Despite a general awareness of the potential of big data in terms of public interest, several obstacles prevent their effective sharing. This study, linking the discourse on data to the concepts of data value and accountability, aims at emancipating the scientific debate from the emphasis on administrative transparency and the protection of privacy, tracing new perspectives for future research. The present research examines the main peer-reviewed articles published by journals that have dealt with data value and accountability across the public and private dimensions. The bibliometric analysis carried out indicates a propensity by current literature to consider the issue of data value creation either only in the private (data as input to improve business performance or customer relations) or in the public dimension (open data government models). This means that research on behavioral data for public governance has so far been underestimated. Evidence shows that big data value creation is closely associated with a collective process where multiple levels of interaction and data sharing develop among private and public actors in a multilayered accountability environment.

Purpose: The paper aims to reach a better understanding of accountability and social reporting in the Italian justice system, by examining the state of the art of both literature and practice. The case study highlights the critical elements in drawing up the social report of one of the most important Prosecutor Offices in Italy.Design/methodology/approach: The case study analyzes the activities of the actors involved in the report building process by detailing all the steps involved in a research diary, in order to examine such process from the inside, thus reversing its perspective.Findings: The study shows that both the lack of guidelines for judicial administrations and a consolidated trend of transforming administrative facts into documents useful to stakeholders slow down the evolution of practices, which are stuck in a perpetual trial stage.Research limitations/implications: The limitations are mainly related to the adoption of a single case study, which does not include any comparison with other reporting experiences in the justice sector.Originality/value: This paper adds evidence to the theoretical debate on social reporting in the justice sector which has so far received the attention of a limited number of scholars. Furthermore, unlike other studies focusing exclusively on the final report while overlooking the process that turns input into output, this research deals with the core of the social reporting process and practices in their development, capturing their most intimate and controversial aspects from the inside.

Purpose: This study offers a focus on the income dynamics of the sector, analyzing the evolution of the main profitability indicators (ROE, ROA, ROI and ROS) of 457 Italian companies in the 2008–2020 period. So, it is possible to verify the reactivity to the global financial crisis that began in 2008 and the first indications on the 2020 pandemic.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis uses descriptive statistics tools and the ANOVA method of analysis of variance completed by Tukey's test, useful for identifying the existence of significant differences between geographical macro-areas of the country.Findings: The results show positive dynamics in a sector that has been able to absorb the negative consequences of the great global crisis, improving its profitability over the years, albeit with differences in the macro-regions of Italy.Research limitations/implications: The study considers only the companies that survived the crisis, so, presumably, the strongest. In the future, other ratios should be considered to have a more complete view. It is a quantitative study based on the financial report data that neglects other important economic factors.Practical implications: Public policies might use this study for a better intervention in support of the sector. Besides, internal management may compare company outcomes with average sector outcomes to identify improvement prospects.Social implications: The research represents a significant basis considering the risks deriving from the supply of low-cost Asian products that could significantly affect the profitability of Italian companies in the future.Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature by providing a quantitative analysis of the dynamics of the sector, through the comparative information that may be deduced of balanced sheets in the course of the years.

Purpose: This paper investigates the income dynamics of Italian primary sector, during and after the international economic crisis. It focuses on three research questions: what has been the evolution of the main profitability ratios of agricultural enterprises in recent years? After the crisis, have the surviving farms increased their profitability? Has the profitability been different also in relation to the geographic location?Design/methodology/approach: Income dynamics of a sample of companies have been analyzed, obtaining the 10-year evolution of the average value of three income indices (return on equity [ROE], return on assets [ROA] and return on sales [ROS]). Statistical elaborations and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method have been used.Findings: The years of the international economic crisis are often characterized by higher incomes than the following ones. The descending trend involves all three national macroareas of Italy, although characterized by considerable socioeconomic differences.Research limitations/implications: The study considers only the society that survived the crisis, so, presumably, the strongest. Moreover, other ratios should be considered in order to have a more complete view.Practical implications: Public policymakers could use this study for a better intervention in support of agricultural and agro-industrial activities.Social implications: The careful economic and financial analysis of the sector favors the relaunching strategies of the Italian primary sector in which many employees work.Originality/value: The research contributes to the literature by providing a quantitative analysis of the dynamics of the sector, through the comparative information that may be derived from financial statements.

This paper, having traced the evolution of anti-money laundering legislation, defines and frames money laundering and terrorism financing risk inside corporate dynamics. Principles that must inspire corporate actions on the construction of an adequate managing structure to contain risks are set out, considering the fact that there is no risk that this does not have an economical content. This is even truer in the presented case, given that the Italian legislation to counter money laundering is focused on the innovative and modern risk-based approach, which has to guide the organization and functioning of corporations. Possible configuration of corporate anti-money laundering supervisions is therefore analyzed, with the aim of underlining the present connection between anti-money laundering legislation and rules referring to the government and to the internal control system. The present study originates from the interpretation of the new Italian anti-money laundering law. In particular, the first consideration that derives is that the new law does not impose precise obligations in terms of corporate anti-money laundering structure, but a large area of autonomy is left to the will of each company.