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Accounting, Accountability and Society pp 43–59Cite as

A Sociotechnical Analysis of Accounting for Employee Health and Safety: Evidence from a Multiple Case Study

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Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the technical, organizational, and cognitive factors that influence implementation and integration within the decision-making process of an accounting instrument for employee health and safety. The empirical material was gathered through an interventionist study of two Italian waste-management companies over almost two years. The analysis reveals that the instrument was implemented, yet weakly integrated and then discontinued by both companies. In some instances, the instrument was used to support the decision-making process of employee health and safety organization. However, the link between financial information and employee safety was considered ambiguous. The resulting failure was not due to the inadequacy of the instrument per se but to the ineffective management of the integration phase and to the related presence of various hindrance factors. The study contributes to the literature and practice of accounting for employee health and safety, showing that in such a context, the financial orientation of the information can hamper decision making. The study also contributes to the debate concerning accounting instrument development in the context of corporate social responsibility.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Emilio Passetti

  2. Sapienza University of Roma, Rome, Italy

    Massimo Battaglia

Authors
  1. Emilio Passetti
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  2. Massimo Battaglia
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Correspondence to Emilio Passetti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

    Mara Del Baldo

  2. School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Jesse Dillard

  3. Department of Management, University of Bologna, Rimini, Italy

    Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli

  4. Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

    Massimo Ciambotti

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Passetti, E., Battaglia, M. (2020). A Sociotechnical Analysis of Accounting for Employee Health and Safety: Evidence from a Multiple Case Study. In: Del Baldo, M., Dillard, J., Baldarelli, MG., Ciambotti, M. (eds) Accounting, Accountability and Society. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41142-8_3

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