Companies disclosing nonfinancial information through sustainability reporting practices provide markets with data on their social, environmental, and governance performance. The quality of sustainability reporting is much discussed in the literature because this quality affects factors such as the credibility of accountability and building stakeholders’ trust in the company. Nonetheless, the concept of quality is multidimensional, and empirical evidence relating to the quality of sustainability reporting presents different findings. Regulations on mandatory nonfinancial disclosure (NFD) open new perspectives for research on sustainability reporting quality (SRQ). This study explored the effect of introducing mandatory NFD on SRQ by focusing on the effects of new legislation (Directive 2014/95/EU) introduced in Italy and Germany. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of Italian and German companies in the top lists of stock exchanges. Sustainability reporting practices of one year before (2016) and one year after (2017) the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU were compared. The results of 132 observations demonstrated that the quality of sustainability reporting increased after implementation of the law on mandatory NFD. Further, the effect of the law seemed to reduce the differences in SRQ of the two countries before the introduction of mandatory NFD. The results suggested that obligatoriness of NFD affects SRQ together with other relevant determinants focused on by previous research (e.g., company size and industry type).

Regulations establishing mandatory sustainability reporting practices are proliferating around the world. The empirical evidence comparing sustainability reporting quality (SRQ) in the context of mandatory and voluntary institutional frameworks does not show consensus. Similarly, this occurs with studies addressing the effects of regulatory shocks on SRQ. Moreover, empirical evidence addressing SRQ in Latin American countries is scarce. To fill this gap, this study aims to explore the consequences of introducing new regulatory requirements for sustainability disclosure on SRQ of Peruvian companies. To reach that goal, 81 sustainability disclosure documents published between 2014 and 2016 by 27 companies included in the S&P/BVL Peru General Index of Lima’s Stock Exchange were analyzed using qualitative content analysis methods and adopting a multidimensional approach for SRQ evaluation. The findings show a constant improvement of SRQ regardless of the introduction of the new regulatory requirements. Furthermore, after the entry into force of new sustainability reporting obligations, the number of companies providing third-party independent assurance of the information contained in their sustainability disclosure documents decreases, suggesting that for the Peruvian case, regulatory requirements tend to discourage companies to invest in the credibility of their sustainability disclosure documents, and promote a symbolic application of sustainability disclosure standards.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are a major institutional force in promoting sustainable development, especially in institutional environments where governments have often not been able to assume the role of development agent. Despite this importance, the approach of Latin American NGOs to sustainability has received only little attention so far and respective research is scarce. To address this research gap, we conducted an online survey of 306 Latin American NGOs, investigating their understanding of sustainability and how they seek to transmit it. Due to the lack of previous empirical studies, our study is exploratory in nature and examines eight research categories: (1) NGOs definition of sustainability; (2) the role they see for themselves in its promotion, (3) dimensions of sustainability judged as important, (4) stakeholders and (5) partners considered, (6) motives for pursuing sustainability, (7) forms of implementation, and (8) measures regarded as necessary for spreading it further. Our findings are discussed against the institutional environment of Latin America, as we assume that the understanding and transmission of sustainability is contextual in nature. Our study shows that the sustainability concept of the sample NGOs is broad and that they take a wide variety of efforts for implementing it. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the reliability and validity of the eight-component-model we applied for our study. Thus, it serves as a valuable starting point for future research into the ''terra incognita'' of Latin American NGOs' approach to sustainability.Résumé Les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) représentent une force institutionnelle majeure dans la promotion du développement durable, surtout dans les milieux institutionnels où les gouvernements ont rarement été en mesure d'assumer le rôle d'agent du développement. Malgré cette importance, l'approche des ONG latines américaines face à la durabilité n'a reçu qu'une attention mitigée à ce jour, et les recherches connexes se font rares. Pour combler cette brèche, nous avons mené un sondage en ligne auprès de 306 ONG latines américaines portant sur leur compréhension du concept de durabilité et la façon dont elles entendent le transmettre. Puisque les études empiriques antérieures sont insuffisantes, notre étude est de nature exploratoire et se penche sur huit catégories de recherche : 1) la définition que les ONG donnent à la durabilité; 2) le rôle qu'elles jugent jouer dans sa promotion; 3) les dimensions de la durabilité considérées importantes; 4) les intervenants; et 5) partenaires potentiellement impliqués; 6) les motifs avancés pour la quête de la durabilité; 7) les formes de mise en oeuvre; et 8) les mesures jugées nécessaires pour l'émanciper davantage. Nos résultats sont exposés dans le contexte du milieu institutionnel de l'Amérique latine, car nous présumons que la compréhension et la transmission du concept de durabilité sont de nature contextuelle. Notre étude démontre que le concept de durabilité des ONG...

Rethinking the traditional understanding of organizational purpose appears to be necessary. A teleological paradigm shift seems to be on its way, changing the focus of attention from considering business organizations as instruments used to generate profits toward a more comprehensive understanding of their purpose and of the benefit they can create for society. Recently, new organizational entities have emerged, accompanied by the renewal of institutional frameworks, among them are benefit corporations. Italy was the first European country to introduce a legal framework to define the benefit corporation as a particular legal entity. The Italian law on the benefit corporations proposes the promotion of firms that pursue the generation of benefit in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent way and considering diverse stakeholders. This paper explores and describes the multidimensional understanding of benefit and purpose of Italian benefit corporations, utilizing qualitative and quantitative content analysis of 94 Italian benefit corporations' purpose declarations, and providing a deep insight into the purpose declared by benefit corporations. The research highlights a certain vagueness in public declarations of the purpose of benefit corporations, even though it is clear that they attempt to differentiate themselves from traditional businesses by focusing on social objectives more than on economic ones. Furthermore, normative compliance emerged, but further normative requirements seem to be needed to make more effective the transformative potentiality of benefit corporations and to avoid risks of opportunistic behaviors.

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