How B-Corporations' mobilize IC (unawares) to create value. Evidence from the Italian ecosystem

Purpose – This work investigates the presence and disclosure unawares of Intellectual Capital (IC) within Italian Benefit Corporations and their capability to create value through the mobilization of IC.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is developed on a double level. In the first part the work recurs to the qualitative Content Analysis to investigate if the certified BCorps mobilize the IC. In the second part is conducted an empirical analysis on sample of the certified B-Corporations located in Italy to detect the degree of awareness about information, meaning and presence of Intellectual Capital.Findings – The BCorps responding to the assessment tools make an aware disclosure of value creation informations, but they are unaware that within this information there are elements of Intellectual Capital.Originality/value – Bcorps are a new reality to discover and there are few academic researches about this topic.Practical Implications – The lack of awareness about the presence and mobilization of Intellectual Capital makes reflect on the fact that for companies that want to become BCorps or want to renew the certification to continue to be in the BCorps ecosystem they must pay attention to the development of IC.