Implementing Integrated Reporting: Case Studies from the Italian Listed Companies

The purpose of this paper is to explore the change experienced by the Italian listed companies through the implementation of integrating reporting. The objective of this study is to shed light on the company’s moving reasons towards integrating reporting and on its effects on the company’s thinking approach. This paper builds on multi-source data gathered through web-site visits, company materials and interviews, according to an interpretive case study approach. The authors found that the process of change experienced by the selected companies deserves consideration for at least two reasons: on the one hand, as a transition from a stand alone to an integrated thinking approach; on the other hand, as a transition from an implicit to a more explicit approach to sustainability. The paper is, to the best of the knowledge, the first one to explore the process of change experienced by the Italian listed companies through the implementation of integrated reporting.