PurposeCan sustainability disclosures be a tool for executing image restoration strategies after corporate manslaughter? This is the question explored in this study of Costa Crociere's sustainability reports after the Concordia disaster.Design/methodology/approachMerging traditional textual content analysis with visual analysis and supported by machine learning tools, this is a predominantly qualitative study framed by legitimacy theory, image restoration theory and impression management.FindingsCosta Crociere's voluntary sustainability reporting is strongly influenced by a mix of text and visual signals that distract readers' attention from the disaster. A “nothing really happened” communication strategy pervades the disclosures, with the only rational motivation being to change perceptions and erase memories of this tragic and avoidable event.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the analysis covered multiple sources of corporate information, media coverage was not one of them. A more in-depth exploration of sustainability reporting in the cruise industry, including evidence of similar cases, to test impression management theory would be a worthwhile avenue for future research.Social implicationsWhile Costa Crociere technically followed the customary guidelines of disclosing human resource impacts, there was almost no acknowledgement of the people involved in the accident. Costa Concierevastly understated their responsibility for the accident, did not apologize, and conveyed very little remorse. The majority of disclosures centred on disaster recovery management.Originality/valueThe authors discuss why and how a company can overcome a legitimacy threat by completely freezing its voluntary sustainability reporting, and the authors show how a company can restore its image by minimizing specific aspects of an accident and shifting attention from the human victims to corporate operations. Incorporating image recognition driven by AI models and combining the results with narrative disclosures contributes an innovative and original analysis technique to the field of impression management. In addition, this research also contributes to our knowledge on the cruise industry – a sector currently under scrutiny for its ethical, social and environmental practices.

Recent policy changes in sustainability reporting, such as the ones related to the new European Directive on non-financial disclosure (2014/95/EU), the standards issued by the American Sustainability Accounting Standard Board (SASB), the G4 guidelines issued by the Global Sustainability Standard Board (GSSB), and the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) stress the importance of extending the disclosure of ethical, social, and environmental risks within financial and social-environmental reporting. Institutional pressure has notably increased among organizations, in setting up risk management tools to understand sustainability risks within managerial and reporting practices. Given such institutional pressure, the corporate reaction in providing additional sustainability risk disclosure calls for attention and scrutiny. Therefore, this study aims at addressing such issues from an exploratory perspective. We based our analysis on a sample of large Italian organizations that issued sustainability disclosure in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), G4 guidelines, and we tested the relationship between their level of risk disclosure and other relevant variables. Consistently with the literature, we found that "experienced" sustainable reporters provide a significant volume of disclosure, and that disclosure quality on risk is positively influenced by their international presence and reporting experience. However, when accounting for specific risk-related areas of disclosure, only a few of them seem to adopt a managerial perspective linking strategy, risk metrics, and disclosure.

This article aims to explore how an individual actor, embodying the role of the institutional entrepreneur, legitimizes new corporate reporting practices. This study is based on a longitudinal and explanatory case study of an Italian listed public utility, operating in the electricity sector, which has recently implemented Integrated Reporting. Findings were analysed through the lens of institutional entrepreneurship, revealing that Integrated Reporting can be implemented through the legitimizing activities carried out by the corporate social responsibility manager. This organizational professional, with strong competences and intrinsic engagement, efficiently uses available resources and gains support from various organizational groups through intense networking. A substantial change in corporate reporting practices can influence the position of the institutional entrepreneur who originally triggered the change process. The institutional entrepreneur first moves from the periphery to the centre of the organization and then shares such central role with other organizational professionals once the change has been implemented.

Despite the many studies on corporate sustainability, few have analyzed the specific case of the family business. Family firms have certain characteristics that make them different from nonfamily firms, making it valuable to analyze whether these peculiarities are also reflected in their attitude toward sustainability. Specifically, the determinants of the sustainability concept in family firms are unclear. Given the importance of family businesses in most economies, this paper will contribute to filling this gap, depicting through a literature review the main determinants that can affect the sustainability approach of the family firm. The systematic review was carried out through a documented process to guarantee its replicability. The findings show that drivers do not have a homogenous impact on sustainability initiatives due to the distinctiveness of these types of firms. This review contributes by systematizing the existing literature on such topics, identifying future research avenues, and providing several stimuli for researchers. KEYWORDScorporate sustainability, family firms, internal determinants, internal drivers, literature review, research agenda, stakeholder engagement

Agritourism has achieved a greater importance in the last decade, but despite this relevance, the definition is not aligned everywhere, depending on the contingency variables of the context in which agritourism is located. This paper aims at analyzing the business model's key success factors of Italian agritourism by studying their structural, social and economic features, integrated with a sustainability approach. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of agritourism, located in an Italian region. The empirical results show relevant and useful elements to support the sustainable development of agritourism business models in Italy, linking theory, policy and practices. Indeed, these results, together with others related to the economic dimension of the farms, their specialization, and the characteristics of the farmers make it possible to argue that there are common elements, which offer potential for agritourism. In addition, it was possible to identify two different models of agritourism. Agritourism can open new horizons in rural sustainable development, with possible beneficial effects on the environment, society, agricultural heritage and economic growth. In particular, regional policy developers should take into consideration these elements in order to direct correctly efforts. The research shows also some interesting theoretical implications as it contributes to enrich the literature on this particular kind of business model. At the same time, it helps family owners to increase the overall understanding of their agritourism, in order to finalize adequate planning and communication.