The Case For Reporting Pro-Active Environmental Initiatives: A Malaysian Experiment On Stakeholder Influence Strategies

The purpose of this research is to gain insights on the preferred strategies chosen by variousstakeholder representatives to influence management to either provide/not provide environmentaldisclosures in an experimental setting. A typology of resource relationships and influencestrategies is adapted as a framework to make sense of the views presented by variousstakeholder representative groups. To facilitate a Malaysian experiment, qualitative interviewswith the aid of a hypothetical vignette are conducted to understand how different stakeholdergroups go about seeking what they want from the management. The findings in this exploratorystudy indicate that although the model is useful to understand the influence strategies taken byeach stakeholder group, its effectiveness is tempered by the level of significance placed bythese groups on the environmental initiative and their perception of how the event will affecttheir stake on the firm.  Copyright © www.iiste.or

Corporate social responsibility: The disclosure-performance gap

As increased stakeholder pressure requires companies to be transparent about their CSR practices, it is essential to know how reliable corporate disclosure mechanisms are, testing the gap between corporate social responsibility claims and actual practice. This study benchmarks corporate social responsibility policies and practices of ten international hotel groups of particular importance to the European leisure market. We found that corporate systems are not necessarily reflective of actual operations, environmental performance is eco-savings driven, labour policies aim to comply with local legislation, socio-economic policies are inward looking with little acceptance of impacts on the destination, and customer engagement is limited. Generally larger hotel groups have more comprehensive policies but also greater gaps in implementation, while the smaller hotel groups focus only on environmental management and deliver what they promised. As the first survey of its kind in tourism, both the methodology and the findings have implications for further research. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

Corporate sustainability reporting index and baseline data for the cruise industry

Sustainability policies and corporate reports demonstrate the impacts cruise companies acknowledge as their responsibility, and the actions put in place to address them. This paper develops a corporate social responsibility index based on the Global Reporting Initiative, with industry specific additions including labor and human rights, health and safety, and environmental and economic aspects. Companies disclose more management than performance data, which is typical of early stages of development. Companies disclosing less information focus on soft indicators which are easy to mimic and demonstrate posturing. Items disclosed tend to be marginal to the core of the business, have a positive economic impact or pre-empt sector regulation. Reports echo the voice of the corporations and not the demands of stakeholders. Institutional isomorphism has not influenced a homogenization in reporting, with only the largest firms reporting at this stage

Occupational health and safety disclosures in sustainability reports: An overview of trends among corporate leaders

The purpose of this study is to assess the comprehensiveness of voluntary occupational health and safety (OHS) disclosures of large business entities. We devise a composite disclosure index, relying on well‐established performance indicators, and focus on the information found in the sustainability reports of corporations pertaining to the oil and gas, chemical, airline, and construction industries, in an attempt to shed light on the current status and emerging trends in OHS reporting from a diverse group of business entities. The findings indicate that companies tend to place emphasis on their overall management approach to OHS, but fall short in reporting quantitative and qualitative information beyond the ‘conventional’ metrics of occupational injury rates. OHS issues within the supply chain and relevant monitoring systems/mechanisms in place are topics that are underreported, while OHS training programmes are an aspect that is inadequately analyzed in quantitative terms, being the least reported indicator in the sample reports. In contrast, companies from all four industries seek assurance for the OHS information that they report and place emphasis on the externally developed management standards/initiatives that they subscribe to, support, or have adopted

The impact of clinical placements on the emotional intelligence of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, and business students: a longitudinal study

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill for healthcare practitioners. Minimal longitudinal research has tracked the changes in EI of therapy students over their final full-time clinical placements. Methods: The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i2.0) measured the EI of 283 therapy students and 93 business students (control group who do no clinical placements) at three time points over a 16-month period, the same period that the therapy students participated in clinical placements. Results: Analysis of the therapy students showed significant increases over the 16 months of the study in Total EI score, as well as nine other EI skills. However, large percentages of students reported declining scores in emotional expression, assertiveness, self-expression, and stress tolerance, with some students reporting low EI scores before commencing full-time extended clinical placements. Conclusions: The study contributes to new knowledge about the changing EI skills of therapy students as they complete their full-time, extended placements. Emotional intelligence in student therapists should be actively fostered during coursework, clinical placements and when first entering the workforce. University educators are encouraged to include EI content through the therapy curricula. Employers are encouraged to provide peer coaching, mentoring and workshops focused on EI skills to recent graduates

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 Case For Reporting Pro-Active Environmental Initiatives: A Malaysian Experiment On Stakeholder Influence Strategies

The purpose of this research is to gain insights on the preferred strategies chosen by various stakeholder representatives to influence management to either provide/not provide environmental disclosures in an experimental setting. A typology of resource relationships and influence strategies is adapted as a framework to make sense of the views presented by various stakeholder representative groups. To facilitate a Malaysian experiment, qualitative interviews with the aid of a hypothetical vignette are conducted to understand how different stakeholder groups go about seeking what they want from the management. The findings in this exploratory study indicate that although the model is useful to understand the influence strategies taken by each stakeholder group, its effectiveness is tempered by the level of significance placed by these groups on the environmental initiative and their perception of how the event will affect their stake on the firm

Determinants of strategic performance measurement system disclosures in Australia's top 100 publicly listed firms

A strategic performance measurement system (SPMS) enables firms to translate strategies, objectives and targets into an integrated set of financial and non-financial measures covering a range of perspectives. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of SPMS disclosures by examining whether significant relationships exist between voluntary SPMS disclosure practice and various corporate characteristics including profitability, age, size and industry. It also aims to explore whether uncertainty in the business environment arising from the onset of the global financial crisis may affect disclosure decisions. Content analysis of publicly available data is conducted focusing on the Top100 publicly listed firms in Australia. Logistic regressions are used to test the hypotheses developed based on the predictions from voluntary disclosure and socio-political theories. The results show that firm age, size and industry prominence are significantly related to SPMS disclosures. However, the suggestion that business uncertainty may affect SPMS disclosures is not supported

A dialectical view of accounting education: tracing the tensions between "technical" and "liberal" orientation

Abstract not available