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The purpose of this paper is to explore the integration of business intelligence (BI) systems in the digital transformation context and its impact on management control (MC) and organizational performance by delving into the implementation of a BI pilot project in a multinational Engineering and Construction (E&C) group.

This research adopts a qualitative insider action research approach. The initial stage of a BI system (BIS) is implemented by leveraging the critical success factors (CSFs) framework, based on the organizational, process and technological dimensions.

The results show that the BI solution leverages the capabilities of the reporting process with impacts on MC and overall organizational performance. The study uncovers the intricate dynamics of integrating BI and reports gains that span across streamlined and standardized processes, optimized use of resources, improved data flexibility and nurturing a data-driven culture.

This research adds to the current literature on MC and accounting information systems by providing an in-depth analysis of the early stages involved in implementing a BIS. The approach uses a well-established CSFs framework, which enhances the comprehension of how these factors impact the success of the implementation process. Focusing on the E&C sector, where the adoption of digital transformation is still gaining traction, this study provides practical knowledge and extends the theoretical understanding of BI technology applications with empirical evidence from the accounting field.

This paper aims to examine the relation between firms’ political connections and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in Portugal. The authors argue that in settings where the existence of political connections are viewed as damaging collective interests of stakeholders, political connected firms can deal with legitimacy issues from such connections by resorting to CSR practices and the reporting thereof.

Using archival data from a panel sample of 36 firms from Portugal between 2009 and 2012, the authors examine the relationship between political connections and CSR reporting by way of regression analysis.

The authors find a positive relationship between political connections and CSR reporting.

This study draws on legitimacy theory to highlight that CSR can be used to deal with stakeholder activism and vigilance pertaining to suspicion related to the existence of political connections.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between board demographic diversity and human rights reporting for a sample of large Western European companies.

Grounded on resource dependence theory, the authors hypothesize that greater gender, age and nationality diversities will translate into enhanced levels of human rights reporting. The authors use ordinal logistic regression analysis to analyze the association between these types of board diversity and such reporting.

The findings suggest that the companies in the sample attribute little importance to the reporting of information pertaining to the issue of human rights. They also suggest that only the diversity of nations represented in the board of directors is significant in explaining this type of reporting.

The sample includes only large companies from Western Europe and the analysis covers only one year.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first empirical analysis of factors influencing human rights reporting conducted on a multiple-country setting. It is also the first investigating the association between boards of directors’ demographic diversity and such reporting.

The goal of this study is to understand if ethnocentrism exists at the sub-regional level among honey consumers living in the same production area as a protected designation of origin (PDO). Moreover, this analysis explores if ethnocentrism is influenced by individual economic conditions, among other socio-demographic characteristics.

A sample of 725 consumers was collected through the use of a questionnaire that was circulated in the province of Varese, one of the few honey PDO areas in Italy. The authors performed a principal component analysis and a two-step cluster analysis to identify different PDO honey consumer segments, focusing on their interest for PDO attributes.

The authors identified four consumer segments, depending on socio-demographic, consumption habits, frequencies, preferred attributes and preferences for the PDO product. One cluster exhibited strong preferences for the PDO honey, in the spirit of ethnocentrism, and was characterised by low-income levels; ethnocentric preferences were also observed in another cluster that had a different socio-economic profile.

Honey is a niche product and not universally diffused among consumers: further analyses should investigate sub-national ethnocentrism for more universal food products. Yet, through the inspection of the different profiles found, it was possible to devise marketing strategies to boost PDO honey purchasing and to bring consumers closer to PDO products.

This analysis considers ethnocentrism as a segmentation criterion for PDO honey consumers that live in the very same PDO honey production area and enriches the existing literature on the relationship between ethnocentrism and individual economic status.

Big pharma, which comprise the most important companies in the pharmaceutical sector, are ambidextrous organizations by nature. Big data can heavily influence this characteristic by simultaneously requiring adequate business process management. In fact, the impact of big data on business process management can assist big pharma in increasing process efficiency (which is related to the research and development pipeline) and process efficacy (related to product portfolio management). The purpose of this paper is to investigate this possibility and opportunity.

In the absence of specific scientific studies, as indicated by a review of the existing literature, the authors have adopted a grounded theory approach. This research has observed multiple cases (the 15 most important big pharma companies worldwide) through an electronic survey conducted on secondary data. The study has allowed the generation of a theoretical framework based on the (direct) relationship between knowledge process standardization (as the dependent variable) and big data (as the independent variable) in organizations oriented toward ambidexterity, such as big pharma in the specific scope of this research.

As big data utilization becomes widespread along the pipeline (or even along the value chain/supply chain), business process management increasingly uses (or tends to use) standardization, adopting process standardization as the main coordination mechanism to manage big knowledge. This theory is even more true when considering the moderating role of ambidexterity. An enterprise oriented toward structural ambidexterity (such as big pharma) that uses big data will require increased process standardization to manage big knowledge. Alternatively, an enterprise oriented toward contextual ambidexterity that uses big data will require increased output standardization.

Based on an analytical literature review, no research to date has focused strict attention on the influence that big data can have on business process management to improve the natural ambidexterity of big pharma. The main unique feature of this research relies on this point. The main value of the research originates from the theoretical framework reconstructed by grounded theory, which constitutes a powerful strategic tool to support executives and managers of big pharma in organizing business process management for their ambidextrous organizations using big data.

This study aims to explore the emerging trend of business-wide Sustainability Third-Party Labels (STPLs), exemplified by entities like B-Corp. These labels are awarded to organizations committed to a distinctive approach to business, typically embracing the triple-bottom-line (TBL) framework, prioritizing not only financial performance but also social and environmental impact. The research investigates whether these labels enhance trust and influence perceptions of sustainability information quality among young consumers in Spain.

A factorial experiment has been conducted among a convenience sample of individuals belonging to the Z-generation (n = 126). The experiment involved randomly exposing the participants to different versions of an informational brochure from a fictional company in the agricultural sector (with and without label). Following the experiment, a focus group with 15 participants was conducted to assist in interpreting the results.

The results of this study suggest that the use of a nonsector specific label across various sectors with distinct sustainability challenges can lead to confusion among Z-generation consumers. Especially within sectors grappling with environmental concerns, such labels may be susceptible to being perceived as manifestations of greenwashing. Additionally, the study adds supporting evidence to the existing body of literature asserting gender differences in the interpretation of sustainability signals, including labels.

As far as this research is concerned, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that studies the perception of Z-generation members regarding business-wide STPLs. Focusing on studying, the attitudes toward sustainability of younger generations and how they respond to signals like business-wide STPLs are relevant, as they not only possess the longevity to drive substantial change but are also more susceptible to behavioral shifts, thereby holding significant potential in shaping a sustainable future. The study combines both qualitative and quantitative perspective and provides critical insights, relevant to stakeholders within business-wide STPL ecosystems, emphasizing the need for strategic coherence and transparency in label implementation.

This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences between the ability to analyze the environment and exploit new knowledge (absorptive capacity) and the skills to generate value from innovation (appropriation). These fields have similar origins and are sometimes confused by practitioners and academics.

A review was conducted based on a full-text analysis of 681 and 431 papers on appropriation and absorptive capacity, respectively, from Scopus, Science Direct and Lens, using methodologies such as text mining, backward citation analysis, modularity clustering and latent Dirichlet allocation analysis.

In business disciplines, the fields are considered different; however, in other disciplines, it was found that some authors defined them quite similarly. The citation analysis results showed that appropriation was more relevant to absorptive capacity, or vice versa. From the dimension perspective, it was found that although appropriation was considered a relevant element for absorptive capacity, the last models did not include it. Finally, it was found that studies on both topics identified the importance of appropriation and absorptive capacity for innovation performance, knowledge management and technology transfer.

This is one of the first studies to examine in-depth the relationship between appropriation and absorptive capacity, bridging a gap in both fields.

This study seeks to collaborate with the discussions on the usefulness of the narrative approach in accounting. In this context, this study aims to elaborate small collective stories, developed from interviews, to expose the population’s perception of the social and environmental impact (positive and negative externalities) resulting from iron ore mining in the city of Congonhas-Minas Gerais (MG).

This research, using counternarratives, aims to elaborate small collective stories, developed from 52 interviews, to expose the population’s perception of externalities resulting from the exploitation of iron ore in the city of Congonhas-MG, Brazil, to give more insight for social and environmental accounting reporting. A qualitative investigation is used with a narrative approach that focuses on a specific event in the participants’ lives.

The authors sought to create a sense of collective experiences of the interviewees through narratives representative of the residents’ perception of externalities in the form of small collective stories. However, it can be observed that the local population recognizes the impact of numerous externalities. Likewise, the use of narratives allows the reader to experience another reality – a reflection on the impact of business activities in a given context. Unlike conventional corporate social reporting, models based on qualitative information can be inclusive, produced by/for the community toward action that transforms the local reality.

This study intends to contribute to the debate on reporting models that are developed by and for external stakeholders. This approach has the potential to improve participants’ both awareness and engagement, supporting transformative social action. This study makes several contributions. It contributes to the literature with a narrative approach, which is not often used in the accounting literature; it brings insights from the Latin American context, which is especially valuable given how the Anglo-American accounting literature includes few papers addressing this context; it presents the view of marginalized communities that are too often overlooked (this narrative approach offers important insights into the lived experience of people at a very granular level).

Cell-based meat is currently one of the most debated food sources of recent decades, as it involves cultivating animal-derived biological tissues in controlled environments. Opinions on this topic vary widely; some see this nutritional source as a strategy to address the sustainability challenges of the agri-food sector, while others perceive it as a potential negative impact on their culture and traditions. In this context, this study aimed to gather the opinions of Italian students engaged in animal production science studies to assess their viewpoints regarding socio-ethical, environmental, and economic dimensions since they represent the future generation of professionals and potential consumers.

In this study, the hybrid qualitative-quantitative method of Q-methodology was used. By leveraging the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, Q-methodology provides a systematic method for examining interviewees’ subjectivity by gathering individuals’ points of view into clusters of opinions referred to as factors.

The analysis of the results revealed the existence of four distinct factors within the analyzed student population, highlighting the different viewpoints among a group of individuals pursuing the same course of study.

The results may provide additional insights into the debate on this topic and offer valuable information for policymakers regarding the discussion on novel foods, particularly cell-based meat, which still lacks a regulatory framework at the European Union level.

This study is exploratory in nature and designed to address poorly documented issues in the literature. The dimensions of regional distribution or spatial organisation of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), including the potential role of clusters, have only recently been addressed, with most available studies focusing on advanced, mainly Western European countries. Although developing fast, the literature on I4.0 in other countries, such as the Central and Eastern European or post-transition economies like Poland, needs to pay more attention to the spatial distribution or geographical and organisational aspects. In response to the identified knowledge gap, this paper aims to identify the role of clusters in the transformation towards I4.0. This explains why clusters may matter for advancing the fourth digital transformation, how advanced in implementing I4.0 solutions are the residents of Polish clusters and how they perceive the advantages of cluster membership for such implementation. Finally, it seeks to formulate policy recommendations based on the evidence gathered.

The methodology used in this study combines quantitative analysis of secondary data from a cluster benchmarking survey with a case study approach. The benchmarking survey, conducted by the polish agency for enterprise development in 2021, gathered responses from 435 cluster members and 41 cluster managers, representing an estimated 57% of the current clusters in Poland. In addition to quantitative analysis, a case study approach was used, incorporating primary sources such as interview with cluster managers and surveys of cluster members, as well as secondary sources like company documents and information from cluster organisation websites. Statistical analysis involved assessing the relationship between technology implementation and the adoption of management systems, as well as exploring potential correlations between technology use and company characteristics such as revenue, export revenue share and number of employees using Pearson correlation coefficient.

In Poland, implementing I4.0 technologies by cluster companies is still modest. The cluster has influenced the use of I4.0 technologies in 23% of surveyed companies. Every second surveyed company declared a positive impact of a cluster on technological advancement. The use of I4.0 technologies is not correlated with the revenue of clustered companies. A rather bleak picture emerges from the results, revealing a need for more interest among cluster members in advancing I4.0 technologies. This may be due to a comfortable situation in which firms still enjoy alternative competitive advantages that do not force them to seek new advanced advantages brought about by I4.0. It also reflects the sober approach and awareness of associated high costs and necessary investments, which are paramount and prevent successful I4.0 implementation.

The limitations inherent in this study reflect the scarcity of the available data. This paper draws on the elementary survey administered centrally and is confined by the type of questions asked. The empirical section focuses on an important, though only one selected sector of the economy – the automotive industry. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of the Polish cluster’s role in advancing I4.0 should complement the existing literature.

The exploratory study concludes with policy recommendations and sets the stage for more detailed studies. Amidst the research’s limitations, this study pioneers a path for future comprehensive investigations, enabling a deeper understanding of Polish clusters’ maturity in I4.0 adoption. By comparing the authors’ analysis of the Polish Automotive Group (PGM) cluster with existing literature, the authors uncover a distinct disparity between the theoretical prominence of cluster catalysis and the current Polish reality. Future detailed dedicated enquiries will address these constraints and provide a more comprehensive map of Polish clusters’ I4.0 maturity.

This study identifies patterns of I4.0 implementation and diagnoses the role of clusters in the transformation towards I4.0. It investigates how advanced is the adoption of I4.0 solutions among the residents of Polish clusters and how they perceive the advantages of cluster membership for such transformation. Special attention was paid to the analysis of the automotive sector. Comparing the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the Polish PGM cluster in this case study to those from the literature on the subject, it becomes clear that the catalytic role of clusters in the implementation of I4.0 technologies by enterprises, as emphasised in the literature, is not yet fully reflected in the Polish reality.