Legitimacy-seeking strategies in the gambling industry: the case of responsible gambling

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Cheng Han Leung
Keyword(s):  
Responsible Gambling ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Gambling Industry ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Stakeholder Pressure ◽  
World Centre

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how responsible gambling policies are communicated and presented as a legitimation strategy to different stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach This study is based primarily on 49 semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders of Macao’s gambling industry in 2011. This study draws on Reast et al.’s (2012) legitimacy-seeking strategy framework. Findings The findings indicate that these organisations use construing and earning legitimacy strategies to ensure passive support and acquiescence from certain stakeholder groups, and they deploy bargaining and capturing legitimacy strategies to generate active support for this morally contested industry. As a means of attaining long-standing legitimacy in the industry, gambling operators engage symbolically rather than substantively in responsible gambling to minimise the legitimacy gap. Research limitations/implications The findings of the study pertain to a unique setting and might not be suitable for generalisation. Practical implications In the absence of stringent legal mechanisms and strong external stakeholder pressure, the 12th Five-Year Plan of the People’s Republic of China aims to transform Macao into a “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure”, and gambling companies may soon face much stronger pressures from the Chinese Government and the Macao Government. Social/implications Voluntary responsible gambling initiatives are liable to be used only in symbolic fashion, without offering genuine engagement or full commitment to the most vulnerable stakeholder group. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on social and accounting literature by providing an in-depth case study of how organisations in the gambling industry use different communication strategies to shape and respond to controversial issues.

Social responsibility disclosure in the international gambling industry: a research note

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Cheng Han Leung ◽  
Rob Gray
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Responsible Gambling ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gambling Industry ◽  
International Industry ◽  
Controversial Industries ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

Purpose This paper aims to explore the extent to which social responsibility and social and environmental reporting and disclosure have any relevance in the (so-called) controversial industries. The literature is ambivalent over the extent to which it is expected to see corporate social responsibility and social disclosure employed as active legitimation strategies. However, the apparent importance of “responsible gambling” in both the literature and in gambling industry initiatives suggests, at least a priori, that the international industry is active in some degree of legitimation. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study examines the social and environmental disclosures of a sample of large companies in each of five countries over a three-year period using conventional content analysis. Findings The results are unexpected in that, although disclosure is dominated by employee- and director-related, other areas of social and environmental – and indeed economic – activity feature hardly at all. There is remarkably little disclosure around responsible gambling. Research limitations/implications The paper is a research note based on a range of samples across five countries and is, inevitably, tentative. The implications, albeit tentative, include the need to re-theorise corporate disclosure, especially in the controversial sectors. Originality/value The note adds to the accounting literature concerned with the controversial industries and contributes to the scarce social accounting research in the gambling sector. The authors hope that the research will be useful in guiding more focused and in-depth studies into this increasingly important and counter-intuitive area.

scholarly journals Reducing transportation emissions

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Pålsson ◽  
Gyöngyi Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Freight Transportation ◽  
Company Strategy ◽  
Resource Configuration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Stakeholder Pressure ◽  
Transportation Emissions ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate why companies reduce transportation emissions by examining the relative importance of external drivers vs internal motives for companies in considering CO2 emissions in freight transportation. Design/methodology/approach – A framework is suggested that captures internal, competitiveness-driven motives and external, stakeholder-driven drivers for companies seeking to reduce CO2 in freight transportation. These factors are tested in a large industry survey in Sweden. The survey resulted in 172 responses from corporate heads of logistics, a response rate of 40.3 per cent. Findings – Variations in responding to stakeholder pressure vs company strategy for reducing transportation emissions are identified. Company strategy outweighs stakeholder pressure in determining whether a company intends to green its transportation. The strategy leads to company-internal motives for reducing transportation emissions which differ from company to company. These differences, in turn, lead to different levels of intended reductions. Stakeholder pressure sets the minimal levels that elevate the performance of a group of companies in an industry or a country, but the differentiation effect across companies is lost. The intention to reduce emissions is greatest if a company has both economic and image motives. The logistics resource configuration does not seem to impact drivers and motives. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on companies in Sweden. Studies across several countries are needed to investigate the impact of national requirements. Originality/value – The paper shows that the combination of the resource-based view and stakeholder theory presents a better explanation as to why companies reduce transportation emissions than either of them do separately. By combining the two theories this research differentiates between how stakeholder pressure and company strategy influence intents to green transportation.

scholarly journals Stakeholder management in PPP projects: external stakeholders’ perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chika Amadi ◽  
Patricia Carrillo ◽  
Martin Tuuli
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Project Location ◽  
Internal Stakeholders

Purpose This paper focusses on external stakeholders’ perspective of stakeholder management in public–private partnerships (PPP) projects within the context of developing countries where public opposition to PPP projects is prevalent. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key enablers to PPP projects’ success from the perspective of external stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two case studies via semi-structured interviews in two PPP project locations in Nigeria. In total, 14 external stakeholders comprising community leaders, trade unionists and human right activist participated in the research. Findings Five key enablers of external stakeholder management were identified. These are as follows: the choice of project location; transparency of the internal stakeholders; timing of stakeholder engagement; knowledge of PPP; and relationship with internal stakeholders. Originality/value External stakeholders’ perspective of stakeholder management in PPP projects within the context of developing countries new to PPP has been established. The practical implications of the five enablers can be used by policy makers and industry professionals to ensure effective stakeholder management of PPP projects.

Workplace inclusion of persons with a disability

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 397-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukta Kulkarni ◽  
Stephan Alexander Boehm ◽  
Soumyak Basu
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
Workplace Inclusion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate research on human resource systems with work on disability management practices to outline how multinationals across India and Germany are engaged in efforts to increase workplace inclusion of persons with a disability. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with respondents from multinational corporations in India and Germany were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed. Findings Employers followed three guiding principles (i.e. beliefs): importance of harnessing diversity, encouraging multi-stakeholder engagement internally, and engaging with the external ecosystem to build internal human resource capabilities. Respondents further noted two interdependent and mutually constitutive programs that covered the life cycle of the employee: job flexibility provisions and integration programs. Country-specific differences existed in terms of perceived external stakeholder support and availability of talent. Research limitations/implications The results complement prior research with respect to the importance of organizational factors for the inclusion of persons with a disability and also extend prior research by shedding light on the role of the national context in such inclusion endeavors. Practical implications Findings indicate that disability-inclusion principles may be universal, but their operationalization is region specific. Global organizations must be aware of these differences to design effective inclusion programs. Social implications The study helps in designing and evaluating appropriate inclusion initiatives for persons with disabilities, an important yet underutilized group of potential employees in both India and Germany. Originality/value This is the first study to investigate country-specific commonalities and differences in fostering workplace inclusion of persons with disabilities in India and Germany.

scholarly journals Does stakeholder pressure influence corporate GHG emissions reporting? Empirical evidence from Europe

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1047-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Liesen ◽  
Andreas G. Hoepner ◽  
Dennis M. Patten ◽  
Frank Figge
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Stakeholder Pressure ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Recommended Guidelines ◽  
And Control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to shed light on the practice of incomplete corporate disclosure of quantitative Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and investigates whether external stakeholder pressure influences the existence, and separately, the completeness of voluntary GHG emissions disclosures by 431 European companies. Design/methodology/approach – A classification of reporting completeness is developed with respect to the scope, type and reporting boundary of GHG emissions based on the guidelines of the GHG Protocol, Global Reporting Initiative and the Carbon Disclosure Project. Logistic regression analysis is applied to examine whether proxies for exposure to climate change concerns from different stakeholder groups influence the existence and/or completeness of quantitative GHG emissions disclosure. Findings – From 2005 to 2009, on average only 15 percent of companies that disclose GHG emissions report them in a manner that the authors consider complete. Results of regression analyses suggest that external stakeholder pressure is a determinant of the existence but not the completeness of emissions disclosure. Findings are consistent with stakeholder theory arguments that companies respond to external stakeholder pressure to report GHG emissions, but also with legitimacy theory claims that firms can use carbon disclosure, in this case the incomplete reporting of emissions, as a symbolic act to address legitimacy exposures. Practical implications – Bringing corporate GHG emissions disclosure in line with recommended guidelines will require either more direct stakeholder pressure or, perhaps, a mandated disclosure regime. In the meantime, users of the data will need to carefully consider the relevance of the reported data and develop the necessary competencies to detect and control for its incompleteness. A more troubling concern is that stakeholders may instead grow to accept less than complete disclosure. Originality/value – The paper represents the first large-scale empirical study into the completeness of companies’ disclosure of quantitative GHG emissions and is the first to analyze these disclosures in the context of stakeholder pressure and its relation to legitimation.

Capital expenditure deviations in a fragmented municipal context – the case of the Swedish municipal water and sewerage sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Haraldsson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Capital Expenditure ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Municipal Water ◽  
Stakeholder Pressure ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore whether and how external, political, financial and governance factors influence capital expenditure deviations in the Swedish municipal water and sewerage sector and to capture the consequences of municipal organisational fragmentation.Design/methodology/approachPanel data analysis of 238 municipalities and 1,190 observations of capital expenditure deviations over five years (2013–2017).FindingsApart from a low overall on average execution rate of 69%, the Swedish municipal water and sewerage sector seems generally sensitive to external stakeholder pressure for budget compliance, but not to the political power situation. Further, political signalling incentives generally do not influence capital expenditure deviations in the contexts of municipal corporations and cooperations, which supports the idea that these governance forms insulate the organisation from general stakeholder pressure and political control.Practical implicationsThe practical implication is that large and constant capital expenditure deviations call for change in regulation and governance of the municipal sector. However, in countries such as Sweden, where externalising services to municipal corporations and cooperations is significant, this discussion needs to address the consolidated level of the municipality. Otherwise, a large share of the investment budget will be unscrutinised. More closely related to the Swedish water and sewerage sector, the risks associated with a constantly low execution rate should be analysed and addressed.Originality/valueFirst, this paper contributes to the knowledge of aggregated capital expenditure deviations in general and specifically within the municipal water and sewerage sector. Second, analysing the municipal governance landscape adds further insights and suggestions on why budget performance varies. The results especially highlight that the governance forms of corporations and cooperations change the relation to political signalling incentives.

The diffusion of sustainability key performance indicators in a developing country context

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabanga Thoradeniya ◽  
Aldónio Ferreira ◽  
Janet Lee ◽  
Rebecca Tan
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Process ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Key Performance Indicators ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Pressure

PurposeDrawing upon Abrahamson's (1991) typology of innovation diffusion, this study aims to investigate the factors underpinning diffusion of sustainability key performance indicators (SKPIs) in a developing country.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was conducted in Sri Lanka involving semi-structured interviews with managers, as users of SKPIs (demand-side), and both consultants and academics, as agents in diffusion process (supply-side).FindingsDiffusion of SKPIs was found to be driven by efficient-choice considerations, with fashion motives intertwined with these. The diffusion was influenced by developing country context issues relating to market competition, education, government and culture. It was somewhat surprising that market forces played a key role to the extent they did. Minimal stakeholder pressure was found to undermine the diffusion process, contrasting with developed countries in which key stakeholders act as catalysts. The developing country context appears to slow down the pace, rather than alter the pattern, of diffusion of SKPIs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited by its focus on SKPI adopters, which does not permit to draw insights regarding motivations of non-adopters.Originality/valueThis study draws upon Abrahamson's typology to explore the diffusion of SKPIs in the poorly understood developing country context. The findings provide insights into driving forces behind diffusion of SKPIs, suggesting the developing country context creates “stickiness” that influences pace rather than the pattern of diffusion of SKPIs.

Anti-corruption measures in China: suggestions for reforms

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Guo ◽  
Songfeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Government ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Era ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Work Style ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Central Commission ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze several measures which the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has adopted to curb corruption and to make recommendations to curb the spread of corruption. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the analysis of government policy documents and reports, and statistical data on anti-corruption measures in China. Findings – During the past ten years, the government of the PRC has adopted these anti-corruption measures: first, increasing the ability to handle cases for deterring corrupt officials; second, improving the work style of officials and prohibiting them from enjoying special privileges, and promoting moral behavior among them; third, reforming the economic and political system to reduce corruption opportunities; and fourth, reforming the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) to more effectively handle corruption cases. Nevertheless, in despite of these anti-corruption measures, there remain serious challenges for reducing corruption stemming from an irrational system of administrative reform and balancing the relationship between the CCDI and the judiciary departments to enhance the professionalism and efficiency of the anti-corruption agencies, which continue to constrain China’s current anti-corruption efforts. Therefore, the Chinese government should take a top-down approach, analyze the characteristics and trends of corruption in the new era, strengthen the institutional structures, and strive to suppress the spread of corruption. Originality/value – This paper will be useful for those scholars, policy-makers and anti-corruption practitioners who are interested in China’s anti-corruption measures.

scholarly journals User-driven efforts in creating knowledge graph information system

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Stanislava Gardasevic
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
The Body ◽  
Knowledge Graph ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that involved students of an interdisciplinary PhD program. The study objective was to gather requirements to create a knowledge graph information system. The purpose of this study was to determine information-seeking practices and information needs of this community, to inform the functionalities of a proposed system, intended to help students with relevant resource discovery and decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study design included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the community, followed by a website usability study with the same student participants. Findings Two main information-seeking styles are recognized and reported through user personas of international and domestic (USA) students. The findings show that the useful information resides within the community and not so much on the program website. Students rely on peer communication, although they report lack of opportunities to connect. Students’ information needs and information seeking are dependent on their progress through the program, as well as their motivation and the projected timeline. Practical implications Considering the current information needs and practices, a knowledge graph hosting both information on social networks and the knowledge produced by the activities of the community members would be useful. By recording data on their activities (for example, collaboration with professors and coursework), students would reveal further useful system functionalities and facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge. Originality/value Aside from the practical value of this research that is directly influencing the design of a system, it contributes to the body of knowledge on interdisciplinary PhD programs.

scholarly journals Unpacking the package

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Evans ◽  
Basil Phillip Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Organisational Change ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Informal Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Company ◽  
Management Controls ◽  
Control Package

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which both formal and informal control, operating as a package, are implicated in responding to organisational change arising from the introduction of the Australian Federal Government’s Clean Energy Act (2011). Design/methodology/approach – This investigation is based on a review of archival data, and semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 staff at different hierarchical levels within an Australian renewable energy company. Findings – Although formal management control systems and informal control both played important roles in the organisation’s reorientation to organisational change, it was the latter form of control that predominated over the former. The influence of the prevailing organisational culture, however, was pivotal in orchestrating both formal and informal control efforts within this organisation. Originality/value – This study contributes to management control theory and practice in two ways: first, it provides much needed empirical evidence about the ways in which management controls act as a package; second, it offers insights into the relative importance of the components of a management control package in the context of a particular organisational change. In addition, it responds to Laughlin’s (1991) call for empirical “flesh” to be added to the skeletal framework he advocates to make this conceptualisation of organisational change, “more meaningful”.

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