Sustainable but Not Accountable? A Quality Assessment of Sustainability Disclosure in Benefit Corporations
研究了意大利公益公司可持续发展披露的质量，发现整体披露质量较低，第三方认证和控制机制影响有限，质疑了公益公司的问责性。
ABSTRACT Benefit corporations are businesses characterised by a dual purpose: profit and the common good. While these businesses are expected to pursue a high level of transparency, some studies have noted ambiguous and inconsistent behaviour in the quality of their reports and communication with stakeholders. The literature proposed reporting quality indexes and identified explanatory factors, although specific research on disclosure quality among benefit corporations is lacking. This study aimed to fill this gap by proposing a methodology to assess the quality of sustainability disclosure in benefit corporations. Drawing from a sample of their sustainability reporting in Italy, the study applies qualitative content analysis to create the disclosure quality index and uses a regression model to test potential antecedents. The findings indicate a generally low level of disclosure quality and limited impact of third‐party certification and control mechanisms. These results raise questions on the accountability of benefit corporations and the limitations of their mandatory reporting.