Impression Management in Sustainability Reports: An Empirical Investigation of the Use of Graphs

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Cho ◽  
Giovanna Michelon ◽  
Dennis M. Patten
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether firms use graphs in their sustainability reports in order to present a more favorable view of their social and environmental performance. Further, because prior research indicates that companies use social and environmental disclosure as a tool to reduce their exposure to social and political pressures (the legitimacy argument), we also examine whether differences in the extent of impression management are associated with differences in social and environmental performance. Based on an analysis of graphs in sustainability reports for a sample of 77 U.S. companies for 2006, we find considerable evidence of favorable selectivity bias in the choice of items graphed, and moderate evidence that where distortion in graphing occurs, it also has a favorable bias. Our results regarding the relation between impression management and performance are mixed. Whereas we find that graphs of social items in sustainability reports for companies with worse social performance exhibit more impression management, no significant relation between environmental performance and impression management in the use of environmental graphs is found. Overall, our results provide additional evidence that corporate sustainability reporting, as it currently exists, appears to be more about fostering positive public relations than providing a meaningful accounting of the social and environmental impacts of the firm.

scholarly journals Corporate Sustainability Practices in Polluting Industries: Evidence from India, China and USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-168
Author(s):  
Prem Sagar Mishra ◽  
◽  
Ajay Kumar ◽  
Niladri Das
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
Financial Perspective ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Sustainability Practices

In recent years, the tilt of the corporate world towards non-financial reporting can be clearly seen from traditional accounting practices. Sustainability reporting disclosures are an important tool for providing information about the environmental and social performance of companies to their various stakeholders. From a financial perspective, for any firm, there is always a possibility of reporting more of the information that favours their interests or conceal that which is not in their favour. This study evaluates the annual and sustainability reports of 380 Indian, 400 Chinese and 400 USA companies from five highly polluting industries on the basis of GRI (global reporting initiatives) guidelines. From the result, it is inferred that the findings are consistent with the legitimacy theory. The result shows that the profitability and capital structure of firms in the sample do not affect the sustainability reporting practices significantly. In addition, larger firms have a tendency to disclose more information in their annual and sustainability reports than smaller firms.

scholarly journals Industry Characteristics and Patterns of Sustainability Reports

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Yavida Nurim ◽  
Eka Noor Asmara
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
Performance Reporting ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Sustainability Report

Since 2002, the Indonesian Government has encouraged listed and unlisted companies to disclose sustainability reports comprised of three performance indicators—economic, environmental, and social—as Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) guidance. The main issue is that different industry characteristics have different orientations of sustainability reporting because of the differences between their main stakeholders. In fact, several GRI criteria do not match every industry characteristic. For example, banking does not report on materials, emissions, or pollution as part of their environmental performance. This research aims to identify the patterns of sustainability reporting from 2015 to 2016, based on industry characteristics. The study compares environmental and social performance reporting patterns of the manufacturing and financial sectors. Results show that manufacturers are more concerned with environmental performance while the financial sector is more concerned with social performance. This evidence contributes to the stakeholder theory and efforts in sustainability report modelling.

scholarly journals Performance indicators in CSR and sustainability reports in Hungary

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 137-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Karcagi-Kováts
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
The Media ◽  
Sustainability Reports

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Corporate Sustainability reporting is a relatively new phenomenon in Hungary. As the external pressure from the civil society, public authorities and the media has so far been fairly low, this important corporate activity emerged only at the beginning of the last decade. In spite of this, several pioneering companies have started to publish information on its environmental and social performance in recent years. CSR and sustainability reports are seen increasingly as strategic documents that offer a balanced, objective, and comprehensive assessment of a firm’s non-financial performance. In 2008 and 2009, more than a third of the 100 largest companies reported on their non-financial results (most of them were GRI based reports). In 2010, sixty-one organisations published a report about their non- financial performance, and 22 of these for only the first time. The aim of this paper is to present recent attempts to use indicators in CSR and sustainability reports. On the basis of a detailed review of 70 CSR/sustainability reports published during the last 9 years in Hungary, an analysis was made on the performance indicators appearing in the reports. The motivations of indicator selection processes was analysed and the intended roles of indicator set in communication and strategy design was presented. The significance of and limits to the proposed indicators was discussed.

scholarly journals Economic, social and environmental disclosure, a theoretical framework and its application in Vietnam

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Viet Ha TRAN VU ◽  
Anh MAI ◽  
Cam Tu DOAN ◽  
Beno�t PIG�
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Cement Industry ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Top Executives ◽  
Sustainable Performance ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance

This study focuses on the appraisal of firms performance and on its representation and reporting. Using interviews and inquiries in firms operating in the cement industry in Vietnam, two points are investigated. First, whether firms top executives consider that firms sustainable performance may include economic, social or environmental performance that is not integrated in financial statements. The theoretical framework is the stakeholder theory complemented with the institutional theory. Second, whether economic, social and environmental performance should be disclosed to answer the expectations of the various stakeholders. Therefore, our research contributes to corporate governance studies by focusing on reporting dedicated to all the stakeholders.

Characteristics of UK higher education institutions that disclose sustainability reports

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1279-1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remmer Sassen ◽  
Dominik Dienes ◽  
Johanna Wedemeier
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose This study aims to focus on the following research question: Which institutional characteristics are associated with sustainability reporting by UK higher education institutions? Design/methodology/approach To answer the aforementioned research question, this study uses logistic regression. Findings The results show that 17 per cent of the UK higher education institutions report on their sustainability (July 2014). In line with legitimacy and stakeholder theory, logistic regressions provide evidence that the larger the size of the institution, the higher the probability of reporting. By contrast, high public funding decreases this probability. Research limitations/implications The findings show characteristics of higher education institutions that support or hamper sustainability reporting. Overall, the findings imply a lack of institutionalisation of sustainability reporting among higher education institutions. Originality/value Although a lot of research has been done on corporate sustainability reporting, only a small number of studies have addressed the issues of sustainability reporting of higher education institutions. This study covers all sustainability reports disclosed among the 160 UK higher education institutions. It is the first study that investigates characteristics of higher education institutions that disclose a sustainability report.

scholarly journals The Impact of Innovation Strategy on the Financial, Social and Environmental Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
Hamid Saremi ◽  
Masoud Mahmoudi ◽  
Mojtaba Soltaninezhad ◽  
Mohammad Hosseinpour
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
The Impact

The core purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of innovation strategy on financial, social and environmental performance of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The information used is from 129 companies listed on TSE in different industries between 2011 and 2018 (1032 observations). In order to analyze the data, a multivariate regression test was used. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between innovation strategy on financial performance and environmental performance. Also, the relationship between innovation strategy and social performance has a positive but insignificant. Innovation tools are also among the few management tools that can have a positive impact on both financial performance and the company's environmental performance. In this research, an attempt has been made to look at the idea of innovation from a financial point of view, and its results in the long run indicate the right choice of management to invest in the company's research and development unit.

scholarly journals Integration Level of Social Environmental Disclosure (SED) Between The Global Reporting Initiative(GRI)- Sustainability Reporting and The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Reporting Among European Companies

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzila Mohamed Yusof ◽  
Nazaria Md Aris ◽  
Nurul Syuhada Zaidi
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Social And Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
International Integrated Reporting Council

This critical approach study examines the social and environmental disclosure (SED) between Sustainability Reporting (SR) and Integrated Reporting (IR) among European companies. The research question is to examine the integration level of SED within SR and IR. Applying the critical text analysis method, the GRI G3 guidelines were used to examine a sample of ten European companies. The reports for the selected companies must incorporate fully applied IR without producing any more SR in order to analyse the validity of the data. This study has discovered that there is less integration of SED in IR than SR. It is apparent that the IR approach is more towards the primary groups (investors) rather than other stakeholders, society and the environment as a whole. Hence, IR is only a mirror of sustainability for business strategy. Therefore, IR needs to engage reports with other stakeholders to sustain long-term growth.

Exploring the Influence of NGOs in Corporate Sustainability Adoption: Institutional-Legitimacy Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-147
Author(s):  
Lamin B. Ceesay
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Institutional Legitimacy ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
Power And Influence

This review seeks to examine the power and influence of Non-Governmental Organizations in the course of corporate sustainability adoption (i.e., sustainability reporting). Using the institutional-legitimacy and governance theories, our findings suggest that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have great potentials in sustainability discourse through two salient actions, namely (a) collaborative partnership, and (b) confrontational tactics. While the former promotes stakeholder involvement in corporate decision-making through dialogue, joint-projects on corporate social responsibility, and sustainability reporting, the latter, however, is the last resort—involving “naming and shaming” corporations for poor social and environmental performance. The objective of such action is to cause reputational damage to businesses. Finally, it is also observed that crucial to NGO power and influence is the collaboration with government and civil society organizations in the fight for environmental sustainability and accountability.

scholarly journals The Role of Disability and Accessibility in Corporate Sustainability Reporting

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Vogelauer ◽  
David M. Herold ◽  
Elmar Fuerst
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Flexible Management

Abstract Although companies increasingly focus on the social dimension in corporate sustainability, there seems to be a lack of understanding how and to what extent disability and accessibility frameworks and activities are integrated in corporate sustainability reports. In this article, we aim to close this gap by (a) analysing the disability and accessibility (D&A) activities from the largest 50 companies in Europe based on their corporate sustainability reports, and (b) advancing a simplified conceptual framework for D&A that can be used in corporate reporting. In particular, we provide an overview about corporate D&A reporting and associated activities according to three identified areas: (a) workforce, (b) workplace, and (c) products and services. Our findings are twofold: First, the majority of the companies address D&A in their corporate sustainability reports mainly under the diversity umbrella, but lack a detailed debate about the three identified areas. Second, we found that existing frameworks for D&A are hardly used because either they are not focused on corporate reporting or seem too difficult or complicated to complete. Thus, our framework not only represents a first opportunity to foster the implementation of a D&A framework within the social dimension of corporate sustainability reports, but also presents a holistic yet flexible management tool that takes into account the most critical elements while shaping implementation, directing evaluation and encouraging future planning of D&A initiatives. As such, this study contributes to and extends the limited amount of research of D&A activities in the social dimension in corporate sustainability reporting.

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