Several studies have focused mainly on the following approach to tackle sustainable development issues at the management level: single sustainability managerial tools adoption (e.g., sustainable balance scorecard) and the “overlap” process between traditional management practices and sustainability-oriented ones. Conversely, integration as an “alignment” process between different sustainability management practices represents a research field, which is currently underinvestigated. Filling this gap, the purpose of the present study is to deepen and find empirical evidence on how sustainability management accounting, control, and reporting systems can be integrated through an alignment process. To this aim, we focused our analysis on a Mediterranean holding company, which is a well-known sustainable corporate practitioner to foster sustainable development in a socioeconomic and environmental problematic context. Therefore, we developed a single business case study analyzing an Egyptian firm to give practical evidence on the role of management accounting, control, and reporting practices in addressing sustainability issues. The analysis shows that the aligning process of different management practices involves a plurality of business aspects to manage, among them cultural and organizational ones. Despite its complexity, such a process is fundamental to pursue medium–long-term goals, ensuring sustainable firm growth and social wellbeing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges that companies could face over time when dealing with sustainability reporting (SR) and focusses on potential mechanisms they may adopt to cope with them. Design/methodology/approach The investigation is conducted adopting the theoretical framework proposed by Baret and Helfrich (2018) and using a longitudinal case study. Findings The authors found that the challenges that gradually arose induced the evolution of SR. Dissemination, employees’ involvement, managerial commitment and routinization/institutionalization of reporting practices appeared to be useful mechanisms to face the related challenges. Conversely, the authors found that stakeholders’ engagement scarcely affected SR. Furthermore, the legislation impacted the extent and quality of disclosed contents and fostered the standardization of the reporting process. Practical implications In analysing how Estra faced SR challenges, this paper emphasizes the mechanisms that can be used to properly manage them, in a gradual and holistic way. Hence, this study offers a useful example for companies approaching SR for the first time. Originality/value The authors adopt a holistic theoretical perspective providing evidence on how SR development within a company depends on the continuous and integrated management of its multiple challenges, also suggesting that its interdependencies with the definition and execution of sustainability should be exploited.

The expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) can be regulated by several hormones, cytokines, and tumour promoters. uPAR is a glycosyl-phosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-linked cell-surface protein; however, it is capable to transduce signals inside the cell by interacting with other cell-surface proteins, such as integrins and G-protein coupled (GPC) receptors. We previously reported that uPAR cell-surface expression can be positively regulated by its ligand, uPA, independently of its proteolytic activity. We now demonstrate that uPAR overexpression induces or increases uPA secretion both in uPAR-negative and in uPAR-expressing cells. Accordingly, uPAR depletion impairs uPA expression in cells which constitutively express both uPA and its receptor. uPAR exerts its regulatory effect through the activation of the ERK mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), whereas the p-38 MAPK is not involved. Overexpression of truncated forms of uPAR, lacking the N-terminal domain (DI) and not able to interact with membrane co-receptors, failed to increase uPA expression. Inhibition of uPAR-integrin interaction by the specific P-25 peptide, as well as Gi-protein inhibition by cholera pertussin toxin or depletion of the GPC receptors for fMLF (fMLF-Rs) also impaired uPAR capability to regulate uPA expression. These findings demonstrate that uPAR, whose expression is regulated by uPA, can, in turn, regulate uPA expression through a mechanism involving its functional interaction with integrins and fMLF-Rs.