Framing tensions as opportunities: internal double materiality in an SME case study

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can transform internal tensions between financial and impact priorities into strategic drivers of sustainability. It explores how dissonant managerial perspectives shape internal double materiality in practice. Design/methodology/approach – An explanatory case study was conducted on Barone Ricasoli S.p.A., a historic Italian medium-sized winery engaged in voluntary sustainability reporting. Data were collected through interviews with key figures and document analysis. The findings are interpreted using the theoretical lenses of bounded rationality, sense of dissonance and heterarchy. Findings – Two contrasting sustainability perspectives coexist within the company: the impact orientation led by the Technical Director and the financial one led by the Chief Financial Officer. Rather than causing conflict, these tensions foster innovation through informal negotiations and cost-benefit reasoning. This dynamic is conceptualised as an internal double materiality assessment: a managerial process that integrates financial and impact relevance through both formal and informal mechanisms. Originality/value – The study introduces the concept of internal double materiality and extends the application of dissonance and heterarchy to sustainability accounting in SMEs. It also contributes to the literature on integrated thinking by showing how informal, heterarchical structures can foster coherence between financial and impact considerations, even in the absence of formal procedures.