Antonio Prencipe

Purpose: This study aims to offer the first systematic, management-focused synthesis of reverse mentoring (RM) since 2012. The authors map the field using the ADO–TCM framework to (i) clarify theoretical foundations, contexts, methods, antecedents, decision choices and outcomes of RM; (ii) propose a conceptual framework and (iii) derive a forward-looking research agenda. The authors update the knowledge base and inform both scholars and practitioners on how RM operates, where it creates value and which gaps most urgently warrant rigorous investigation. Design/methodology/approach: Following SPAR-4-SLR procedures the authors identified 36 pertinent papers. The authors coded them along theory–context–method (TCM) for descriptive structure and along ADO (Antecedents–Decisions–Outcomes) for explanatory insights, highlighting moderators/mediators where present. Findings: RM research is empirically oriented but methodologically narrow. Context is skewed toward India/Asia and Technology/ICT sector; cross-country/sector comparisons are scarce. Decisions evidence a tension between formalization and flexibility, with limited evidence on optimal designs, matching formats and facilitation roles. Outcomes concentrate on dyadic knowledge transfer, engagement and retention; organizational, market-facing and well-being effects remain underexplored. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first to integrate RM knowledge through the ADO–TCM lens, bridging descriptive fragmentation and offering an actionable roadmap. The authors advance a rigorous agenda with 15 themes and 33 future research questions.

Drawing on institutional theory and agency theory, this study examines whether venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) ownership acts as a complement to, or substitute for, investor protection in shaping equity financing, debt financing, and leverage decisions in high-tech entrepreneurial firms. The analysis is based on a panel dataset of 403 high-tech entrepreneurial firms from 11 European countries over the period 2009–2013. To address potential endogeneity and reverse causality between external finance and VC/PE investment, the study employs two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression models using an instrumental-variable approach. The results provide tentative evidence that VC/PE ownership is associated with stronger debt-related financing outcomes, particularly leverage, in countries characterised by weaker investor protection, suggesting a possible substitutive relationship in debt-related financing outcomes. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously given the limitations associated with the instrumental-variable strategy. The study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial finance, corporate governance and law and finance by showing how firm-level governance mechanisms interact with national institutional settings in shaping financing decisions.

This study examines how territorial peripherality and regional entrepreneurial ecosystem quality shape the growth trajectories of Italian university spin-offs, with a specific focus on internal areas. Combining firm-level data from NETVAL and AIDA with territorial indicators from the Italian Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI) and ISTAT, we construct a panel of 655 university spin-offs observed between 2018 and 2022. Two composite indicators capture provincial peripherality and regional ecosystem quality. Using mixed-effects models, we analyse their effects on revenue and employment growth. Results show that stronger regional ecosystems support employment growth overall and significantly amplify revenue growth for spin-offs located in internal areas, partially compensating for structural territorial disadvantages. The findings highlight the importance of place-based ecosystem policies and the strategic role of universities in fostering knowledge-based development and proxy indicators of territorial resilience in peripheral regions.

The concept of accountability is central to understanding how sustainable corporate governance (SCG) structures shape organizational behavior, legitimacy, and firm performance in the pursuit of sustainability goals. While widely invoked, accountability is often treated inconsistently across governance contexts—oscillating between technical compliance and ethical legitimacy. This paper provides a structured conceptual review of how accountability is framed and operationalized within sustainability governance, with a specific focus on its implications for sustainable performance, corporate sustainability strategies, and governance effectiveness. Based on a qualitative analysis of thirteen peer-reviewed articles published between 2006 and 2025, the study identifies three dominant conceptual clusters: compliance-oriented, legitimacy-oriented, and hybrid approaches. Each cluster reflects different accountability logics and governance mechanisms—ranging from ESG metrics and sustainability reporting frameworks to participatory forums and stakeholder engagement processes that support sustainable development. The article synthesizes theoretical contributions from institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and deliberative democracy to explore how accountability serves as a bridge between formal governance mechanisms and legitimacy claims. A conceptual framework is proposed to illustrate the tensions and complementarities between compliance-driven and legitimacy-driven governance models in sustainability contexts. By deepening the theoretical understanding of accountability in corporate sustainability, this review contributes to the literature on ESG governance, social and environmental reporting, and the legitimacy–performance nexus in corporate settings. The findings offer a foundation for advancing more inclusive, transparent, and sustainability-oriented corporate governance practices in response to global sustainability challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This study analyzes the evolution of paradigms in scientific accounting related to innovative actions taken in Italy between 1840 and 1900. Specifically, it investigates the transition between two opposing schools of thought during this period: the Tuscan School (antecedent-concomitant paradigm) and the Venetian School (concomitant-next paradigm). To explore this transition, the Kuhnian epistemological model is applied to examine Vincenzo Gitti’s contributions to accounting. Gitti, a scholar associated with both the Tuscan and Venetian Schools, played a significant role in shaping their respective paradigms. The findings reveal a complex transition process influenced by a company’s Gestalt perspective, its components, and accounting methods, which are divided between the old and new paradigms. Nonetheless, there is a discernible tendency toward the new paradigm of the Venetian School.

This study examines how benefit corporations (BCs)—a type of sustainability‐oriented hybrid business dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals—are associated with earnings management (EM). Two theoretical perspectives—long‐term strategy and managerial opportunism—shape the hypotheses on the association between BC adoption and EM practices. An empirical analysis is conducted on a panel dataset of 2449 Italian firms (354 BCs and 2095 non‐BCs) from 2014 to 2021. Using Stubben's (2010) conditional earnings model and propensity score matching, the findings suggest that adopting the BC model is linked to a higher likelihood of managerial engagement in EM. Although the BC model emphasizes transparency and accountability, it might unintentionally enable opportunistic behavior, calling into question the assumption that CSR‐oriented business models inherently limit financial manipulation. These findings shed light on the impact of legal frameworks for hybrid organizations like BCs on corporate behavior, offering valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners working to foster ethical business practices.

This study aims to analyse whether firms adopting the institutional and organizational model of a benefit company (BC) increase the appointment of women to their board of directors (BoD) by applying the theoretical models of reputation management and resource dependence theory. A sample of 354 Italian firms adopting the BC model and a control group of 600 firms over the period of 2009–2018 were analysed. A fractional regression probit model was used to analyse the effect of the institutional form of the BC on the presence of women on BoDs. The findings, generally robust regarding different econometric specifications dealing with potential endogeneity, confirmed that a firm’s adoption of the BC model positively affects the likelihood of the firm increasing the presence of women on its BoD. This evidence justifies the actions of those stakeholders in firms that are actively involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) processes, seeking increased reputation and legitimacy by increasing the number of female directors in the firm. The study contributes new insights into the relationship between CSR and the appointment of women on BoDs in the new and emerging business context of hybrid organizational models. Additionally, the study advances our knowledge about the heterogeneous and reversed associations between the institutional model of the BC and the choice of specific corporate governance mechanisms in the form of the appointment of women on BoDs to increase the reputation and legitimacy of firms.

The study aims to analyze the role of informal institutions of Circular Economy (CE) as exogenous factors of improving the effectiveness of Benefit Corporation’ model. In detail, leveraging on the institution theoretical framework, it hypothesized that the level of entrepreneurial culture linked to CE at national level has a positive effect on the sustainability performance towards CE of Benefit Corporations. To this end, a sample of 301 Certified Benefit Corporations collected from the B-Lab dataset for the period 2008–2016 and located in eight European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom) has been analysed. The findings show that the informal institutions englobed in the cultural dimensions of a country, with specific regard to the role of the entrepreneurial culture related to the CE, seems to actively stimulates the sustainability performance of Benefit Corporations towards CE, as measured through the B-Impact Assessment Score of the operated by B-Lab. The study provides some important implications for theory and practice. Indeed, it contributes to the literature on institutional theory applied to CE, revealing the effective role of informal institutions for the development of circularity and sustainability performance at firm level in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Also, the full achievement of the sustainability goals of Benefit Corporations passes also through their strongly commitment towards the CE principles. Further, the incorporation of a culture characterized by high entrepreneurial principles towards CE will likely push individuals to build an entrepreneurial mindset for the effective and sustainable development of Benefit Corporations.

The article aims to study the effect of output additionality of public innovation funding on firm innovation, measured as economic returns of innovation, across firms of different sizes. A panel sample consisting of 4125 Spanish firms observed during years 2009–2014 has been analysed, using a treatment model. Robustness tests have also been used. The findings show the effects of output additionality of innovation funding support for small, medium and large firms, with a greater effect on large firms and a lower effect on medium firms. However, there has a weak effect for very large firms, which do not benefit in terms of output additionality. Since it is relatively easy for large firms to benefit from public support for innovation, some of the resources allocated to them should be passed on to small and medium firms. Medium firms seem to be less inclined to benefit from economies of scales than large firms and may be less affected by public innovation policy given the priority for small firms' development. Small and medium enterprises can benefit further from well‐designed targeting programmes, with a prevalence of demand‐side support measures compared to the supply‐side measures.