EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

In the light of the literature and empirical evidence on the diffusion of IR among companies, as well the critical issues in its adoption, it could be
of interest, not only to assess whether the integrated reports issued by companies are consistent with the IR framework, in terms of elements and
guiding principles, but also in evaluating the overall quality of the IR process. Consequently, three main objectives are pursued in this paper: (1) to
verify the consistent and complete implementation of the IR framework in the integrated reports issued by companies; (2) to verify whether the integrated reports derive from an integration among processes, organizational units, and culture; (3) to assess the quality of integrated reports. Based on these objectives, two main research questions have been developed: (1) How the IR Framework is implemented by companies, in terms of content
elements, form and quality of disclosure? (2) Is the implementation of the IR based on an integrated thinking that encompasses strategic, organizational, and cultural integrations? In order to answer these research questions, we have developed a framework for quality assessment of both the integrated reports, and the integrated thinking and process of companies whose 2013 integrated reports are contained in the IIRC database