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This paper aims to present the application of a tailored systematic engineering design procedure to the concept design of a small production plant for compostable packaging made by straw fibres and bioplastic. In particular, the obtained boxes are intended to be used for wine bottles.

A systematic procedure has been adopted, which underpins on a comprehensive analysis of the design requirements and the function modelling of the process. By considering well-known models of the engineering design process, the work focuses on the early design stages that precede the embodiment design of the whole components of the plant.

The followed design approach allowed to preliminarily evaluate different alternatives of the process from a functional point of view, thus allowing to identify the preferred conceptual process solution. Based on the identified functional sequence, a first evaluation of the potential productivity and the required human resources has been performed.

The procedure shown in this work has been applied only for the considered case of compostable packaging, and other applications are needed to optimize it. Nevertheless, the adopted systematic approach can be adapted for any context where it is necessary to conceive a new production plant for artefacts made by innovative materials.

The work presented in this paper represents one of the few practical examples available in the literature where systematic conceptual design procedures are presented. More specifically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the very first application of systematic design methods to compostable packaging production.

The paper offers a survey of major Italian accounting scholars and their work for the period from 1900 to 1950. Apart from the late works of Rossi and Besta, the main focus is on the contributions by Zappa, who undoubtedly dominated the scene. In this period, as well as later, most Italian accountants and “aziendalisti” adopted the so‐called “income system”. Although its premises originated with Fabio Besta, master of the so‐called “patrimonial or proprietorship system”, the Italian School under Zappa gave this system a new theoretical basis that differed fundamentally from that of Besta. Zappa also developed the dynamic aspect of accounting and business economics that still prevails in Italy. The paper also devotes attention to other Italian scholars, less well‐known abroad. In the area of cost accounting it concentrates on the views of De Minico and his disciple Amodeo, but also mentions other contributors. The final Section deals with Italian contributions to accounting history during this period

An e‐portfolio is a useful tool to increase reflection and awareness in teachers and students. However, benefits of e‐portfolio use are weakened by difficulties due to the lack of motivation, the heavy weight of creation and revision of the e‐portfolios, the rigid tool structure. The paper aims to answer these emerging issues, showing how to cope with the above‐mentioned questions, by proposing a structure for an e‐portfolio able to fulfil the users' needs and to be perceived as an extremely usable and motivating tool.

In the paper three types of e‐portfolios are described. A brief survey of how the students used them with related data is provided. The research is based upon qualitative (students' posts) and quantitative (log tracement) data.

After five years of experimentation and over 200 e‐portfolios analysed, the paper describes lessons learned and suggests some guidelines that might be useful to plan the introduction and the implementation of an e‐portfolio in post degree courses and for adult and in‐service learning.

In the paper some guidelines for designing formative portfolios are shown. These guidelines might be used to design and build feasible e‐portfolios in different kinds of courses. The new perspective is about the use of formative e‐portfolios in different learning paths. The paper shows how, starting from the same structure, the model is able to fit various needs, proposing technological and pedagogical devices in order to foster reflection and to promote formal and informal recording of learning activities.

Building on the existing literature and on a series of interviews conducted in very diverse coworking spaces, this article attempts at analyzing coworking by focusing on the historical evolution and heterogeneity of its interpretations, as well as the plurality of its realization in practice and prospective developments.

The theoretical framework adopted is Cultural Historical Activity Theory – a dialectical approach which allows the study of human activities as historically evolving and complex systems which change under the impulse of their inner contradictions. The analysis presented here starts with an overview of the history of the theoretical elaborations and discussions of coworking. The authors then focus on the experiences and interpretations of this phenomenon as conveyed by coworkers and coworking managers in the north of Italy – one of the most active coworking areas in Europe.

Coworking first emerged as a way of promoting forms of work and organization that require simultaneous, multidirectional, and reciprocal work, as understood in contrast to forms that incorporate an established division of labor, demarcated communities, and formal and informal sets of rules. However, with time, coworking has evolved toward novel directions, giving rise to heterogeneous interpretations of it. Inquiry constitutes a deeper investigation of the heterogeneity of coworking. The take-away message here is that the prefix co- in coworking can be interpreted, through a play of words, to evoke multiple positions and views conveying internal contradictions.

The historical overview of coworking shows a strong differentiation and multisided interpretation of this phenomenon along two dimensions of historical development, namely, social and business, and outward and inward. The qualitative analysis of the interviews traces the different lived interpretations and conceptions of coworking. The analysis confirms, on the one hand, the complexity and heterogeneity described in the literature, and on the other hand, it enriches the literature by depicting the contradictory nature of the phenomenon, including how the historical and inner tensions of coworking are dynamically evolving in the concrete experiences reported by the managers and users in the coworking spaces.

This paper aims to trace subsequent steps of the sustainability reporting evolution in terms of changes in the organisation fields and professional jurisdictions involved. As such, it highlights the (interrelated) organisational and professional challenges associated with the progressive incorporation of “sustainability” within corporate reporting.

The paper draws on Suddaby and Viale’s (2011) theorisation of how professionals reshape organisational fields to highlight how organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital evolve alongside the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting.

The paper shows organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital mobilised during the recent evolution of sustainability reporting, starting from a period in which there was no space for sustainability, to more recent periods in which sustainability gained increasing momentum beyond initial niches, and culminating in more integrated forms of sustainability reporting.

Although the analysis is limited to empirical evidence collected by prior research and practice on sustainability reporting, the paper offers a view to imagine how the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting relies on and affects organisational fields and professional jurisdictions.

The paper offers a lens to interpret corporate and professional challenges associated with the more recent evolutions of sustainability reporting practice and standard setting. It also allows framing the papers accepted in the special issue on “new challenges in sustainability reporting” and concludes by suggesting an agenda for future research.

The present research aims to analyse the extent to which Italian public universities disclose intellectual capital (IC) information through the Integrated Plan and the main features of IC disclosure (ICD) in terms of form and location in the document.

Adopting a qualitative methodology, a content analysis is conducted to examine the level, form and location of ICD provided by a sample of 60 Italian public universities through the 2018-2020 integrated plans.

The results show a medium level of ICD in the Integrated Plan, with human capital being the category most disclosed. Information is principally provided in a quantitative form and is mainly found in the first two sections of the document (i.e. relating to the strategic framework and organisational performance).

The analysis is necessarily limited to a single period (2018-2020), because of the recent introduction of the guidelines of the Integrated Plan. However, the results may be beneficial to policymakers in determining the usefulness of this new tool in detecting information about intangible resources and can help universities’ governors and managers in defining adequate IC strategies to create value for the whole ecosystem.

The study makes an innovative contribution to the international debate about IC in universities in light of the fourth stage of IC research, exploring an emerging tool to detect whether it is able to convey IC information to the wide range of university stakeholders and to communicate the value universities contribute to society.

Recently, corporate venture capital (CVC) has been gaining increasing attention worldwide as a special form of venturing through which non-financial corporations invest in target companies, usually technological firms, as start-ups. These investments mostly aim not at financial goals but constitute a strategic way for the corporation to obtain access to new technologies and innovations through financing entrepreneurial initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the connections between the core business of the parent company and its venturing investments, investigating, in particular, its “ambidexterity,” i.e., the ability of the CVC company to invest in ventures close to its core activities, exploiting internal resources and exploring new markets.

Stemming from the results of previous studies, this research has applied a discriminating analysis methodology to the 18 most active CVC companies in the world, all of which have technology innovation as the core business of the corporation, in the 2015/2017 period.

An evident correlation between the Financing Round (as the independent variable) and the Entrepreneurial Intensity (as the dependent variable) influences the CVCs investment policies and their behavior with respect to their ambidexterity. This link could also influence the strategic orientation of the CVC policy, forcing the company to appropriately govern and manage the starting nature and/or the variable nature of the CVC (ambidextrous, hybrid, dis-ambidextrous or random).

The current research has used only secondary data to explore the behavior of only 18 CVCs in a relatively short period. Thus, it would be advisable to extend the number of observations, to enlarge the period under investigation, and to retrieve field data to obtain more detailed and reliable results.

The main objective/contribution of this study is to understand if there is a correlation between the Financing Round (as the independent variable) and the Entrepreneurial Intensity (as the dependent variable) for the 18 most active CVCs in the world, according to CB Insights, in 2015–2017, adopting and further confirming the model by Rossi et al. (2019). The statistical investigation, based on the conclusions of that linear regression model, has highlighted a total or large correlation between these two variables for the current research perimeter, which includes CVC companies with technology as the core business of the corporation.

The study aims to examine the impact of corporate governance in terms of certain board characteristics on the level of universities’ voluntary sustainability disclosure.

A content analysis based on a comprehensive disclosure index – that also accounts for the impact that COVID-19 exerted on the social dimension of university activities – is performed on a sample of Italian public universities’ websites for the year 2020. An ordinary least squares regression model is estimated to test the association between universities’ board characteristics, namely, board size, board independence and board gender diversity (including the presence of a female rector), and online sustainability disclosure.

This study provides evidence that websites represent a valid tool used by universities to highlight their social performance and demonstrate their commitment to dealing with the pandemic’s social and economic disruption by supporting their stakeholders. Board gender diversity and female Rector’s presence are crucial factors that positively impact voluntary sustainability disclosure levels.

Policymakers and regulators can benefit from the study’s findings. Using the results of this study, they may reflect on the need to regulate sustainability reporting in universities. In addition, findings may offer policymakers inspiration for regulating the presence of women on university boards.

This study offers novel contributions to existing literature analysing the university’s voluntary sustainability disclosure practices through alternative communication tools such as websites. Moreover, it provides novel insight into the role of the board gender diversity in university sustainability disclosure practices.