Social reporting in italian healthcare enterprises: an empirical analysis

Abstract

Social reporting is an integral part of the broader topic of corporate economic and financial reporting and is responsible for complying with the principle of transparency, which citizens increasingly demand. This is especially important in health care, in that, every citizen must be informed which health care facility they are entrusting their care to. Social reporting represents the most comprehensive and effective form of representation of overall corporate performance (Marcuccio, 2002). In the health sector, disseminating social reporting attempts to respond to growing information needs and support the complex system of institutional and environmental relations in which the healthcare company is embedded. Social reporting, therefore, represents a more comprehensive and effective form of performance representation in public companies (Marcuccio, 2002). Therefore, social reporting in healthcare, when combined with other local governance tools, through the enhancement of ethics, fosters increased sharing of knowledge, resources and responsibilities with a view to strategic alternatives in responding to health needs (Apuzzo, 2018).