Understanding systemic change in the context of the social and environmental disclosures of a conservation organisation in a developing country

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Samkin ◽  
Christa Wingard
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Systemic Change ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Environmental Disclosures

PurposeThis uses a framework of systemic change to understand the contextual factors including stakeholder, social, political, cultural and economic, which contribute to the social and environmental narratives of a conservation organisation that has and continues to undergo transformation.Design/methodology/approachThe social and environmental disclosure annual report narratives for a 27-year period were coded to a framework of systemic change.FindingsThe end of apartheid in 1994 meant that South African society required transformation. This transformation impacts and drives the social and environmental accounting disclosures made by SANParks. The social and environmental disclosures coded against a framework of systemic change, fluctuated over the period of the study as the format of the annual reports changed. The systems view was the most frequently disclosed category. The political ecology subcategory which details the power relationships showed the most disclosures. However, 25 years after the end of apartheid, the transformation process remains incomplete. Although the evidence in the paper does not support Joseph and Reigelut (2010) contention that the framework of systemic change is an iterative process, it nevertheless provides a useful vehicle for analysing the rich annual report narratives of an organisation that has undergone and continues to undergo transformation.Originality/valueThis paper makes two primary contributions. First, to the limited developing country social and environmental accounting literature. Second, the development, refinement and application of a framework of systemic change to social and environmental disclosures.

scholarly journals Annual reporting by social enterprise organizations: “legitimacy surplus” or reporting deficit?

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1997-2025
Author(s):  
Ciaran Connolly ◽  
Martin Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Annual Reporting

PurposeDrawing on an accountability framework developed for social enterprise organizations (SEOs), this paper examines the annual report disclosure practices of SEOs in the United Kingdom in order to investigate the types of accountability disclosed by SEOs.Design/methodology/approachAfter developing a SEO database, and utilizing a bespoke document coding checklist, the annual reports of 129 SEOs were examined.FindingsThe results indicate that while SEOs would be expected to account in line with normative stakeholder theory, many do not provide constructive and voluntary accountability information to their stakeholders, at least through the annual report, and that their focus is on satisfying legal obligations.Originality/valueIn response to calls for research to better understand accountability in new organizational contexts, this paper makes two contributions: firstly, by extending prior accountability research in the NFP sector to consider organizational hybrids, it raises questions about organizational accountability and how it is discharged in situations where an organization operates as a business and yet is accountable for its social mission; secondly, assuming these organizations are driven by their business and social logics, the findings suggest that SEO accountability disclosure practices are inconsistent with the social objectives on which they are based.

Responding to “Discrediting” Events: Annual Report Disclosure Responses to Environmental Fines

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussein Warsame ◽  
Cynthia V. Simmons ◽  
Dean Neu
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Disclosure Quality ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Environmental Disclosures ◽  
Disclosure Responses

In this study we consider how a discrediting event such as an environmental fine influences the quality of environmental disclosures in subsequent annual reports. Starting from prior work in the areas of impression management along with environmental and social responsibility disclosures, we propose that environmental disclosures provide organizations with a method of “managing” such discrediting events. Using a matched-pair sample of publicly traded Canadian companies that have been subject to environmental fines and those that have not; we analyze changes in pre-fine and post-fine environmental disclosure quality. After controlling for firm-specific characteristics, the provided results are consistent with this explanation.

How do public companies respond to national challenges through sustainability reporting? – The case of Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinithi Dissanayake ◽  
Carol A. Tilt ◽  
Wei Qian
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Development ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Reporting Practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting is shaped by the global influences and particular national context where businesses operate. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses both content analysis of published sustainability information and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers to explore how sustainability reporting is used to address unique social and environmental challenges in a developing country – Sri Lanka. The use of integrative social contracts theory in investigating sustainability reporting offers novel insights into understanding the drivers for sustainability reporting practices in this particular country. Findings The findings reveal that managers’ perceptions about usefulness of sustainability reporting, local contextual challenges and global norms influence the extent to which companies engage in sustainability reporting and the nature of sustainability information reported. In particular, Sri Lankan company managers strive to undertake sustainability projects that are beneficial not only to their companies but also to the development of the country. However, while company managers in Sri Lanka are keen to undertake sustainability reporting, they face different tensions/expectations between global expectations and local contextual factors when undertaking sustainability projects and reporting. This is also showcased in what is ultimately reported in company annual reports, where some aspects of sustainability, e.g. social, tend to focus more on addressing local concerns whereas other disclosures are on issues that may be relevant across many contexts. Research limitations/implications Important insights for government and other regulatory authorities can be drawn from the findings of this study. By capitalising on the strong sense of moral duty felt by company managers, policymakers can involve the business sector more to mitigate the social and environmental issues prevalent in Sri Lanka. The findings can also be used by other developing countries to enable pathways to engage with the corporate sector to contribute to national development agendas through their sustainability initiatives and projects. Originality/value While the usual understanding of developing country’s company managers is that they try to follow global trends, in Sri Lanka, this research shows how managers are trying to align their responsibilities at a national level with global principles regarding sustainability reporting. Therefore, this paper highlights how both hypernorms and microsocial rules can interact to define how company managers undertake sustainability reporting in a developing country.

scholarly journals Visual trends in the annual report: the case of Ericsson 1947-2016

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emelie Havemo
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Visual Research Methods ◽  
Visual Elements ◽  
Reporting Practice

PurposeDisclosure research has argued that visuals are increasingly used in annual reports as a way to increase readability of the annual report, but comparatively little is known about of diagrams compared to graphs and photographs. The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of visuals use in corporate disclosure, with an emphasis on diagrams, to show changes from the 1940s until present-day reporting.Design/methodology/approachVisual research methods were applied to analyze how diagrams, photographs and graphs were used in 69 annual reports of the Swedish telecom company Ericsson.FindingsPhotographs have been used with increasing frequency since the 1950s. Graph and diagram use has increased significantly since the 1990s while photograph use remained stable, suggesting that graphs and diagrams increasingly complement photographs for visually representing the organization in corporate disclosure. Factors explaining the case company’s development include both internal (performance, individual preferences, shifting from a manufacturing-based strategy to a service-based strategy) and external (legislation, transformation of the telecom industry).Originality/valueVisual elements in annual reports are increasingly oriented toward immaterial representations of the organization’s standings and identity and diagrams are increasingly used and contribute to this. This finding motivates further research about diagram use in corporate communication, such as how different diagram types convey accounting messages, and whether diagrams serve as impression management devices. For regulators, it will be important to follow the emerging trend of diagram use, since it is becoming part of reporting practice.

An examination of the quality of social and environmental disclosures by Nigerian oil companies

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odhiambo Odera ◽  
Albert Scott ◽  
Jeff Gow
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Environmental Disclosures ◽  
Oil Company ◽  
A Company ◽  
Tests For Normality

Purpose This study seeks to examine the quantity and quality of social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) of Nigerian oil companies. The study aims to analyse SED activities as reported by the oil companies in their annual reports. Design/methodology/approach The study analyses annual reports through content analysis. SED quantity is measured by alternative two units: number of sentences and number of pages. A two-point scale system to assess SED quality is used as follows: 1 = if SED is quantitative and reports specific activities of a company concerning its social and environmental responsibility; 0 = otherwise. Correlation analysis is performed among the different SED categories to identify the relationships among them. Kolmongrov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk tests for normality are utilised. Findings SED activities are reported by most of the companies, and by quantity, employee information is found to be the most common type of disclosure. SED quantity and quality in the environment category is found to be overwhelmingly low despite the large-scale public concern expressed about the levels of the environmental degradation caused by oil company operations. Research limitations/implications The data collected for this study are based on one country, which controls diversity but limits the generalizability of the findings. The study is limited by the sample which includes mainly quoted companies, as they are believed to make improved disclosures because of their investor orientation and statutory obligations. Originality/value The study extends SED research by focusing on social disclosures such as employee-, community- and health- and safety-related disclosures. The study also investigates the motivations of SED providers and establishes a link between stakeholder demands/engagement and the level of disclosure.

The emergence of carbon accounting

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Le Breton ◽  
Franck Aggeri
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Carbon Accounting ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Small Companies ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategy Of Development ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Organisation

Purpose This paper forms part of the social and environmental accounting literature. The purpose of this paper is to study how the strategy of development and dissemination of a carbon accounting tool by a public organisation affects the actions of companies. Design/methodology/approach It is based on the Foucaldian concept of a strategic dispositif whose components and evolution over time will be analysed. The methodology will be based on a case study of ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, through the preparation and dissemination of Bilan Carbone® – the French greenhouse gas accounting tool – between 2000 and 2017. Findings The results highlight the specific features of the dispositif formed by carbon accounting in France, namely, the integration of small companies, use of the tool to directly support actions and financial independence. Practical implications The theoretical contribution of this work consists in showing the benefits of the concept of a strategic dispositif to understand the action of companies in terms of the transition towards low-carbon strategies. Social implications Its empirical contribution lies in the emphasis placed on the specific role of public authorities in tackling climate change within the sphere of carbon accounting methodologies largely dominated by private organisations. Originality/value The theoretical contribution of this work consists in showing the benefits of the concept of a strategic dispositif to understand the action of companies in terms of the transition towards low-carbon strategies.

scholarly journals Annual Reports to Shareholders: Historical Collections in Libraries

2010 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith M. Nixon
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Financial Status ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Historical Collections ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Twentieth

The purpose of this article is to describe the scope and depth of the historic corporate annual report collections in twelve academic/research libraries in North America. For many decades, a few major academic business libraries have been collecting and preserving corporate Annual Reports (ARS), the reports sent to shareholders documenting the financial status and future plans of the company. Today these historic collections provide more than a record of the companies’ finances; they provide a glimpse into the social and cultural thoughts from the past and the corporate stories of individual companies. Digitization of these reports has only just begun; so, except for fewer than 900 companies (most of which have been on the Fortune 500 list), the companies included in these historic annual report collections are not available electronically. The combined collection of the twelve libraries includes reports from nearly 38,000 different companies. Stanford, Harvard, and Western Ontario have the largest collections. Harvard and Columbia have collections with significant historic depth, while Purdue has a collection with important late–twentieth-century holdings. The overlap of the collections is much smaller than was anticipated. The two largest collections, Stanford with over 18,000 companies and Harvard with over 11,000 companies, have only 3,668 companies in common. The overlap of companies between the largest five collections is only thirty-three companies. This research identifies these collections as unique and therefore valuable to the study of specific company histories and the industrial development in North America. Librarians need to preserve these collections and work toward digitizing them.

Social and environmental disclosure index: perspectives from Indian corporate sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Singhania ◽  
Gagan Gandhi
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Corporate Sector ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
A Company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to construct the social and environmental disclosure index for Indian companies in order to examine the relationship between social and environmental disclosure and select corporate attributes. Design/methodology/approach – The sample covers annual reports of companies for financial year 2011-2012. The sample represents both financial and non-financial companies that constitute Nifty 50 Index companies as on March 31, 2012. The actual size of the sample analyzed represented 41 companies. The unweighted disclosure index approach has been used to measure the extent of disclosure of social and environmental information where an item scores 1 if disclosed and 0 if not disclosed. The authors built a model using regression which indicates the variables that are significant in determining the social and environmental disclosure of a company. The regression model can be used to predict the degree of disclosure of a company given the values of explanatory variables. Content analysis from annual reports of the companies has been used in constructing the dependent variable. Findings – Regression results indicate that location (place where the registered office of company is located), number of operations of company, turnover, sales and administration expenses, age of company, employee cost and interest paid by company are significant in determining the disclosure index of the company. Research limitations/implications – Sample size can be increased by considering more companies. In addition, a longitudinal study would enable in drawing comparison over a period of time with respect to disclosure index. The increased sample size would help in validating the disclosure score by dividing the data set into two: one as observation window and the other as validation window.The model explains 23 percent variation in disclosure index. More variation may be explained by incorporating more explanatory variables in the model. Practical implications – The authors indicate the level of disclosure in case of Indian companies which may prove to be an indicator for prospective investors especially in the present era of global financial and economic downturn. The paper may assist the regulators in framing policies regarding corporate governance. This will enable the regulators of corporate sector to frame laws in order to predict the degree of disclosure of a company based on certain explanatory variables. Originality/value – The authors focus especially on Indian companies for constructing the disclosure index which to the best of knowledge has not been attempted till date.

scholarly journals Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teerooven Soobaroyen ◽  
Jyoti Devi Mahadeo
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Disclosures ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Local Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse changes in community disclosures by listed companies in Mauritius. Design/methodology/approach – The authors carried out a quantitative and qualitative assessment of annual report disclosures over the period 2004-2010. In particular, the authors consider the influence of a corporate governance code and a government intervention to first persuade and subsequently mandate corporate social responsibility investment (known as a “CSR Levy”). Findings – From a predominantly limited and neutral form of communication, narratives of community involvement morph into assertive and rhetorical statements, emphasising commitment, permanency and an intimate connection to the community and a re-organisation of activities and priorities which seek to portray structure and order in the way companies deliver community interventions. Informed by Gray et al.’s (1995) neo-pluralist framework and documentary evidence pertaining to the country’s social, political and economic context, the authors relate the change in disclosures to the use of corporate impression management techniques with a view to maintain legitimacy and to counter the predominant public narrative on the insufficient extent of community involvement by local companies. Research limitations/implications – The authors find that community disclosures are not only legitimating mechanisms driven by international pressures but are also the result of local tensions and expectations. Originality/value – This study provides evidence on forms of “social” – as opposed to environmental – disclosures. Furthermore, it examines a unique setting where a government enacted a legally binding regime for greater corporate social involvement.

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