Haslinda Yusoff

CSR Web Reporting: The Influence of Ownership Structure and Mimetic Isomorphism☆

Abstract The rise in social networking and the increasing sophistication of current stakeholders who value timely information, have motivated corporations to use corporate websites to disseminate additional corporate social responsibility (CSR) information to stakeholders, to improve accessibility and to engage with a more diverse group of stakeholders. The aim of this study is to examine the factors that influence public-listed companies in Malaysia to communicate their CSR information via corporate websites in the context of both the agency and institutional theories. Using a sample of the 120 largest companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, an investigation into the relationship between ownership structure and mimetic isomorphism due to board interlock was undertaken over a period of six (6) months, from May to October 2010. The results of the study revealed that family and foreign ownership were significant factors in influencing the use of corporate websites to disseminate CSR information to stakeholders. However, board interlock did not precipitate imitation strategies amongst companies with similar board members. The overall quality of CSR information disclosed on corporate website proved to be generally low, with community dimension being the focus of disclosure.

Corporate environmental reporting through the lens of semiotics

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the motives behind corporate environmental reporting in Malaysia and Australia from an alternative perspective, i.e. through semiotics. Design/methodology/approach - Reviews are made on the annual reports of the top 50 public companies in both countries, and the uses of business languages in those reports are investigated. The research concentrates on the significations of environmental messages made through paradigmatic and syntagmatic tests. Findings - Corporate environmental disclosures made by the public companies in Malaysia and Australia signify similar form of motives. The tones, orientations, and patterns of environmental disclosures indicate that environmental information is a strategic mechanism used towards enhancing good corporate reputation. Research limitations/implications - Environmental reporting plays a significant role in promoting corporate “green” image in conjunction with the aims for better social integration. Practical implications - Semiotics offers a useful basis that enables a greater understanding of why companies prepare and disclose environmental information. Such an understanding holds the potential to provide ideas and guide policy-makers, and other stakeholders (and users) of corporate environmental information. Originality/value - This paper is the first to comparatively investigate the corporate motives and intention of environmental reporting practices via the application of semiotics on a two-country data, specifically Malaysia and Australia.

The Influence of CSR Disclosure Structure on Corporate Financial Performance: Evidence from Stakeholders’ Perspectives☆

Abstract This study aims to understand the potential influence of CSR disclosure structure on corporate financial performance. Content analyses had been carried out on the 2009-2011 annual reports of the leading 30 public listed companies in Malaysia. For terms of methodology, sentence count was used as a unit of analysis to measure disclosure depth, while a finer-grained analysis of the CSR disclosure structure was performed to measure disclosure breadth and disclosure concentration. There was found to be a significant relationship between CSR disclosure structure and the corporate financial performance in the subsequent year. The results suggest that good financial performers are those companies that display a relatively high breadth of disclosure, while at the same time demonstrate the ability to disclose a concentrated structure of CSR disclosure to the definitive stakeholders. The findings of this study imply that it is not the volume of disclosure that matters, but the variety of items disclosed and concentration to the definitive stakeholders. On one hand, the study findings generally offer insights into the workings of successful reporting strategies for business organisations in Malaysia, while on the other hand, the study does provide inputs pertaining to the betterment of the CSR framework, for Bursa Malaysia and the relevant regulatory bodies to deliberate upon.

Social responsibility disclosure in Islamic banks: a comparative study of Indonesia and Malaysia

Purpose - This paper aims to explore social responsibility reporting of full-fledged Islamic banks in two developing countries, namely, Indonesia and Malaysia. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important aspect of business society. As such, companies have shown a growing interest in reporting their social and environmental initiatives. Design/methodology/approach - Content analysis of the annual reports for three full-fledged local Islamic banks in Indonesia and three Islamic banks in Malaysia was carried out for the period of 2007-2011. Findings - Results of the study revealed that CSR disclosure of Islamic banks has generally grown both in Malaysia and Indonesia. More specifically, it was found that workplace and community dimensions were the most highly disclosed areas by the Islamic banks in both countries. Research limitations/implications - The current study provides a cross-cultural perspective on social responsibility disclosure in Islamic banks across two countries. The study is limited by investigating a five-year time frame. Practical implications - By discussing the findings according to the stages of growth model for CSR, the authors suggest that Islamic banks can enhance their responsiveness, and transform their role from being CSR reporters of social responsibility to responders. Originality/value - While the tenets of CSR have a lot in common with Islamic moral law (

Do corporate governance mechanisms influence environmental reporting practices? Evidence from an emerging country

This study seeks to examine the potential links between corporate governance mechanisms and environmental reporting practices from the perspective of agency theory. A content analysis has been conducted to gather relevant information from the annual reports of the 100 leading Malaysian public-listed companies covering a three-year period, i.e., from 2009 to 2011. The relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and environmental reporting practices is then tested using regression analysis. The results generally indicate that there was an improved trend in environmental reporting among the companies over the three-year period and offer preliminary insights into the influence of corporate governance on environmental reporting. A positive significant relationship was found between board size and environmental reporting. Other corporate governance mechanisms including board independence, ownership concentration and female directorship were not associated with the environmental reporting practices of companies. The findings provide new insights into the potential strategies in relation to corporate governance towards encouraging greater environmental reporting from the perspective of an emerging country.

Corporate social responsibility towards the community: evidence from Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia

Social responsibility towards the community is one aspect of the social obligations that an Islamic organisation is expected to fulfil. This study aims to investigate the social responsibility towards the community by Islamic financial institutions. A content analysis of the annual and sustainability reports of 37 Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia for the year 2012 was undertaken to examine the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the community dimension. The CSR disclosure was then prioritised into vital and recommended items based on an Islamic CSR (i-CSR) index that was developed. The results revealed that the Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia were targeting their CSR activities towards the social development of the community and were mainly concerned about improving the level of education of the community. Moreover, their focus towards the eradication of poverty by donating to the permanent and very poor is consistent with the requirements of Shariah.

An Islamic CSR Framework: Perception from Practitioners, Academicians and the General Public

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the perception on the use of an Islamic corporate social responsibility ( i -CSR) framework as guidance to navigate CSR activities among Islamic-based organizations and the relationship between a strong overall perception about i -CSR framework and the positive embodiment of Islamic CSR practices. A questionnaire survey was distributed to three (3) main groups of respondents namely: Shariah Scholars and Academicians, Practitioners and Regulators and the General Public . The results of the study revealed that there were no significant differences in the overall perception towards an Islamic CSR framework among the three groups of respondents. However, there is a positive correlation between the level of awareness towards CSR and the positive acceptance of the framework. The results revealed that a strong overall perception about the framework is significantly and positively related to the overall acceptance of Islamic CSR practices.

Analysis of Earnings Management Practices and Sustainability Reporting for Corporations that Offer Islamic Products & Services☆

Abstract Earnings management is generally viewed as unethical behaviour as it involves the use of managerial discretion of accounting numbers, which may result in the distortion of financial information provided to stakeholders. However, the engagement in socially responsible initiatives by companies demonstrates their concern for the societal well-being which goes beyond profit making. The aim of this study is to examine the earnings management practices and sustainability reporting among corporate sectors that offer Islamic products. An Islamic perspective is used to underpin the theoretical arguments for this study. This study uses longitudinal panel data analysis to examine the sustainability reporting of 16 public-listed companies in Malaysia that offer Islamic financial products for a three year period from 2011 to 2013. Content analyses on corporate annual and stand-alone reports used Global Reporting Initiatives (G3) guidelines to measure the quality of the sustainability disclosure, while the earnings management related data was obtained using the Modified Jones Model. The results of the study provide evidence that the sustainability reporting practices among companies in Malaysia that offer Islamic products are generally good over the three-year period and that financial performance improved the quality of sustainability reporting. The insignificant results between earnings management and the quality of sustainability reporting suggest that sustainability reporting is not being manipulated to cover their earnings management practices.

Corporate Governance and Business Capabilities: Strategic Factors for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a topical business issue in the current accountability-integrity age. This paper aims to examine and interpret the possible link between corporate governance, business capabilities and CSR reporting practices. Specifically, agency and resource-based theories were used as the underpinning theoretical perspectives in understanding the link between the corporate governance mechanism and their business capabilities with CSR reporting. Using a content analysis of the annual and sustainability reports, the relevant data were gathered from 100 leading companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. The results of the study revealed that corporate governance mechanism, in particular, board size has a significant potential to induce company/‘agents’ to engage in CSR reporting practices hence reducing agency costs. In the context of business capabilities, human resources in the form of commitment of top leadership to CSR initiatives was found to be a strategic factor in enhancing the CSR information disclosed. The companies’ engagement with stakeholders through social dialogues also assisted companies in reducing information asymmetry resulting in the maximization of shareholders’ interest.

Exploring corporate social responsibility of Takaful organisations through the lenses of an Islamic CSR framework

Takaful relates to a system of Islamic insurance and takaful organisations were established with the desire to offer insurance protection based on the values and principles of Shariah. The aim of this study is to explore the CSR practices of takaful organisations in Malaysia, benchmarked against an Islamic CSR framework. A content analysis of the annual reports of 11 takaful organisations in Malaysia over a three-year period (2010 to 2012) was undertaken to explore the application of the framework. Study findings highlighted an increasing trend in CSR disclosure over the three-year period with the community and workplace dimensions emerging as the focus of the CSR activities by takaful organisations in Malaysia. Additionally, social development pursuits that benefited the community were the most disclosed CSR information.