1,721,051 research outputs found
Sustainability Reporting and Performance Measurement Systems: How do Small- and Medium-Sized Benefit Corporations Manage Integration?
Full text linkAbstract: Benefit Corporations and B Corps represent alternative models of enterprise, often referred to as “hybrid companies” that bridge the for-profit and not-for-profit models. Italy is the first country outside the USA to pass Benefit Corporation legislation and introduce the Società Benefit . A large number of Italian Benefit Corporations are small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs), since SMEs are widespread within the entrepreneurial fabric and have great relevance in the Italian socio-economic context. A key issue in the emerging debate on small- and medium-sized Benefit Corporations concerns how these companies—with limited reach and considerable financial and human resource constraints—can effectively absorb their added social responsibility. In particular, such firms need to manage their dual mission, integrate social and environmental goals in their business model, and incorporate accountability mechanisms, all while scaling up and garnering the necessary resources to be economically competitive. Starting from these premises, this paper focuses on the performance measurement and reporting systems that are adopted by SMEs that are also Benefit Corporations, and investigates whether benefit impact assessment indicators integrate into an overall sustainability performance management system . To achieve this goal, an exploratory case-based analysis on seven small- and medium-sized Italian-certified Benefit Corporations is presented
Social Impact and Online Communication in B-Corp Companies: evidences from EU and USA
No full textToday companies operate in a context in which addressing sustainability issues is gaining an
increasing strategic relevance. There is an important shift in business focus that is empowering companies to not only
declare their intent to be ethical firms which do good while making a profit, but also to submit proof of that commitment
by outside evaluators (Wilburn and Wilburn 2014) and through the assessment of their social impact.
Furthermore, companies that have a strong Corporate Social Responsibility focus are moving toward new forms
of organizations such as Benefit Corporations, that are obligated to pursue a public benefit in addition to the core
responsibility to return profits to shareholders (Hiller, 2013), or are becoming Certified B Corporations so they must
prove to have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance
Governance and accountability models in Italian certified benefit corporations
No full textAbstract
Benefit corporations institutionalize a new hybrid corporate form of business that
allows for both profit and social objectives. Benefit corporations are traditional corporations
with modified obligations; they commit to produce a benefit or purpose on
top of their for-profit motive, and they voluntarily bind to higher accountability and
transparency standards. The aim of this paper is to shed new light on the governance
and accountability procedures of certified benefit corporations (CBCs) in Italy since
Italy was the first country after the United States to introduce the Società Benefit
Law in 2016. Namely, this work explores how CBCs integrate benefit-driven indicators
into their structure, providing a renewed governance framework. To achieve this
goal, a pilot case was conducted and 12 cross-sector in-depth interviews were performed
with top management in seven Italian CBCs and triangulated with structured
documents. What emerged from the findings is that there is a shift in the models of
corporate governance where non-profits are entering the for-profit sector and that
for-profits are broadening their mission to include social and environmental goals.
This extends the objectives of traditional forms of business to incorporate welfare
objectives
Social Impact and Online Communication in B-Corp
No full textThe main aim of the present study is to empirically analyze the relationship between the level of social
impact and the level of online communication in B Corps. To reach this aim, the following indices were
developed: the SIA index (based on the overall score of the Benefit Impact Assessment) and the SIA online
communication index (based on a mix of variables selected from the literature). An analysis of 400 BCorp
websites was then carried out to highlight companies’ behaviors and point out differences between
the US and the EU. The research provides a matrix in which four main typologies of B Corps are
identified: newbies, overexposed, undervalued and best practice. The research highlights that a high
number of companies, especially in the European context, have not yet fully understood the potential of
being a B Corp and that there is room for improvement. Companies can adopt the matrix as a
benchmarking tool for a self-evaluation of their position, and identify the required actions to improve
their performance
Cryoablation In The Management Of Breast Cancer: Evidence To Date.
No full textCryoablation has been successfully used to treat various type of solid tumors, including breast carcinomas. This ablation method has the advantage of being a minimally invasive procedure useful in various clinical situations, including early breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer, when co-morbidities preclude the use of surgical treatment. However, due to the small sample size of the available studies, reliable and definitive conclusions on the usefulness of cryoablation in patients with breast cancer could not be drawn. In fact, many aspects necessitate to be elucidated, regarding technical issues, indications, efficacy, imaging follow-up, and possible advantages over other percutaneous ablative methods. This review article has the aim to clarify the current evidence supporting cryoablation of breast cancer, and discuss the future perspectives, including those arising from the new studies on immunological effects related to cryoablation
What is the impact of intraoperative re-resection after a positive pancreatic margin frozen section in the era of perioperative therapies?
No full textNo abstract availabl
Aspetti ultrastrutturali di biopsie miocardiche in pazienti affetti da pervietà interatriale
No full textSubcellular structure of the atrial myocardium of children in cases of atrial septal defect
No full textIn order to study the initial development of myocardial ultrastructural changes
owing to right atrium volume overload, myocytes have been studied in specimens
taken from the right atrial wall and auricle of four children aged 1 to 6 years
with ostium secundum atrial septal defect undergoing cardiac surgery. The younger
patients (1 to 4-year-old children) we observed did not show diffuse and
significant myocardial ultrastructural damages. The most significant myocardial
changes were observed in the 2 older patients (six years old) as we found
subcellular signs of myocardial hypertrophy such as an increased number of
mitochondria, increased glycogen inclusions, areas of new sarcomerogenesis and
nuclei lobulated and variably shaped. Focal degenerative changes, such as rupture
of mitochondrial cristae and intercellular fibrosis were also noted. These
changes may be considered as the initial features of myocardial hypertrophy
because they were not as severe and diffuse as those usually seen in a marked
functional failur
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