The disclosure in the Anti-Corruption Plans. Formal vs substantive attempts in the Italian Regional Governments

The current paper focuses on the disclosure divulged by Italian Regions in their Anti- corruption Plans. It draws from the literature on the legitimacy theory to understand whether the information provided is driven by symbolic legitimacy purposes to pur- sue formal compliance or by substantive attempts to secure greater levels of account- ability. To this aim, the study employs a meaning-oriented content analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis to assess the degree of thoroughness and the het- erogeneity of the information, also identifying possible factors explaining any dif- ferences. The findings offer interesting implications for theory, practitioners, and policy makers.