Carol A. Adams

Internal organisational factors influencing corporate social and ethical reporting: Beyond current theorising

Prior empirical research into factors which are influential in determining the extent and nature of corporate social reporting has primarily been concerned with the impact of corporate characteristics (such as size and industry grouping) or general contextual factors (such as the social, political and economic context). Relatively little prior work has examined the internal contextual factors and their impact on reporting despite increasing emphasis in the field of practice on reporting processes and governance structures. In this study interviews were conducted with seven large multinational companies in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors of the UK and Germany in order to identify any internal contextual factors influencing the nature and extent of reporting. The work highlights the lack of explanatory power of the existing social reporting theories. A more inclusive model of corporate social reporting is presented.

The ethical, social and environmental reporting-performance portrayal gap

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it assesses in detail the extent to which corporate reporting on ethical, social and environmental issues reflects corporate performance in case study company Alpha. This “reporting‐performance” portrayal gap is a key measure of the extent to which an organisation is accountable to its stakeholders. Alphas disclosures concerning its ethical, social and environmental performance for the years 1993 and 1999 were compared with information obtained on Alphas performance from other sources. Two different pictures of performance emerged leading to the conclusion that, in the case of Alpha, reports do not demonstrate a high level of accountability to key stakeholder groups on ethical, social and environmental issues. Of particular concern is the lack of “completeness” of reporting. Second, the article assesses the potential of recent standards or guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility (AccountAbility) as well as the industrys own “responsible care” initiative to reduce this “reporting‐performance” portrayal gap and improve corporate accountability. The conclusions point to the need for other measures to improve accountability including mandatory reporting guidelines, better developed audit guidelines, a mandatory audit requirement for MNCs and a radical overhaul of corporate governance systems.

Making a difference: Sustainability reporting, accountability and organisational change

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of corporate processes for developing a sustainability report, the hurdles faced by organisations and the way in which organisational change towards improved accountability occurs and can lead to changes in sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach - This research involves engagement through an action research approach involving the observation of corporate meetings, the provision of feedback on those meetings by the researchers and review of internet and hard copy sustainability reporting. Findings - The study identified a number of impediments to the development of a sustainability reporting framework and its integration into planning and decision making, as well as forces for change. These were analysed using the organisational literature, particularly Kurt Lewins integrated model of planned change. Differences were observed between the state-owned organisation and prior studies of shareholder owned companies in their motivations for achieving sustainability and greater accountability. Practical implications - From the organisations perspective, the study provided immediate feedback which enhanced reporting practices and the incorporation of sustainability issues into decision making. The study has the potential to improve practice in other organisations through the identification of impediments to and forces for change not considered in prior theorising. Originality/value - The action research approach contributes to knowledge and theorising in a way which could not have been achieved through interviews alone. It assisted change within the organisation in: adopting a sustainability reporting framework; integrating sustainability issues into planning and decision making; and, further embedding sustainability and accountability values. The findings in the state owned organisation contrast recent findings for shareholder-owned companies.

Integrating sustainability reporting into management practices

Abstract This paper examines the process of developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring sustainability performance and the way in which sustainability KPIs are used in decision-making, planning and performance management. Interviews were conducted with personnel from four British and three Australian companies. The findings indicate that the organisations are integrating environmental indicators, and increasingly also social indicators, into strategic planning, performance measurement and decision-making including risk management. However, the sustainability issues on which our sample focus and the management operations on which they impact vary considerably. This has implications for the development of practice, voluntary guidelines and legislation.

Engaging with organisations in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a case for research in ethical, social and environmental (or sustainability) accounting and accountability which engages with those organisations claiming to manage and report their sustainability performance. In addition, the paper reviews the contributions in this special issue. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an analysis and critique of the extent of engagement research in the field of sustainability accounting and accountability. It draws on the fields of management, management accounting and critical accounting to present a case for further research engagement with sustainability accounting and accountability practice. Findings - The paper finds that the extant literature in the field of sustainability accounting and reporting, in contrast to the fields of management accounting and management, has largely ignored practice within organisations. The lack of “engaging research” is found to be due to concerns about increasing the breadth of participants in the social accounting agenda and “managerial capture”. The paper argues that further research engaging with organisations is needed in order to identify how accounting and management systems might reduce their negative sustainability impacts. The paper argues that such research can benefit from the methodological and theoretical insights of other disciplines. Research limitations/implications - The paper suggests where further contributions might be made by future research endeavours engaging with organisations. Practical implications - Engagement research in sustainability accounting and reporting has the potential to improve theorizing, practice and the sustainability performance of organisations. Originality/value - Drawing on the methods and theories of other disciplines and the papers in the special issue, the paper presents a way forward for researchers engaging with organisations practicing sustainability accounting and reporting.

The changing portrayal of the employment of women in British banks' and retail companies' corporate annual reports

This paper examines disclosure with respect to gender and employment in the corporate annual reports of major British banking and retail companies during the period 1935–1993. Setting the disclosures in the social, political and economic context of six distinct periods, the authors suggest that the position of women in the two sectors can in part be explained by continuing patriarchal attitudes of management.

A comparative analysis of corporate reporting on ethical issues by UK and German chemical and pharmaceutical companies

This paper reports on a study of reporting on ethical issues in the corporate annual reports of the largest UK and German chemical and pharmaceutical companies between 1985 and 1995. The study is both comparative and longitudinal in nature, examining in detail how ethical reporting practices developed differently in two Western nations. Despite the similarity in industry affiliations of the companies in the two samples, the study found substantial differences in the nature and patterns of reporting both across time and between the two countries studied. In particular, German companies reported more information and that reporting ‘matured’ to its current level at an earlier date. The paper explores some of the factors which might be thought to have caused this diversity in reporting between the two countries including: industry initiatives; extent of regulations demanding ethical responsibility; and other social and political pressures.

Conceptualising future change in corporate sustainability reporting

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how future changes in corporate social disclosure (CSD), aimed at improving accountability for corporate performance to key stakeholder groups, might be brought about. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on the work of the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises with respect to human (and organisational) action and the work of Leon Festinger and Kurt Lewin with respect to human (and organisational) change, the paper examines how academics and other corporate stakeholders might effect changes in CSD. Findings - Managers act in a way which maximises their formal happiness (from von Mises) and change occurs following the creation of cognitive dissonance (Festinger) which leads to “unfreezing” (Lewin). Stakeholders can effect change by creating cognitive dissonance. With specific reference to Anglo-American limited liability and publicly traded corporations, such cognitive dissonance and unfreezing normally involves a perceived threat to profitability. Research limitations/implications - Research and theorising in corporate social disclosure patterns should take as given: that the managers of Anglo-American limited liability and publicly traded corporations continue to be strongly encouraged, via both legal and remunerative means, to maximize shareholder wealth; and that this state of affairs significantly influences the information which management choose to disclose. Future research might instead examine and consider means of creating sources of dissonance significant enough to result in managerial concern for change within the constraints imposed on managers of Anglo-American corporations. Such research might be conducted by engaging with organisations and their stakeholders. Practical implications - The findings have implications for the manner in which corporate stakeholders act and interrelate with others in order to effect change towards more complete and credible sustainability reports which demonstrate accountability for material impacts to key stakeholder groups. Originality/value - The paper focuses on how change in corporate behaviour might be brought about given the personal motivations and institutional constraints imposed on the behaviour of corporate actors.

Profit Measurement and UK Accounting Standards: A Case of Increasing Disharmony in Relation to US GAAP and IASs

UK accounting practice differs from International Accounting Standards (IASs) particularly with regard to amortisation of goodwill, provision for deferred taxation and the accounting treatment of pension costs. Under the core standards programme of the IASC the IASs have emerged closer to US practice. This paper evaluates the profit of those UK companies reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1988 and 1994, spanning a period which saw the establishment of the ASB and the implementation of the IASCs comparability project. An increasing gap was found between the reported profit under UK accounting principles and that restated under US GAAP. The difference lay most frequently in accounting for goodwill, provision for deferred tax, and the accounting treatment of pension costs, with accounting for goodwill showing a particularly significant impact in 1994. Notwithstanding the introduction of FRS 10, an overall impression of increasing disharmony could continue to cause reconciliations to be required of UK companies seeking full listing on a US stock exchange, with consequent disadvantage relative to companies in other European countries seeking international capital in the US.

A commentary on: corporate social responsibility reporting and reputation risk management

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical commentary on Bebbington, Larrinaga-Gonzales and Moneva, published in Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an analysis and critique of Bebbington Findings - The paper finds that the approach taken by Bebbington Research limitations/implications - The paper suggests that rather than follow the approach of Bebbington Originality/value - The authors paper gives a different perspective on the contribution of Bebbington