A Comparison of CSR Disclosure Guidelines and a Self-Prepared CSR Disclosure Index- A Study of Select Automotive Companies

Author(s):  
N.K. Gupta ◽  
Shilki Bhatia

In India, corporate social responsibility and its disclosure got attention during the eighties and have been gaining importance with time in present economic environment, especially after adoption of liberalization, privatization, and globalization (LPG) (Goswami, 2011). Guidelines, principles, and codes are being developed by various regulatory bodies in India and across the globe to increase transparency and accountability about both a companys daily operations and the impact of these operations on society (Tran, 2014) In this paper, the author has studied the CSR guidelines laid down by Global Reporting Initiative G3.1 (GRI-G-3) and The National Voluntary Guidelines by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (NVG-MCA) and has compared them with a self-composed CSR Disclosure Index (CSRDI). The social responsibility initiatives taken by select Indian Automotive Companies have been analyzed and the companies have been rated as per the disclosures made by them. The main focus of the research is to compare the CSR Rankings of companies as per CSRDI with the companies rankings as per GRI-G-3 and NVG-MCA. It was observed that out of 30 sensex companies, Maruti Suzuki and TATA Motors have been the pioneers in contribution towards CSR initiatives. The top five rated companies were TATA Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, and Apollo Tyres.

Think India ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-09
Author(s):  
N.K. Gupta ◽  
Shilki Bhatia

In India, corporate social responsibility and its disclosure got attention during the eighties and have been gaining importance with time in present economic environment, especially after adoption of liberalization, privatization, and globalization (LPG) (Goswami, 2011). Guidelines, principles, and codes are being developed by various regulatory bodies in India and across the globe to increase transparency and accountability about both a companys daily operations and the impact of these operations on society (Tran, 2014) In this paper, the author has studied the CSR guidelines laid down by Global Reporting Initiative G3.1 (GRI-G-3) and The National Voluntary Guidelines by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (NVG-MCA) and has compared them with a self-composed CSR Disclosure Index (CSRDI). The social responsibility initiatives taken by select Indian Automotive Companies have been analyzed and the companies have been rated as per the disclosures made by them. The main focus of the research is to compare the CSR Rankings of companies as per CSRDI with the companies rankings as per GRI-G-3 and NVG-MCA. It was observed that out of 30 sensex companies, Maruti Suzuki and TATA Motors have been the pioneers in contribution towards CSR initiatives. The top five rated companies were TATA Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, and Apollo Tyres.


Author(s):  
Yuming Zhang ◽  
Fan Yang

Companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to communicate their social and environmental policies, practices, and performance to stakeholders. Although the determinants and outcomes of CSR activities are well understood, we know little about how companies use CSR communication to manage a crisis. The few relevant CSR studies have focused on the pressure on corporations exerted by governments, customers, the media, or the public. Although investors have a significant influence on firm value, this stakeholder group has been neglected in research on CSR disclosure. Grounded in legitimacy theory and agency theory, this study uses a sample of Chinese public companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to investigate CSR disclosure in response to social media criticism posted by investors. The empirical findings show that investors’ social media criticism not only motivates companies to disclose their CSR activities but also increases the substantiveness of their CSR reports, demonstrating that companies’ CSR communication in response to a crisis is substantive rather than merely symbolic. We also find that the impact of social media criticism on CSR disclosure is heterogeneous. Non-state-owned enterprises, companies in regions with high levels of environmental regulations, and companies in regions with local government concern about social issues are most likely to disclose CSR information and report substantive CSR activities. We provide an in-depth analysis of corporate CSR strategies for crisis management and show that crises initiated by investors on social media provide opportunities for corporations to improve their CSR engagement.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agung Nur Probohudono ◽  
Astri Nugraheni ◽  
An Nurrahmawati

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the financial performance of Islamic banks across nine countries as major markets that contribute to international Islamic bank assets (Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Bahrain and Pakistan or further will be called QISMUT + 3 countries). Design/methodology/approach Islamic Social Reporting Disclosure Index (ISRDI) is being used as a benchmark for Islamic bank CSR performance that contains a compilation of CSR standard items specified by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. The secondary data is collected from the respective bank’s annual reports and it used the regression analysis techniques for statistical testing. Findings This study found that CSR disclosure measured by ISRDI has a positive effect on financial performance. Almost all ISRDI sub-major categories have a positive effect on financial performance except the “environment” subcategory. The highest major subcategory for ISRDI is the “corporate governance” category (82%) and the “environment” category (13%) is the lowest. For the UAE, Kuwait and Turkey, the ISRDI is positively affected by financial performance and the other countries on this research are not. Originality/value This study highlighted the economic benefits of social responsibility practices as a part of business ethics in nine countries that uphold the value of religiosity. Thus, the development of the results of this research for subsequent research is very wide open.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petek Tosun

Purpose Coffee is among the primary products that attract the public attention to the social and environmental responsibilities of companies. Coffee shops have a big carbon footprint because of their daily operations. With the rising consciousness about sustainability in developing countries, online disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important for not only multinational but also local coffee chains. The purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which coffee chains include CSR on their websites. Design/methodology/approach Turkey, which is a large emerging economy with an expanding coffee chain market, is selected as the research context. The CSR disclosure on the websites of coffee chains is examined by content analysis according to CSR dimensions. A sample of 27 coffee chains with more than ten stores is included in the analysis. Findings Foreign coffee chains disclose more information on the environment and fair trade than local coffee chains. On the other hand, CSR content in websites of foreign and local coffee chains does not differ significantly in human resources and community dimensions. Foreign coffee chains have comparatively longer brand history, more rooted brands and larger networks than local coffee chains. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first that used a content analysis about CSR on the websites of coffee chains in Turkey. Findings contribute to the understanding of CSR disclosure in the coffee chain industry and can be beneficial for researchers and managers in other emerging markets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 671-688
Author(s):  
Juniati Gunawan ◽  
SeTin SeTin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze accounting research developments in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Indonesia for the period 2012-2016. The focus of CSR literature review is on disclosures and not to examine CSR activities or programs. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a descriptive approach to provide evidence on the major variables that have been examined in CSR research and what is the measurement used to measure CSR disclosures. The CSR research development was traced through mapping articles published in the international journal with the subject of category accounting (Schimago Journal rank quartile Q3 and Q4), and national journal (national accredited accounting journals, as well as the proceedings of National Symposium on Accounting [NSA]). A total of 5,971 articles were reviewed and resulted in 31 Indonesian CSR articles in accounting which are dominated by quantitative methods (93.5 per cent), and as many as 28 articles were analyzed. Findings The analyses result showed that (1) 75 per cent of CSR research were in the areas of financial accounting and capital markets, followed by tax accounting and corporate governance; (2) The most widely used variable associated with CSR was financial performance; which (3) More than 80 per cent of the CSR research used annual reports as the source of data with only 19.23 per cent using sustainability reports; (4) 65.38 per cent of the CSR disclosure measurement referred to used other CSR disclosure lists, other than the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Research limitations/implications The study results are important as a basis for future studies to provide a platform for the analysis to cover the gap between CSR studies in the academic and business areas for not only Indonesia but also other countries. Comparative studies between countries will be essential for future research to provide empirical evidence on the development of CSR research in accounting fields. Practical implications The study provides comprehensive pictures in how CSR disclosures have been analyzed in academic area so that practitioners in business field are able to understand the results on which variables are associated with CSR. Further, the practitioners could enhance their CSR implementations and reports to gain the utmost benefits for their business. Originality/value This study is considered as the first CSR literature review analyzed in accounting research publications. As CSR topics have been emerging developed in many field of studies, reviewing this topic in the accounting area resulted interesting findings. These findings are useful for not only Indonesia but also other countries. Further, this study provides platform to fill many gaps for future research in the topic of CSR in accounting field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanh Thi Song Pham ◽  
Hien Thi Tran

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects of board model and board independence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of multinational corporations (MNCs). Design/methodology/approach The authors developed an empirical model in which CSR disclosure is the dependent variable and board model (two-tier vs one-tier), board independence (a proportion of independent directors on a board) and the interaction variable of board model and board independence together with several variables conventionally used as control variables are independent variables. The authors collated the panel dataset of 244 Fortune World’s Most Admired (FWMA) corporations from 2005 to 2011 of which 117 MNCs use the one-tier board model, and 127 MNCs use the two-tier board model from 20 countries. They used the random-effect regression method to estimate the empirical models with the data they collated and also ran regressions on the alternative models for robustness check. Findings The authors found a significantly positive effect of a board model on CSR disclosure by MNCs. Two-tier MNCs tend to reveal more CSR information than one-tier MNCs. The results also confirm the significant moderating impact of board model on the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure. The effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in the two-tier board MNCs tends to be higher than that in the one-tier board MNCs. The results do not support the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in general for all types of firms (one-tier and two-tier board). The impact of board independence on CSR disclosure is only significant in two-tier board MNCs and insignificant in one-tier board MNCs. Practical implications The authors advise the MNCs who wish to improve CSR reporting and transparency to consider the usage of two-tier board model and use a higher number of outside directors on board. They note that once a firm uses one-tier model, number of IDs on a board does not matter to the level of CSR disclosure. They advise regulators to enforce an application of two-tier board model to improve CSR reporting and transparency in MNCs. The authors also recommend regulators to continue mandating publicly traded companies to include more external members on their boards, especially for the two-tier board MNCs. Originality/value This paper is the first that investigates the role of board model on CSR disclosure of MNCs.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Abualhaija DBA

Many believe that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is irrelevant and bad for businesses, while others swear of its strategic importance for the overall growth of local and global economies. This paper examines the impact of technology on corporates morals and social responsibility. Companies like GE and Nike direct resources and strategies to strengthen the environment and local and global communities. Through improving education programs and investing in technology, these companies attempt to fulfill their social responsibilities to all communities. Companies use corporate social responsibility to build a reputation and a brand name. Through technology exports, the world’s economy is synchronized. Creating and sharing technology enhances the world’s productivity and economy, mainly because developing countries are incapable of investing much in R&D. As the infusion of technology contributes to the growth of the global economy, the question remains to what degree the technological breakthroughs create ethical and moral concerns when exploring new frontiers, and to what degree scientists consider the social and ethical consequences when testing and investigating. This paper explores some of the ethical, social, and legal circumstances related to different controversial research fields to include creating the atomic bomb, human cloning, and the research of synthetic biology science.  


Author(s):  
Peixin Wang ◽  
Haijie Huang ◽  
Edward Lee ◽  
Jirada Petaibanlue

We utilize the mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure regulation in China as an exogenous shock to evaluate the impact of such disclosures on investors as end-users of accounting information based on the analysis of share price responses to earnings announcements. Specifically, we observe that firms with mandated CSR disclosure experience an increase in earnings response coefficient and a decrease in post-earnings announcement drift. Furthermore, these effects are greater among CSR-sensitive industries, state-owned enterprises, and lower accounting quality firms. Additional analysis also reveals that these effects vary by the quality of CSR disclosure and CSR performance. These findings suggest that CSR disclosure provides incremental information that are useful for investors to assess firms’ future prospects and uncertainties. A broader implication of our study is that mandating CSR disclosure could improve market information efficiency and benefit outside investors.


Author(s):  
Maria da Conceição C. Tavares ◽  
Lúcia Lima Rodrigues

Based on legitimacy and on stakeholder theories, this study analyses the level of disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the sustainability reports of the Portuguese public sector entities for the years 2008 and 2012, prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The authors also aim to determine the factors that influence this level of disclosure. Using content analysis, an index of CSR disclosure was constructed based on the sustainability reports of 58 public sector entities. It was concluded that the level of sustainability disclosure is related to the organisation's size, industry, awards and certifications received, and visibility measured in terms of consumer proximity. This study offers new empirical evidence of a different context – public sector entities in Portugal, providing valuable insights into the factors that explain CSR disclosures in public sector entities.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahbaz Sheikh

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate if and how firm performance in corporate social responsibility (CSR) is related to corporate payouts and how competition in product markets influences this relation.Design/methodology/approachLogit and Tobit regressions are used to estimate the relation between firm performance in CSR and corporate payouts.FindingsThe empirical results show that firm performance in CSR is positively related to the propensity and level of dividends, repurchases and total payouts (dividends plus repurchases). However, the positive relation between CSR performance and corporate payouts is significant only for firms that operate in low competition markets. In high competition markets, CSR performance does not seem to have any significant relation with corporate payouts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study uses MSCI social ratings data to measure net scores on CSR. There is no systematic conceptual reason for measuring social performance using MSCI social ratings. Future research should use other measures of social performance (e.g. Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Accountability Ratings and Global Reporting Initiative to estimate the relation between CSR and corporate payouts).Practical implicationsCSR firms are more likely to choose higher payouts when they operate in low competition markets.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the stream of research that evaluates the payout choices of CSR firms and competition in product markets. To the author's knowledge, this is the first study that documents the impact of market competition on the relation between firm performance in CSR and corporate payouts.


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