Sara Moggi

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how social media can support both upward and downward accountability in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with a specific focus on women’s empowerment and literacy in local communities. It examines how digital platforms contribute not only to fundraising and donor engagement but also to knowledge diffusion, behavioural change and community-level accountability. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative case study approach, drawing on longitudinal fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2024 within the NGO Audiopedia. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and social media content analysis, focusing on the use of Instagram, Facebook, Google Ads and WhatsApp to enact accountability relationships. Findings: The findings show that social media enables the integration of upward and downward accountability within a single digital ecosystem. While visually oriented platforms support upward accountability by enhancing visibility and fundraising, audio-based messaging applications facilitate downward accountability by empowering women beneficiaries through accessible, voice-based learning. This dual use of social media fosters women’s literacy, community engagement and effective fundraising if the NGOs invest in dedicated human resources and adopt appropriate digital strategies. Practical implications: The study highlights that NGOs can enhance both fundraising effectiveness and women’s empowerment by strategically aligning social media tools with the capabilities of their beneficiaries. In contexts of low literacy, audio-based platforms such as WhatsApp are particularly effective in supporting learning, mentoring and sustained engagement. Social implications: The findings suggest that social media can act as inclusive accountability mechanisms that amplify marginalised voices and support gender equality, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The increasing women’s literacy contributes to create concrete assets for fighting poverty (SDG 1) and improve quality education (SDG 4). Policymakers and development agencies should recognise digital platforms not only as communication tools but also as enablers of social value creation within local communities. Originality/value: This study contributes to the accountability and stakeholder engagement literature by conceptualising social media as an empowerment tool. It offers novel insights into how NGOs can integrate upward and downward accountability to create social value, particularly through initiatives such as women’s literacy and community empowerment in developing contexts.

Purpose: This paper investigates the implementation of e-government and examines the challenges, benefits, and overall impact of this digital transformation in the public sector. It explores the factors steering digitalisation, the limitations in implementing e-government and the reasons for value destruction in the public administration. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a ten-year longitudinal case study methodology to examine the implementation of e-government in an Italian medium-sized, examining the evolving dynamics and challenges over time through semi-structured interviews with key informants (e.g. officers, managers, and employees). Additionally, internal documents and public information enhance data triangulation. Data analysis employs West’s four-stage model (2004) as a framework for improving the understanding of the results of the IT implementation process. Findings: Despite efforts to reduce costs, time, and bureaucracy, the validation process persisted ten years after the introduction of information technology tools. The duration decreased by only one day, and the quality of the service to citizens did not improve. Regarding factors hampering the process, the findings highlighted concerns about governance’s mismanagement in all implementation phases. Originality/value: The paper focuses on the challenges and limitations of e-government implementation. It highlights the gap in the literature regarding the analysis of failed or partially successful digital transformation initiatives. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors hindering digital transformation in public administration and leading to the destruction of public value.

Circular economy (CE) demands a stakeholder perspective. However, CE literature investigating the nature and the evolution of stakeholder relationships for its effective implementation is not made explicit nor comprehensively conceptualized, resulting in a lack of appreciation for stakeholders' role and a poor understanding of how their relationships can facilitate CE. To advance a holistic overview in this regard, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on stakeholder relationships and CE. The in‐depth content analysis on 111 papers allowed us to conceptualize a novel matrix of four main stakeholder relational approaches at the firm–stakeholder and stakeholder–firm perspectives: Informative, Reciprocal, Advocative, and Ecosystemic—that can enhance and support CE initiatives. We detected osmotic boundaries and discussed dynamism among the four approaches, leading to a more nuanced understanding of stakeholder engagement in CE. The dynamism among stakeholder approaches constitutes a future research opportunity to be explored empirically and beyond CE.

Purpose: This study investigates the drivers and barriers to digitalisation in viticulture, focusing on the Italian wine sector. Although digital transformation is widely recognised as necessary for its potential to bring significant improvements to this industry, the determinants and barriers to this process are still unappreciated by research in the field. Design/methodology/approach: Due to the emerging nature of the research field, the paper adopts an explorative field study based on focus groups involving a total of 36 participants as keynote actors in the wine sector industry, including entrepreneurs, wine producers, agronomists and representatives of wine consortia across Italy. Findings: The study reveals that various factors can promote the adoption and implementation of digital technologies in viticulture. One of them is the large availability of data, innovations that improve business models, and the quality and sustainability of wine production. However, the study also reveals perceived barriers regarding digital technologies, such as economic constraints, a lack of digital skills, increased complexity in the operation processes and a potential loss of wine tradition. Originality/value: This paper explores an understudied area and uncovers several factors previously overlooked by academia. It points out inconsistencies between the perceived drivers and barriers, demonstrating the divergent perspectives among entrepreneurs regarding digitalisation.

Purpose: This paper examines “how” an organisation, over time, responded, and “what strategies” were mobilised, to conform to a specific audit society-inspired model introduced in Italy by the Decree 231 (D231). D231 requires implementing an internal control and audit model and performance accounting to oversee business activities and prevent misconduct.Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was adopted for in-depth analysis of the response strategies (i.e. avoidance and compromise) and related initiatives, which were mobilised in ITAGAS, a public organisation leader in the methane gas distribution sector in Italy. Participant observation, interviews and document analysis were the primary data sources. Theoretically, our analysis is informed by insights drawn from the institutional complexity perspective (Thornton et al., 2012; Pache and Santos, 2013a, b) and Oliver’s (1991) model concerning strategic responses to institutional pressures.Findings: Adopting D231 generated institutional complexity in our case organisation. The analysis highlights two phases: the voluntary and compulsory adoption of the D231 model. The voluntary adoption occurred via a compromising strategy that involved forms of “selective coupling” (Pache and Santos, 2013a), which allowed the organisation to strategically adopt only those structures/practices that were seen as appropriate and consistent with its organisational logics. The compulsory phase was characterised by broader adoption of the D231 model through symbolic conformity. The case organisation adopted “avoidance” strategies (Oliver, 1991) and “co-habiting means-ends” decoupling initiatives to protect the basic organisational coherence from the regulative prescriptions.Originality/value: The paper presents original insights into how the D231 model, an example of an audit society-inspired model, unfolded over time in a specific organisation to achieve the desired change towards more responsible and accountable practices. Our analysis suggests the compulsory phase was less effective than when the model was voluntarily adopted. The paper also reveals that, in contrast to the voluntary phase, decoupling strategies were mobilised in the compulsory phase to reach an organisational equilibrium, which facilitated corporate survival; decoupling was the only effective solution to the imbalance generated by the compulsoriness of the D231 model.

Value creation by mega‐events is still an underdeveloped issue. Through their legacy, mega‐events can create long‐term value for the local community hosting the event. In determining the importance of practices for increasing value creation, stakeholder engagement is growing in defining mega‐events features and possible legacies. The study aims to understand how stakeholder engagement can enhance value creation through sustainable events legacy after mega‐events. In doing so, the research analyses the practices and the processes of stakeholder engagement adopted by Expo 2020 Dubai. This unique case study presents an extensive range of stakeholder engagement practices that enhanced the value co‐creation of a mega‐event legacy. Following the three phases of a mega‐event development (pre–during–post), the stakeholder engagement tools were adapted to meet accountability needs and stakeholders’ claims.