Policies to Prevent Alcohol Problems: A Research Agenda for 2010-2015

Summarizes policy research priorities with a focus on alcohol-related problems or high-risk drinking involving those not identified as dependent drinkers, including questions of state and local accountability, availability of alcohol, and retail price

Secondary Stakeholder Influence on CSR Disclosure: An Application of Stakeholder Salience Theory

The aim of this study is to analyse how secondary stakeholders influence managerial decision-making on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure. Based on stakeholder salience theory, we empirically investigate whether differences in environmental disclosure among companies are systematically related to differences in the level of power, urgency and legitimacy of the environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with which these companies are confronted. Using proprietary archival data for an international sample of 199 large companies, our results suggest that differences in environmental disclosures between companies are mainly associated with differences between their environmental stakeholders’ legitimacy. The effects of power and urgency are of an indirect nature, as they are mediated by legitimacy. This study improves our understanding of CSR disclosure by demonstrating that, next to the well-documented effect of company characteristics, stakeholder characteristics are also important. Besides, it provides scarce empirical evidence that not only primary stakeholders, but also secondary stakeholders are influential with regards to management decision-making. And more specifically, it offers insight into why some stakeholder groups are better able to influence disclosure decisions than other. The results also have important practical implications for managers of both environmental NGOs and large companies. For managers of environmental NGOs the results provide evidence of the most successful tactics for having their environmental information demands satisfied by companies. For company management the results provide insights into the most important stakeholder characteristics, on the basis of which they may develop strategies for proactively disclosing environmental information

The role and effectiveness of alcohol policy at the local level: international experiences.

This paper outlines several case studies where community program-based efforts have been used to prevent or reduce alcohol problems. These include a programme in Rhode Island, USA, where three communities were selected for a survey. Two of the towns served as controls, with the third selected for intervention. Among the interventions was a training program for alcohol servers, which included enhanced enforcement of liquor laws and DWI laws. Outcomes were positive, with an a 27% increase in alcohol-related assault arrests, and a reduction in emergency room visits; a 9% reduction was seen for injury, 21% for assault and a 10% reduction for motor vehicle crashes. No such reduction was witnessed in the control communities. Several other case studies are included from around the world, where local communities have used a range of scientific methods to actively reduce harm to the community. The case studies reviewed listed show the potential for theory-driven community action to reduce local alcohol problems