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The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach for the strategic design of public–private partnerships (PPP) and private finance initiatives (PFI) based on ontology.

Adopting a historic approach, it introduces a posteriori knowledge, deriving from the scheme’s stakeholders at the construction and implementation phase of PPPs. Continuous failures of these collaboration schemes and initiatives underline the necessity for a novel project structure. The conceptual argument is based both on empirical and epistemological approaches. It integrates the value-added (VA) of the ontological theory in the PPP/PFI business strategy.

The research emphasises contemporary design gaps of their current structure and proposes an ontological redesign. The proposed redesign produces a conceptually innovative scheme, which enhances the VA business strategies and their objectives to the structure of these collaborating schemes.

The ontological design of this paper is useful for academics and business consultants around the world and especially in Europe for the successful growth and development of such dynamic collaborations.

Enterprise ontology bridges conceptual and structural gaps of strategic objectives, which are primarily responsible for the failures of PPP collaboration.

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation activity of Certified B Corps® is comparable to listed companies in the Italian fashion industry.

The study includes a systematic literature review performed on Scopus® and combining keywords related to CSR and the fashion industry. Moreover, the literature review involves empirical analyses performed using a mixed-methods approach. First, a text-based content analysis was carried out on the companies' sustainability reports using the keyword scoring approach. The innovation index was then calculated, and multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions were performed.

Based on the data available, it has emerged that Certified B Corps® who pursue a more significant number of SDGs are more likely to implement circular economy principles. Moreover, Certified B Corps® that have higher transparency standards and assume social responsibility practices also have higher innovation activity; in contrast, companies who used CSR only as a marketing tool have lower activity.

The analyses were influenced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing weaker relationships between the variables, as the analyses involved 2020 data. Furthermore, although the analysis considers the entire population of Certified B Corps® and listed companies in the Italian fashion industry, the size of the sample analyzed influenced the results and insights. Therefore, the analysis does not allow for generalizability. Finally, the study was conducted on a single country whose economic and social contexts have influenced some variables.

The paper highlights some managerial implications. Managers should consider CSR to be an investment and an opportunity to survive the post-COVID-19 pandemic by applying the triple bottom line (TBL) approach in formulating strategies and increasing investments to develop sustainable innovations.

The article explores B Corps, which has received minimal attention in the literature, to propose a deeper understanding of the topic.