Legitimizing Benefit Corporations: An Italian Perspective on Mandatory Non-Financial Reporting

Purpose: Analyze how Italian Benefit Corporation (BC) use their mandatory non- financial report (SIR) to enhance corporate legitimations and therefore comprehend if SIR is used in substantive or symbolic approach. Design/Method/Approach: The study analyzes Impact reports (SIRs) of 56 Italian Benefit Corpora- tions (BCs), chosen from ORBIS database. The analysis is conducted through the lens of legitimacy theory and through a content analysis of SIR. Findings: the results revealed the presence of organizations which have not yet fully understood the importance of the accountability and communication processes in terms of sustainability, legitima- tion. Originality: This is an original contribution, that considers the new interconnection between manda- tory non- financial reporting and hybrid organizations. Practical and social implication: The results could be useful for scholars, since they contribute to deepening the issue of mandatory non- financial reporting in hybrid organizations and its effects in terms of legitimacy, but also for practitioners and hybrid organizations in understanding the im- portance of materiality of disclosure and in structuring material reporting.