countries is still very limited. The paper builds on earlier works, which discuss four technical problems related to the diffusion of microfinance in developing countries. In re-framing their approach to apply it to developed countries, we propose a set of recommendations in order to foster the growth of the microfinance sector: (1) the use of financial institutions to supply microfinance products; (2) the development of an alternative credit scoring in banks; (3) the adoption of a regulatory framework for microfinance; and (4) the use of networks as social collaterals.

This article investigates how a start-up foundation can build its organisational social capital, meaning a network of strategic partnerships with other organisations based on trust relationships, in order to fulfil its mission. Based on a case study analysis of Fondazione Welfare Ambrosiano - an Italian foundation created in partnership with private organisations and local public institutions - we explored whether and how some characteristics of the social capital of the foundation’s members contributed to the organisational social capital. By applying Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) social capital framework, we discovered that the social capital configuration of the founders and staff, linked to some characteristics of the foundation, had driven the development of the organisational social capital. Our paper contributes to an understanding of what constitutes the best configuration of social capital to allow a start-up foundation to take off.

The chapter discussed the process of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition for social development.

The paper assess the impact of responsible supply chain management on performance

In this article we introduce an approximation to the study of the apparent contradiction between humility, promoted by the religious discourse, and pride, developed through different practices. We will examine the main spiritual religious feminine model of the 17th and 18th centuries. In order to make a better analysis we will focus on three valencian women: Blessed Inés of Benigànim, Gertrudis Anglesola and Luisa Zaragoza., En este artículo se realiza una primera aproximación al estudio de la aparente contradicción entre la humildad promovida por el discurso religioso y el orgullo manifestado a través de las prácticas en el modelo espiritual femenino de los siglos XVII y XVIII. Para ello analizaremos los casos de tres mujeres valencianas_ la Beata Inés de Benigànim, y las venerables Gertrudis Anglesola y Luisa Zaragoza.

In this article we introduce an approximation to the study of the apparent contradiction between humility, promoted by the religious discourse, and pride, developed through different practices. We will examine the main spiritual religious feminine model of the 17th and 18th centuries. In order to make a better analysis we will focus on three valencian women: Blessed Inés of Benigànim, Gertrudis Anglesola and Luisa Zaragoza., En este artículo se realiza una primera aproximación al estudio de la aparente contradicción entre la humildad promovida por el discurso religioso y el orgullo manifestado a través de las prácticas en el modelo espiritual femenino de los siglos XVII y XVIII. Para ello analizaremos los casos de tres mujeres valencianas_ la Beata Inés de Benigànim, y las venerables Gertrudis Anglesola y Luisa Zaragoza.

The present work explores if and how the actual use of supports made available by state, organisations and families help workers reduce the perceived WFC, explored from both WIF and FIW perspectives. The study is based on a survey which involved 2,029 employees in six large Italian firms. To test hypotheses a hierarchical regression analysis was performed. WFC should be explored considering its bi-directionality, since supports have different impacts on WIF and FIW. Workplace instrumental support have mixed effects on work-family conflict, whereas workplace emotional support and familiar support reduce both family interference with work and work interference with family. The study is limited to the Italian national context and data were collected in a single moment of time, which did not allow observing changes in employees’ lives. Human Resource managers as well as policy makers can find results useful to design effective work-life balance policies and supports, where attention is mainly devoted to promote workplace emotional supports and facilitate familiar help. The study highlights that to reduce the pressures from work and family responsibilities which generate WFC state, organisational and familiar supports have different effects which should be carefully be considered when defining policies and interventions. The study is one of the few which compares the role of supports provided by actors in different sectors on FIW and WIF, thus allowing understanding whether the bi-directionality of the conflicts is a relevant perspective.

Drawing upon institutional and organisational culture theories, the present work explores organizational commitment to work-life balance practices, thus proposing an original contribution within the field. Indeed, literature on work-life balance is still limited and, among existing studies, few have analysed the relationships with external social pressure (institutional) and internal motivations (organizational values and increase of productivity).rnThe analyses takes into consideration a sample of 107 organisations nearly equally split among profit, non-profit and public sectors in the Italian national context, which represent a well-known model of welfare state. Findings confirm that differences among the three sectors exist in terms of the rationales and the commitment to WLB policies and practices due to different institutional context and organizational cultures.

Come la gestione responsabile dei fornitori può alimentare il vantaggio competitivo? Questa è la domanda cui è necessario rispondere per aiutare le imprese a superare la logica della pura reazione difensiva ed assumere un impegno più sistematico nei confronti della catena di fornitura. Da qui nasce la presente monografia scientifica che, attraverso la proposta di un modello di gestione, intende stimolare manager e studiosi a ripensare le logiche di acquisto e a sviluppare approcci strategici attraverso cui le pratiche socio-ambientali verso i fornitori diventino leva di migliori performance competitive ed economiche. La speranza è quella di incoraggiare sempre più imprese ad intraprendere un percorso di gestione responsabile dei fornitori, diventando così promotrici di uno sviluppo economico e sociale più inclusivo.

The Responsible Consumption Propensity Scale (Pedrini & Ferri, 2014) measured both consumers’ commitment to gather information on responsible products and his/her awareness on the possibility to exercise the power of legitimacy or sanction. The scale was used within the context of a study that explored the characteristics that may affect consumers’ perceptions and willingness to purchase socially and environmentally responsible products. The questionnaire contained 14 items. Factor analysis identified two factors: Orientation of consumers towards social and environmental information (5 items; e.g. "I don’t know firms that I think have bad soc/env performance") and inclusion of these dimensions in purchasing decision making (9 items; e.g., "I've bought a fair trade product in the last year"). In a sample of consumers, over 14 years of age, the Cronbach's alpha was 0.842, indicating adequate reliability. Confirmatory factor model with maximum likelihood estimation indicated test validity. (PsycTESTS Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose of the paper: To measure the gap between the propensity towards responsible consumerism and the actual behavior of Italian consumers in real settings. Methodology: We explored the responsible consumerism propensity-behavior gap, taking into consideration a sample of 5.098 Italian consumers and analyzing the most purchased products by the group of 766 consumers that declared a high propensity towards responsible consumerism in the initial part of the survey. Findings: Results confirm the existence of a responsible propensity-behavior gap in real scenarios, since only 37,2% of mostly-purchased products by responsible consumers has a social or environmental label. The analysis of the rationale highlights that purchasing decisions are mainly based on environmental and health-related values, whereas strictly socially-oriented characteristics receive limited attention. Research limits: The study collected data only on Italian consumers and therefore did not allow us to understand the impact of different national cultures on consumers. Practical implications: Since products with pure social or environmental contents target only well-informed consumers, managers should increase consumers’ knowledge around the social and environmental contents of products. If managers want to target a larger share of market, they should develop products that exploit social/environmental characteristics to enhance performance related to traditional attributes. Originality of the study: The study is one of the first to consider both the propensity and actual behavior of consumers. Second, while previous researches had studied behaviors in experimental, hypothetical or ad-hoc setting, this one is the first that investigates behavior by using data on purchases in real settings regardless of the store

The paper analyses consumers’ propensity for socially and environmentally friendly products through socio-demographic indicators. Although the topic has been object of a wide literature, most of the previous studies suffered from methodological or sampling limitations. Hence, the present work addresses such limitations and proposes a study based on a wide heterogeneous sample of 5098 consumers, observed in their real settings. Results show the most responsible consumers are older, well-educated and wealthy, while gender is not a significant antecedent. The in-depth analysis of findings thus confirms the usefulness of socio-demographic variables to understand and determine the profile of responsible consumers. However, the study denies that the propensity to buy responsible products relates to the different sensitiveness of men and women, whereas it underlines that age, education and wealth have a positive relationship. Moreover, the analysis identifies four different profiles of consumer based on the different levels of propensity towards responsible products, which confirms the influence of the socio-demographic variables. This also allows identifying relevant indications on consumers’ decision making, useful to draw indications on possible effective marketing strategies for responsible products.

Although the emphasis on stakeholder dialogue (SD) has recently increased in the extant literature, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the SD initiatives undertaken by firms and the literature is still fragmented. According to focal studies on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and institutional contexts, this paper aims at advancing the understanding of how institutional contexts impact on the adoption of SD into practice. Moreover, adopting the institutional theory, this study aims to understand how different CSR institutional contexts influence SD, through an analysis of 2,797 SD initiatives realized by 418 companies listed in the FTSE4Good Global index at 31st December 2011 from 20 different countries (in Europe, North America and Asia). Overall, our findings offer contribution to empirical research about the link between SD initiatives and different contexts, thus filling the gap and providing evidences to theoretical debate. Results confirmed that the different CSR institutional contexts determine firms’ SD approach.

Although the emphasis on stakeholder dialogue (SD) has recently increased in the extant literature, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the SD initiatives undertaken by firms and the literature is still fragmented. According to focal studies on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and institutional contexts, this paper aims at advancing the understanding of how institutional contexts impact on the adoption of SD into practice. Moreover, adopting the institutional theory, this study aims to understand how different CSR institutional contexts influence SD, through an analysis of 2,797 SD initiatives realized by 418 companies listed in the FTSE4Good Global index at 31st December 2011 from 20 different countries (in Europe, North America and Asia). Overall, our findings offer contribution to empirical research about the link between SD initiatives and different contexts, thus filling the gap and providing evidences to theoretical debate. Results confirmed that the different CSR institutional contexts determine firms’ SD approach.

Research on the growing importance attributed by consumers to Corporate Social Responsibility has emphasised the need to study the features of consumers who are aware of social and environmental issues (i.e. Responsible Consumers). Our research aimed to investigate whether the demographical characteristics distinguish between Responsible Consumer Attitudes, and gather useful information both from a business and academic point of view. Building on previous research into ethical consumers, initially we developed a responsible attitude scale, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In a second phase we tested five hypotheses on relation between gender, age, educational level, income, geographical with responsible attitude and data collected from a sample of 5,098 Italian consumers The results show that age, average income and level of education exert a consistent and positive influence on Responsible Attitude. A positive, though smaller, effect of gender and geographical areas can also be seen to affect the appeal CSR holds for consumers. The research improves understanding of consumers who have a Responsible Attitude, who are mainly the final target of CSR initiatives and are probably interested in social and environmental products. It gives two contributions to research of social and environmental consumers. The first is the development a single measure to evaluate the attention given by consumer both to social and environmental concerns in the purchasing (Responsible Attitude). The second is the development and test of five hypotheses on relations between demographics and responsible attitude on a sample of 5.098 Italian consumers. The research is the first large analysis conducted on these issues based on Italian consumers.

Extant studies demonstrated that internal and external variables affecting firms’ behaviors towards CSR are determined by differences in national and cultural contexts (Papasolomou-Doukadis et al., 2005; Juholin, 2004; Fulop et al., 2000; Tencati et al., 2004; Abreu et al., 2005). In this field of studies, a different role is acknowledged to companies in developed and developing countries which have to respond to diverse pressures and requests by stakeholders. The article explores the cross-cultural and institutional differences between developed and emerging economies through an original perspective which analyzes the social and environmental content of corporate reports – whether social or financial. Previous works, indeed, suggested that the country institutional setting – as well as industrial one – affects the disclosure of CSR related information by firms (Kolk et al., 2001; Kolk 2005; Maignan and Ralston, 2002, Meek et al., 1995). The work presents the results of the content-analysis of the reports published by Italian and Brazilian listed companies and compares the different approaches. Results confirm different approaches between the companies in the two countries and suggest driven by the institutional context. While Italian reports include extensive information towards a wide range of stakeholders, Brazilian ones are more specific and aimed at demonstrating the commitment to the critical problems of the national population.

L’articolo analizza la relazione tra il conflitto tra famiglia e lavoro e le pratiche implementate dalle aziende per risolvere tale conflitto. L’attenzione attorno al tema è cresciuta negli ultimi decenni alimentata dalle sempre maggiori difficoltà che i lavoratori sperimentano per rispondere alle proprie responsabilità familiari e lavorative (Allen et al. 2000; Brummelhuis & Van der Lippe 2010; Greenhaus & Powell, 2006). Alla luce della crescente rilevanza del tema, il presente articolo ha l’obiettivo di analizzare l’impatto che le iniziative di work-life balance hanno sul conflitto percepito dai lavoratori. Grazie a un questionario somministrato a 2.419 lavoratori si sono identificati quattro cluster di lavoratori che presentano una differente percezione del conflitto tra famiglia e lavoro: gli armonici, i rampanti, i migratori e i bloccati. Per ogni cluster, quindi, si sono individuate le iniziative implementate dalle aziende che si sono dimostrate più efficaci nel ridurre il conflitto esistente. La ricerca ha quindi evidenziato come l’efficacia delle iniziative di work-life balance dipenda dalla percezione del conflitto da parte dei lavoratori e, quindi, come differenti strategie di conciliazione debbano essere intraprese in risposta ai quattro cluster individuati.

Extant studies demonstrated that internal and external variables affecting firms’ behaviors towards CSR are determined by differences in national and cultural contexts (Papasolomou-Doukadis et al., 2005; Juholin, 2004; Fulop et al., 2000; Tencati et al., 2004; Abreu et al., 2005). In this field of studies, a different role is acknowledged to companies in developed and developing countries which have to respond to diverse pressures and requests by stakeholders. The article explores the cross-cultural and institutional differences between developed and emerging economies through an original perspective which analyzes the social and environmental content of corporate reports – whether social or financial. Previous works, indeed, suggested that the country institutional setting – as well as industrial one – affects the disclosure of CSR related information by firms (Kolk et al., 2001; Kolk 2005; Maignan and Ralston, 2002, Meek et al., 1995). The work presents the results of the content-analysis of the reports published by Italian and Brazilian listed companies and compares the different approaches. Results confirm different approaches between the companies in the two countries and suggest driven by the institutional context. While Italian reports include extensive information towards a wide range of stakeholders, Brazilian ones are more specific and aimed at demonstrating the commitment to the critical problems of the national population.

Research on the growing importance attributed by consumers to Corporate Social Responsibility has emphasised the need to study the features of consumers who are aware of social and environmental issues (i.e. Responsible Consumers). Our research aimed to investigate whether the demographical characteristics distinguish between Responsible Consumer Attitudes, and gather useful information both from a business and academic point of view. Building on previous research into ethical consumers, initially we developed a responsible attitude scale, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In a second phase we tested five hypotheses on relation between gender, age, educational level, income, geographical with responsible attitude and data collected from a sample of 5,098 Italian consumers The results show that age, average income and level of education exert a consistent and positive influence on Responsible Attitude. A positive, though smaller, effect of gender and geographical areas can also be seen to affect the appeal CSR holds for consumers. The research improves understanding of consumers who have a Responsible Attitude, who are mainly the final target of CSR initiatives and are probably interested in social and environmental products. It gives two contributions to research of social and environmental consumers. The first is the development a single measure to evaluate the attention given by consumer both to social and environmental concerns in the purchasing (Responsible Attitude). The second is the development and test of five hypotheses on relations between demographics and responsible attitude on a sample of 5.098 Italian consumers. The research is the first large analysis conducted on these issues based on Italian consumers.

Il capitolo analizza i principali rischi sociali e ambientali che possono emergere lungo la catena di fornitura globale di un'azienda del settore tessile e pelletteria.

In the past few years interest in cross-sectorial partnerships (Selsky & Parker 2005) has grown both in the academic and practitioner field and it has focused on both NGO-business (Vurro et al. 2010; Jamali & Keshishian 2009; Seitanidi & Crane 2009; King 2007; Ahlstrom & Sjostrom 2005; Rondinelli & London 2003) and public-private sectors (Parker & Hartley 2003; Googins & Rochlin 2000); relationships. These studies have mainly focused around the prerequisites and conditions necessary to guarantee the effective implementation and success of the alliance, its sustainability in the long-term period and the main obstacles that might affect. However, further research has been invoked in order to foster the understanding on the institutionalizations process (Vurro et al.2011), the quantification of benefits (Ahlstrom & Sjostrom 2005; Parker & Hartley 2003) and the inter/intra organizational management of the partnership to overcome sectorial differences (Selsky & Parker 2005). The present paper starts from this last suggestion and aims at contributing to the literate development exploring how organizations from different sectors can successfully work together for the realization of a social project. In particular, it explores how they can integrate culture and resources in order to exploit the respective strengths and overcome each other limitations. In other words, attention is devoted to understand how partners can realize powerful synergies (Makower 1994), thus exploiting resources, competencies and skills typical of the different members, in order to reach a better result that could not been successfully achieved otherwise. Bearing in mind this considerations, this article analyzes the case study of the project “Arvore da Vida”, developed by Fiat Brasil. AVSI (an Italian NGO) and CDM (a local NGO), with the aim to promote the social development and the reinforcement of the local community in the urban area of Jardim Terezopolis (Belo Horizonte, Brasil).

Extant studies demonstrated that internal and external variables affecting firms’ behaviors towards CSR are determined by differences in national and cultural contexts (Papasolomou-Doukadis et al., 2005; Juholin, 2004; Fulop et al., 2000; Tencati et al., 2004; Abreu et al., 2005). In The article explores the cross-cultural and institutional differences between developed and emerging economies through an original perspective which analyzes the social and environmental content of corporate reports – whether social or financial. Previous works, indeed, suggested that the country institutional setting – as well as industrial one – affects the disclosure of CSR related information by firms (Kolk et al., 2001; Kolk 2005; Maignan and Ralston, 2002, Meek et al., 1995). Results confirm different approaches between the companies in the two countries and suggest driven by the institutional context. While Italian reports include extensive information towards a wide range of stakeholders, Brazilian ones are more specific and aimed at demonstrating the commitment to the critical problems of the national population.

In recent years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gained relevance in business strategy, asking to address social and environmental issues in business. To manage these issues the firms are rethinking their strategy, intro-ducing specific CSR actions and programs, and they are modifying their structure, establishing new positions called “CSR officers”. In this study, we explored the relations above integration of social and environmental is-sues into the firms' strategy, the degree of CSR officers‟ duty and the amount of implemented social and envi-ronmental activities. Data of a survey aimed to 100 CSR officers operating in Italian listed firms was used. We analyze data on implementation of 39 typical CSR actions in each firm. Data proves that recognize a high duty to CSR officer is as important as the integration of CSR into the firm‟s strategy to implement a large amount of CSR actions into the firm.

Building on the work by Patzelt and Shepherd (2010) the paper explores the recognition of opportunities for social entrepreneurship in Africa. In particular, it acknowledges what is proposed in their article and gives two contributions to the model development: first it expands the boundaries of the model by integrating additional variables, namely embeddedness in the context and innovativeness; secondly, it also considers the first-person opportunity beliefs. The study is based on both theoretical development and in-depth interviews with 38 students attending and MBA in Social Entrepreneurship at the Tangaza College in Nairobi (Kenya), selected on the basis of a business proposal to be developed over the programme. The importance of small enterprises in developing countries has been underlined by a variety of previous works (Van Dijk 2000). However, evidence on how they originate and relate to the social needs is still limited. Therefore the present study represents an original contribution within extant literature and it is also the first one which proposes an empirical analysis.

Extant studies demonstrated that institutional context is a determinant of firms’ behaviors towards CSR (Papasolomou-Doukadis et al., 2005; Juholin, 2004; Fülöp et al., 2000; Tencati et al., 2004; Abreu et al., 2005). In this field of studies, a different role is acknowledged to companies in developed and developing countries which have to respond to diverse pressures and requests by stakeholders. The article explores the differences in social responsibility disclosure among firms operating in explicit CSR institutional context, implicit CSR institutional context and emerging economies. We used an original perspective which analyzes the social and environmental content of corporate reports – whether social or financial. Previous works, indeed, suggested that the institutional setting – as well as industrial one – affects the disclosure of CSR related information by firms (Kolk et al., 2001; Kolk, 2005; Maignan and Ralston, 2002, Meek et al., 1995). The work presents the results of the content-analysis of the reports published by 150 listed companies operating in United States, Italy and Brazil to compare existing different approaches. Results confirm different approaches between the companies in the countries and suggest driven by the institutional context. While Italian reports include extensive information towards a wide range of stakeholders, Brazilian ones are more specific and aimed at demonstrating the commitment to the critical problems of the national population. United States aimed at show the relation between the decision to be involved in CSR and their corporate strategy.

The study is the first systematic analysis of responsible procurement practices in Italian companies in the textile and apparel industries sourcing from emerging countries. In particular it investigates the factors that drive the implementation of social and environmental policies, therefore including both organizational level and supply relationship characteristics. The analysis is based on separate binary logistic regressions for social and environmental dimensions of responsible procurement and includes a sample of 65 Italian companies across size range and ownership which purchase from overseas suppliers. Most of the supplier relationships are located in countries which have been associated with social and environmental concerns, mainly China and India. The methodology introduces an innovative technique for collecting and measuring responsible procurement and the results highlight interesting differences between social and environmental aspects. While the general engagement of Italian companies is low, support has been found for social responsible procurement model which suggests that corporate engagement can be explained by strategic factors and supply relationship characteristics. On the contrary, organizational aspects do not affect commitment to responsible procurement practices. No significant relationships have been found in the environmental responsible procurement model, suggesting that low importance is attached to this dimension.

The study is the first systematic analysis of responsible procurement practices in Italian companies in the textile and apparel industries sourcing from emerging countries. In particular it investigates the factors that drive the implementation of social and environmental policies, therefore including both organizational level and supply relationship characteristics. The analysis is based on separate binary logistic regressions for social and environmental dimensions of responsible procurement and includes a sample of 65 Italian companies across size range and ownership which purchase from overseas suppliers. Most of the supplier relationships are located in countries which have been associated with social and environmental concerns, mainly China and India. The methodology introduces an innovative technique for collecting and measuring responsible procurement and the results highlight interesting differences between social and environmental aspects. While the general engagement of Italian companies is low, support has been found for social responsible procurement model which suggests that corporate engagement can be explained by strategic factors and supply relationship characteristics. On the contrary, organizational aspects do not affect commitment to responsible procurement practices. No significant relationships have been found in the environmental responsible procurement model, suggesting that low importance is attached to this dimension.

The chapter analyses the food recovery, management and redistribution system from the viewpoint of food charities, and it presents a model to analyse the constraints faced by NPOs as well as the enablers which help them to manage surplus food more efficiently. The model is built combining the literature on both non-profit organisations and food recovery management with the empirical evidence from 37 cases of NPOs across four European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain). For each dimension of the model, the cross-case analysis carried out here allowed identifying strenghts and weaknesses of the NPOs along the three stages of the food recovery process: collection, management and distribution.