scholarly journals Corporate Environmental Disclosure Practices in Different National Contexts: The Influence of Cultural Dimensions

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez ◽  
Isabel Gallego-Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Cultural Framework ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The influence of different national contexts, including the effects of cultural environments, on corporate environmental disclosure practices has yet to be properly addressed in the literature. The purpose of this research is, therefore, to analyse how cultural factors affect the environmental disclosure practices of companies in different countries. This research is supported by the diversity of cultures across countries. Given that a cultural framework prompts different organisational actions and strategies, the question to be answered through this research is as follows: How do cultural aspects affect corporate environmental disclosure? Cultural factors are precisely those that can explain similarities and differences between stakeholders’ actions and preferences. The sample used in this research comprises companies in 28 countries and 9 economic sectors for the period 2004 to 2015. Our main findings show that companies operating in countries with individualist, masculine and indulgent cultures are less likely to disclose environmental information. Contrary to our predictions, cultures with a long-term orientation also discourage the reporting of environmental information, while uncertainty avoidance contexts tend to promote more environmental reporting.

Examining relationships among cultural factors and expectations of CSR

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-443
Author(s):  
Minsoo Kim ◽  
Candace White ◽  
Chansouk Kim
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Studies have explored expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among cultures, but findings are mixed. A more nuanced view of cultural dimensions rather than using Hofstede’s aggregate country scores can offer a stronger empirical foundation for studying the effects of culture. Based on two cultural dimensions and Carroll’s four-dimensional model of CSR, the purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between individualistic/collectivistic values and individuals’ expectations of different types of responsibilities (economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic), the relationship between long-term values and individuals’ expectations of different types of responsibilities and the degree of skepticism about CSR related to these values. Design/methodology/approach This study surveyed panel participants in two countries, South Korea (collectivistic and long term) and the USA (individualistic and short term), chosen because they are at extreme ends of the cultural values continuum. Multi-dimensional aspects of the cultural variables were tested in the samples rather than using national scores as proxy variables for culture. Data were quantitative and various statistical tests including structural equation modeling were used for analysis. Findings The findings show that horizontal collectivism and the planning dimension of long-term orientation are positively associated with CSR expectations, whereas the tradition dimension of long-term orientation is negatively associated with CSR expectations. In addition, vertical individualism is positively associated with skepticism toward CSR activities. Research limitations/implications The differences in types of individual-collectivism (horizontal and vertical) as well as the different aspects of long-term orientation had an effect on the results, pointing to the importance of exploring the nuances of the dimensions as well as the importance of testing them within the sample rather than using aggregated national scores. Originality/value Previous studies that used a proxy variable for culture assumed that collectivistic cultures have higher expectations for CSR. While empirically supporting the assumption of the relationship between cultural factors and CSR expectations at the individual level, the study found that people who view themselves as autonomous within a group but accept inequality within the group (vertical individualism) are more likely to be skeptical of CSR activities and suggests that skepticism about CSR may be more closely related to individual viewpoints or to particular contexts or particular corporations rather than to cultural factors, which has implications for international corporate communication.

scholarly journals Determinants of Environmental Disclosure in Thai Corporate Annual Reports

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muttanachai Suttipun ◽  
Patricia Stanton
Keyword(s):  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Industry Group ◽  
Common Location ◽  
Simple Sampling

This study investigated the extent and content of environmental information disclosure provided in the annual reports of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and tested whether there were any relationships between the amount of environmental disclosure and a number of company characteristics used in previous studies conducted in more developed countries. By using a simple sampling method, 75 listed companies were selected for inclusion in the study based on their 2007 annual reports. The findings indicate that 62 companies (83%) provided environmental information in their annual reports. Companies in the resources industry group made the most disclosure of environmental information, while the least disclosure was made by companies in the agricultural and food industries group. The most common location of environmental reporting in annual reports was under the topic of corporate governance. The most common themes of disclosures were environmental policy, environmental activities, and waste management. There was a positive relationship between the amount of environmental disclosures and size of company.

Sustainability Reporting

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-117
Author(s):  
Dana Maria (Oprea) Constantin ◽  
Dan Ioan Topor ◽  
Sorinel Căpușneanu ◽  
Alexandru Lucian Manole
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Presentation Format ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Sustainability Disclosure ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
The Impact

This chapter presents, in a descriptive manner, the interrelation of the sustainability reporting concepts and the sustainability disclosure through internal and external stakeholders. The main objectives of this chapter are approaching the disclosure of environmental information, presenting the views of the stakeholders on the content and format of environmental reporting. The factors underlying the disclosure of the environmental information and the impact of these, including the views stakeholders on the content and presentation format of the environmental reporting, are presented and analyzed. A case study is also presented in order to highlight the disclosure and presentation of the environmental report of an industrial entity and the importance of the accounting information provided. This chapter brings a theoretical contribution to expand the knowledge on the environmental disclosure and reporting approaches. The authors' approaches remain open to the expansion of these issues at both national and international level and both in the academia and business area.

Is voluntary external assurance relevant for the valuation of environmental reporting by firms in environmentally sensitive industries?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikram Radhouane ◽  
Mehdi Nekhili ◽  
Haithem Nagati ◽  
Gilles Paché
Keyword(s):  
Value Relevance ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether providing voluntary external assurance on voluntary environmental information by firms operating in environmentally sensitive industries (ESI) is relevant in terms of market value. It also examines how various characteristics of assurance statements (i.e. level of assurance, scope of assurance and provider of assurance) affect the value-relevance of environmental disclosure by ESI firms. Design/methodology/approach To mitigate the endogeneity problem, the authors use the two-step generalized method of moments estimation approach. Findings Focusing on annual and social reports of French companies listed in the SBF120 index, results show that environmental disclosure by ESI firms and its assurance are destructive in terms of market value. Moreover, while providing a broader scope of assurance and having a professional accountant as the assurance provider enhance the value relevance of environmental reporting of the whole sample, this is unlikely to be the case for ESI firms. In particular, a higher level of environmental disclosure is financially rewarded by market participants for ESI firms that provide a higher level of assurance. Practical implications The study provides a better understanding of the circumstances under which market participants assign value to voluntary environmental information disclosed by companies operating in ESI. It also provides insights into the value added to different characteristics inherent in the quality of assurance provided with regard to environmental disclosure. Social implications The study indicates that the institutional context of the relationship between the firm and its shareholders influence the value obtained from assurance. Results provide value insights regarding cultural and legal dimensions of environmental reporting. Originality/value The study extends the prior literature on the capital market benefits of voluntary assurance practices by focusing on the French legal environment. France can be considered as a new institutional context that has been little addressed by the existing literature.

scholarly journals Public and Private Sector Environmental Reporting

2017 ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Verónica Paula Lima Ribeiro ◽  
Sónia Maria da Silva Monteiro
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Public And Private Sector

The organisation's interest in producing an image of commitment towards the environment has motivated the development of new informational needs by the different stakeholders. Their satisfaction requires that the organization's traditional information systems change. This happens in both public and private organizations, in order to generate environmental information, not only for management purposes, but also for external disclosure. In this sense, the contents and display of the information produced by these systems must also adapt, receiving new information besides the traditional one [for example, the annual reports], including the ad hoc information, environmental report and/or sustainability report. The literature highlights that there is no consensual opinion among researchers about mandatory or voluntary reporting. In the private sector, the accounting regulations of environmental issues, specifically in what concerns the environmental information disclosure in the annual reports, presents a certain degree of development, with several initiatives, both national and international, concerning the approval of an environmental accounting standard. Nevertheless, in the public sector, the delay of specific accounting standards concerning environmental information has led public entities not to submit suitable information about their environmental management. The aim of this paper is to present the state of the art, both in public and private sector contexts, according to national and international legislation, in the annual reports or separately. A further objective, in addition, is to present a short reflection on the subject of mandatory and voluntary environmental disclosure.

Corporate environmental reporting

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor D. Wilmshurst ◽  
Geoffrey R. Frost
Keyword(s):  
Mail Survey ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Perceived Importance ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Corporate Environmental Reporting

This paper analyses the link between the importance, as stated by reporters, of specific factors in the decision to disclose environmental information and actual reporting practices. Through a mail survey, chief finance officers (CFOs) of selected Australian companies rated the perceived importance of specific factors in the decision to disclose environmental information. Environmental disclosure within respondents’ annual reports were reviewed and an analysis was undertaken to determine if relationships existed between actual reporting practices and ratings of importance assigned to various factors. The results indicate some significant correlations between the perceived importance of a number of factors and environmental reporting practices. The results of the analysis provide limited support for legitimacy theory as an explanatory link between identified influential factors in management’s decision process and actual environmental disclosure.

scholarly journals Divulgación ambiental y la interrelación de la ecoinnovación. El caso de las empresas españolas

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Marco Fondevila ◽  
José M. Moneva ◽  
Sabina Scarpellini
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Innovation ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Inside Out

The actual drivers of companies’ environmental disclosure have been widely studied and yet with no conclusive results. Most literature looks for the link between environmental performance and environmental disclosure, as reflection of the company instrumental or normative approach to sustainability. However, over the last decade, a growing number of companies are joining the ranks of eco-innovation, focusing their strategy on environmental innovation, and paving the way for new approaches to environmental disclosure. The main objective of this paper is to assess if eco-innovation in companies can be acting as a non-intended driver to disclosure of environmental reporting, in connection to the Resources Based View theory, and the search for competitive advantage. An extensive research has been undertaken with Spanish eco-innovative companies, evaluating their environmental disclosure standards from a two-fold perspective: managers’ perception and public available environmental reporting. The findings bring in interesting implications about the mismatch between managers’ perception of their environmental disclosure and accounting standards, and the actual disclosure of environmental reporting made available to their stakeholders. Within the studied sample, eco-innovation appears to be a driver for environmental disclosure from an inside-out approach encompassed in the RBV theory, where environmental information is primarily meant for managerial purposes and only secondarily to inform stakeholders. Los impulsores reales de la divulgación ambiental de las empresas han sido ampliamente estudiados y, sin embargo, sin resultados concluyentes. La mayoría de la literatura busca el vínculo entre el desempeño ambiental y la divulgación ambiental, como reflejo del enfoque instrumental o normativo de la compañía hacia la sostenibilidad. Sin embargo, durante la última década, un número creciente de compañías se están uniendo a las filas de la ecoinnovación, enfocando su estrategia en la innovación ambiental y allanando el camino para nuevos enfoques para la divulgación ambiental. El objetivo principal de este documento es evaluar si la ecoinnovación en las empresas puede actuar como un impulsor no intencionado de la divulgación de informes ambientales, en relación con la teoría de la Vista basada en los recursos y la búsqueda de una ventaja competitiva. Se ha llevado a cabo una extensa investigación con empresas ecoinnovadoras españolas, evaluando sus estándares de divulgación ambiental desde una doble perspectiva: la percepción de los administradores y la información ambiental disponible al público. Los hallazgos traen implicaciones interesantes sobre el desajuste entre la percepción de los gerentes sobre su divulgación ambiental y sus normas contables, y la divulgación real de los informes ambientales puestos a disposición de sus partes interesadas. Dentro de la muestra estudiada, la ecoinnovación parece ser un impulsor para la divulgación ambiental desde un enfoque integral incluido en la teoría de la RBV, donde la información ambiental se destina principalmente a fines administrativos y solo de manera secundaria a informar a los interesados.

Cross-cultural aspects of business negotiations

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
M. Varlamova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Joint Decisions ◽  
Business Negotiations ◽  
Cultural Features

The features of conducting business negotiations with foreign partners, taking into account the influence of cultural factors are investigated in this paper. The systematization of approaches to understanding business negotiations is performed and it is determined that business negotiations are bilateral or multilateral processes of communication, as a result of which a joint decision concerning business interests realization is made. Scientific approaches to the cultures grouping by certain features, particularly, E. Hall, G. Hofstede and R. Lewis, Florence Clachon and Fred Strodbeck, D. Pinto, R. Gesteland, F. Trompenaars and C. Hampden-Turner are considered. Analysis of the manifestation of certain cultural features in relation to the representatives of the countries with which Ukraine currently has the most developed trade and economic relations is carried out. Accordingly, the probability of the need to negotiate the foreign economic activity implementation is rather high. The following countries are selected among them according to 2020 statistics: China, Poland, India, Spain, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Egypt, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, USA, Belgium, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq, Moldova, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, France and the Czech Republic. Using Hert Hofstede's approach and his theory of cultural dimensions for the listed countries, the indicators characterizing the manifestation of the distance of power, individualism, masculinity, avoidance of uncertainty, long-term orientation and indulgence are analyzed. The countries which cultures are the closest to Ukraine’s one are identified according to the above mentioned methodology, and, consequently, the construction of communications with their representatives is more understandable and is characterized by lower probability of misunderstandings due to cultural factors. For other countries the cultural features similar and different from Ukraine ones are defined. Taking into account these features, recommendations for planning and conducting business negotiations with representatives of other countries, aimed at increasing the benefits and opportunities for Ukraine in the process of making joint decisions with partners are given.

scholarly journals The effect of national culture on the association between profitability and corporate social and environmental disclosure

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem khlif ◽  
Khaled Hussainey ◽  
Imen Achek
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the moderating effect of cultural dimensions (masculinity, individualism and long-term orientation) on the association between profitability and corporate social and environmental disclosure (CSED). Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply the meta-analysis technique developed by Hunter et al. (1982) and Hunter and Schmidt (2000) for a sample of 48 published studies over the period of the past 20 years. Findings – The authors find that masculinity, individualism and long-term orientation moderate the association between profitability and CSED. Given the weight of US studies on the overall sample, the authors conduct a sensitivity analysis to examine how this factor may affect the findings. After excluding these studies, only long-term orientation and individualism remain strong moderators of the association between profitability and CSED. Originality/value – This study provides further evidence on the impact of institutional frameworks on CSED. It has, also, policy implications for managers of multinational corporations.

The economic consequences of voluntary environmental reporting on shareholder wealth

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruslaina Yusoff ◽  
Shariful Amran Abd Rahman ◽  
Wan Nazihah Wan Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Abnormal Return ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Share Price ◽  
Cumulative Abnormal Return ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Financial Report ◽  
Significant Difference

This study was carried out to examine the economic consequences ofvoluntary environmental reporting on shareholders' wealth among Malaysian Listed Companies that voluntarily disclosed environmental information in their financial report. One hundred andfifty two (152) companies of Bursa Malaysia (MSE) had been identified as a sample in the current study. Seventy six (76) companies were classified as environmental reporting companies while the remaining companies were classified as non-environmental reporting companies. The classification was done in order to determine the differences between share price, profitability and market equity for both types of companies. The study hypothesizes that voluntary environmental reporting leads to an improvement in the shareholders wealth. However, the results show that there is no significant difference between cumulative abnormal return for environmental and non-environmental reporting companies. Based on the results obtained, it can also be concluded that profitability and size of the companies do not have any significant roles in deciding whether or not to produce environmental reporting companies.

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