Special Issue| Circular economy, social impact and digitalization: perspective and challenge

2021-05-03

Dear Colleagues, 

Interest in the circular economy is increasing from government, business, society, and academia. It has been widely recognized that switching from the linear model of the economy to a circular one brings environmental, social, and financial benefits. The transition to the circular economy often entails holistic adaptations in the firm’s business models or even creating new ones. The implementation of circular economy principles often requires new visions and strategies and a fundamental redesign of service offerings, the social role of companies and the effects of digitalization. The various adaptations that may be required to shift a company towards incorporating circular economy principles affect all three dimensions of a business model: value proposition, value creation, and value capture. However, several challenges arise in this transformation. In this perspective, the digital age we live in offers companies many opportunities for overcoming these challenges. In fact, digital 4.0 technologies can support the implementation of circular economy principles into business by enabling new business models and the redesign of value chains, products, and consumption patterns towards a new smart circular economy paradigm. This Special Issue calls for a more critical discussion and outlook on this topic. Thus, we invite articles describing and prescribing how digital technologies can enable the different aspect of the Smart Circular Economy paradigm and how Integrated Thinking and Reporting is affected and supported by the digitalization in terms of representation of the circular economy and the evaluation of the social impact. The call for paper aims to engage different types of work ranging from qualitative to quantitative studies, from positive to interpretative and critical accounts, approaching circular economy, social impact, Integrated Thinking (and Reporting) and digitalization from a number of related fields such as financial and management accounting, auditing, corporate governance, accounting for stakeholders and sustainability, risk management, management and organizational studies, etc.

Possible topics for contributions include, but are not limited to:

  • Environmental, economic, and social order in creating value;

  • Interactions among sustainability and resilience in a circular economy;

  • Implementation of the connectivity principle and integration between financial and non-financial information;

  • Integration between internal and external integrated reporting;

  • Relationships between sustainable integrated disclosure and sustainability practices;

  • The influence of corporate governance on sustainable integrated reporting;

  • The regulation and institutionalization of sustainability disclosure beyond sustainability reports;

  • Complexity, challenges, and risks in a circular economy;

  •  Circular economy, social impact and digitalization.

 Empirical research, case studies, and comparative studies are especially welcome, but also theoretical and cross-sectional studies are needed and acceptable.

 

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021

Editor decision: 30 October 2021

Review: 30 November 2021

Issue: 31 December 2021

 

Guest editor: Elbano de Nuccio Aggregate Professor of Accounting Lum- Bari – Italy
email: denuccio@lum.it

 

References

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Bebbington, J., & Larrinaga, C. (2014). Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 39(6), 395-413.

Calandra, D., & Favareto, M. (2020). Social Stock Exchange between academics and practitioners' view. European Journal of Social Impact and Circular Economy, 1(1b), 53-65.

Caglio, A., Melloni, G., & Perego, P. (2020). Informational content and assurance of textual disclosures: Evidence on integrated reporting, European Accounting Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 55-83.

Corvo, L.; Pastore, L.; Manti, A.; Iannaci, D. (2021). Mapping Social Impact Assessment Models: A Literature Overview for a Future Research Agenda. Sustainability, 13, 4750.

Flower, J. (2015). “The international integrated reporting council: a story of failure”, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 27, pp. 1-17.

Lai, A. & Stacchezzini, R. (2019). Special Issue: New challenges in sustainability reporting, available at: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/medar/special-issue-new-challenges-sustainability-reporting-deadline-closed (accessed 3 August 2020).

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Milne, M.J. & Gray, R. (2013). “W(h)ither ecology? The triple bottom line, the global reporting initiative, and corporate sustainability reporting”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 118, No. 1, pp. 13-29.

Murray, A., Skene, K., & Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: an interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 369-380.

Rinaldi, L., Unerman, J., & De Villiers, C. (2018). Evaluating the integrated reporting journey: insights, gaps and agendas for future research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 31, No. 5, pp. 1294-1318.

Scarpellini, S. (2021). Social indicators for businesses’ circular economy: multi-faceted analysis of employment as an indicator for sustainability reporting. European Journal of Social Impact and Circular Economy, 2(1), 17-44.

Sehnem, S., Vazquez-Brust, D., Pereira, S. C. F., & Campos, L. M. (2019). Circular economy: benefits, impacts and overlapping. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.

de Villiers, C., Hsiao, P.-C. K., & Maroun, W. (2017). Developing a conceptual model of influences around integrated reporting, new insights and directions for future research. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25(4), 450-460.

de Villiers, C., & Maroun, W. (2018). Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting. London: Routledge.
de Villiers, C., Rinaldi, L., & Unerman, J. (2014). Integrated Reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 27(7), 1042-1067.

de Villiers, C., Venter, E. R., & Hsiao, P.-C. K. (2017). Integrated reporting: background, measurement issues, approaches and an agenda for future research. Accounting & Finance, 57(4), 937-959.

Farneti, F., Casonato, F., Montecalvo, M., & De Villiers, C. (2019). The influence of Integrated Reporting and stakeholder information needs on the disclosure of social information in a state-owned enterprise. Meditari Accountancy Research, forthcoming.

Hahn, R., & Kühnen, M. (2013). Determinants of sustainability reporting: a review of results, trends, theory, and opportunities in an expanding field of research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 59, 5-21.

Howitt R., de Nuccio E., Vitolla F . (2020) The role of non-financial information: current perspectives of integrated reporting in book: REPORTING NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis in Europe. Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

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Massaro, M, Secinaro, S, Dal Mas, F, Brescia, V, Calandra, D. (2021). Industry 4.0 and circular economy: An exploratory analysis of academic and practitioners' perspectives. Bus Strat Env, 30: 1213– 1231.

Montecalvo, M., Farneti, F., & De Villiers, C. (2018). The potential of integrated reporting to enhance sustainability reporting in the public sector. Public Money & Management, 38(5), 365-374.

Rinaldi, L., Unerman, J., & de Villiers, C. (2018). Evaluating the integrated reporting journey: insights, gaps and agendas for future research. Accounting, Auditing &amp; Accountability Journal, 31(5), 1294-1318.

Sukhari, A., & De Villiers, C. (2019). The Influence of Integrated Reporting on Business Model and Strategy Disclosures. Australian Accounting Review, forthcoming.

Terblanche, W., & De Villiers, C. (2019). The Influence of Integrated Reporting and Internationalisation on Intellectual Capital Disclosures. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(1), 40-59.

 

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/ejsice by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, it is possible to access and go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the final deadline. During the upload process, please select Special Issue Manuscript” and upload your whole paper. All papers will be subject to the double peer-reviewed process.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously in any other Journals nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (there is an exception on conference proceedings papers).

The Journal does not apply any Article Processing Charge (APC) or fees for publication. All the process is fully Open Access. Submitted papers should be formatted using the Journal’s template and have good use of English.

The full Special Issue proposal could be download at the following link: https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/ejsice/libraryFiles/downloadPublic/19