Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Laura Bini Author-Name: Marco Bellucci Author-Name: Francesco Giunta Title: Put Your Money where Your Mouth is: The Difference between Real Commitment to Sustainability and Mere Rhetoric Abstract: Companies exhibit growing interest in sustainability rhetoric. Such an interest is alternatively justified by a company?s need to address legitimacy instances, rather than to satisfy stakeholders? requests about its sustainability performance. Whatever the case, a main debated issue concerning sustainability rhetoric deals with the difficulties in understanding whether companies? commitment towards sustainability is "real", or it only consists of "empty words" that hide opportunistic strategies. Our paper contributes to this debate, proposing a methodological approach, which is based on a company?s business model (BM) representation. We argue that the inclusion of adequate sustainability information in a company?s BM representation can testify to a real company?s engagement, as it illustrates how sustainability affects its value creation process. Compared to extant methodological proposals, mainly based on linguistic analyses, our approach does not require specific competences to be applied. Moreover, it saves user?s time, as it allows the assessment of entire company?s sustainability rhetoric through the analysis of the information reported in its BM. Our approach is consistent with previous contributions that propose a company?s BM as a representation device able to illustrate strategic information that cannot be represented in the traditional corporate reporting. Our approach proposes a possible answer to address the challenges faced by regulators and standard setters involved in the regulation of sustainability disclosure. Such approach has found a first step of implementation in the UK, where since 2013, listed companies are requested to describe their BM in Strategic Reports. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:5-31 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58315&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002001 Number: 1 X-File-Ref: http://www.francoangeli.it/Riviste/References.ashx?idArticolo=58315 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Stefano Azzali Author-Name: Luca Fornaciari Author-Name: Tatiana Mazza Title: Income Smoothing via Loan Loss Provision in Credit Cooperative Banks Abstract: This research investigates whether income smoothing via loan loss provision is lower for Credit Cooperative Banks than for non-Credit Cooperative Banks. Using data collected from the financial reporting of a sample of private banks, and Ordinary Least Square models based on net income or its variation, as used by previous literature, we find that income smoothing through loan loss provision is lower in Credit Cooperative Banks than in banks with different ownership structures. Results remain the same using several robustness tests (decomposition of loans, quality of loans, change in economic growth, cluster and fixed effect, effect of financial crisis). Mutual ownership, smaller size, and the local boundaries that characterize Credit Cooperative Banks may reduce the need for managers to manipulate earnings. Our findings give a positive evaluation of the recent Italian Law No. 18/2016 which reforms Credit Cooperative Banks, and imply that benefits of Credit Cooperative Banks ownership structure may derive from the group structure which gives a higher level of stability and solidity. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:33-54 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58316&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002002 Number: 2 X-File-Ref: http://www.francoangeli.it/Riviste/References.ashx?idArticolo=58316 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Alberto Incollingo Author-Name: Michela Bianchi Title: The Connectivity of Information in Integrated Reporting. Empirical Evidence from International Context Abstract: In recent years, an increasing number of accounting scholars have been investigating the concept and the purpose of integrated reporting. After the issue of IIRC Framework, which is principle-based, it is now recognized that there is an urgent need for empirical analysis of the content of the reports at their first development stage. This in order to understand if the aims of this new reporting approach are realistic and achievable in practice. This paper responds to such call and it tries to contribute in two ways. Firstly, it illustrates the way in which the Guiding Principle of Connectivity of Information is applied at international level. In particular, we analyzed the compliance of disclosure practices in integrated reports of 2013 with the key forms of Connectivity of information presented in the Framework. Secondly, the paper tries to interpret the practices observed, in order to identify useful implementation criteria of this Guiding Principle. This is light of the fact that the Guiding Principle was noted as the most important to obtain a truly integrated report, but, at the same time, difficult to interpret and problematic to apply. The results of the analysis indicate an application of the principle extremely heterogeneous (and in such cases disappointing), confirming the need to establish practical guidelines to apply it. By this study, we made a preliminary attempt to identify some characteristic attributes of Connectivity of information within integrated reporting. The findings carry implications for eventual refinement of the IIRC Framework and, especially, to support companies wishing to prepare an integrated report. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:55-78 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58317&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002003 Number: 3 X-File-Ref: http://www.francoangeli.it/Riviste/References.ashx?idArticolo=58317 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Paola Ramassa Author-Name: Costanza Di Fabio Title: Web-Based Financial Reporting: An Interpretative Model for Corporate Communications on Social Media Abstract: This paper aims at contributing to financial reporting literature by proposing a conceptual interpretative model to analyse the corporate use of social media for financial communication purposes. In this perspective, the FIRE model provides a framework to study social media shifting the focus on the distinctive features that might enhance web investor relations. The model highlights these features through four building blocks: (i) firm identity (F); (ii) information posting (I); (iii) reputation (R); and (iv) exchange and diffusion (E). They represent key aspects to explore corporate communication activities and might offer a framework to interpret to what degree corporate web financial reporting exploits the potential of social media. Accordingly, the paper proposes metrics based on this model aimed at capturing the interactivity of corporate communications via social media, with a particular focus on web financial reporting. It tries to show the potential of this model by illustrating an exploratory empirical analysis investigating to what extent companies use social media for financial reporting purposes and whether firms are taking advantage of Twitter distinctive features of interaction and diffusion. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:79-112 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58318&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002004 Number: 4 X-File-Ref: http://www.francoangeli.it/Riviste/References.ashx?idArticolo=58318 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Costanza Di Fabio Title: Book Review Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:113-121 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58319&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002005 Number: 5 X-File-Ref: http://www.francoangeli.it/Riviste/References.ashx?idArticolo=58319 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A cura della Redazione Title: Referee 2016 Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:123-123 Volume: 2016/2 Year: 2016 Issue:2 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=58320&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:Frfrfr:v:html10.3280/FR2016-002006 Number: 6