CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ITS ADOPTION PRACTICES: THE CASE OF AN ITALIAN MUNICIPALITY

The objective of this article is manifold: first, to analyse the main roles of public sector in promoting CSR initiatives based on an in-depth literature review; second, to review the current trends in CSR development in Italian municipalities; third, to describe the experience of a small Italian municipality that adopts CSR and its main instrument; finally, to develop recommendations and guidelines for the public sector in promoting CSR in Italy. These objectives are reached through a research methodology that is a combination of literature review, Delphi method and case-study based research. The article concludes that CSR Italian PAs adopt CSR with the main purpose to make their actions transparent and their results clear for the community. Moreover, the case study reported shows that the social reporting through the social balance sheet is seen by the citizens as an effective means to involve them into the PA management.