The 2014/95/EU Directive is the first regulatory attempt to harmonise large entities’ non-financial reporting. It sets minimum requirements whilst leaving discretion to Member States in transposing relevant aspects of disclosure. The transposition is the first moment in which the Directive directly impacts on companies and determines whether they will be complying with more similar rules. This study uses the fit/misfit theory to assess the achievement of formal harmonisation between the UK, France and Italy. An analysis of domestic regulations shows that discretion favoured convergence of rules but also the presence of old and new differences. All countries had to engage in some degree of change to be compliant. The UK and France had a high degree of legal fit and used discretion to limit adaptation costs by minimising the legal intervention and over-implementing the Directive respectively. Italy instead welcomed the legal misfit and greatly departed from its previous regulation.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the knowledge-intensive process of creative problem-solving and its outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses survey data from 113 leading Italian companies. To test the structural relations of the research model the authors used the partial least square (PLS) method. Findings: Results show that work design and training have a positive direct impact on creative problem-solving process while organizational culture has a positive impact on both creative problem-solving process and its outcomes. Finally creative problem-solving process has a strong direct impact on its outcomes and this, in turn, on firms’ competitiveness. Practical implications: This study suggests that managers must highlight the problem-solving process as it affects a firm’s capability to find creative solutions and therefore its competitiveness. Moreover, the present paper suggests managers should invest in specific knowledge management (KM) practices for enhancing knowledge-intensive business processes. Originality/value: The present paper fills an important gap in the BPM literature by empirically testing the relationship among KM practices, multistage processes of creative problem-solving and their outcomes, and firms’ competitiveness.

Purpose: This study investigates the implementation of a sustainable circular business model from an accounting perspective. Its goal is to understand if and how decision- makers use management accounting systems, and what changes are needed if these systems are to support the transition toward a circular economy. Design/methodology/approach: Dialogic accounting theory frames the case study of six companies that built a value network to develop and implement an innovative packaging solution consistent with circular economy principles. Content analysis was utilised to investigate the accounting tools used. Findings: The findings indicate that circular solutions generate new organisational configurations based on value networks. Interestingly, managers’ decision-making process largely bypassed the accounting function; they relied on informal accounting and life cycle analysis, which stimulated a multi-stakeholder dialogue in a life cycle perspective. Research limitations/implications: The research provides theoretical and practical insights into the capability of management accounting systems to support companies seeking circular solutions. Practical implications: The authors offer implications for accounting practice, chief financial officers (CFOs) and accounting educators, suggesting that a dialogic approach may support value retention of resources, materials and products, as required by the circular economy. Social implications: The research contributes to the debate about the role of accounting in sustainability, specifically the need for connecting for resource efficiency at the corporate level with the rationalisation of resource use within planetary boundaries. Originality/value: The study contributes to the limited research into the role of management accounting in a company’s transition to circular business models. Dialogic accounting theory frames exploration of how accounting may evolve to help businesses become accountable to all stakeholders, including the environment.