Manuel Castelo Branco

Communication of corporate social responsibility by Portuguese banks

– The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether Portuguese banks use their web sites as a medium to disclose social responsibility information and identify what types of this kind of information they disclose, and compare such disclosure with similar disclosure in annual reports., – Examines social responsibility information disclosure on the internet by Portuguese banks in 2004 and compares the internet and 2003 annual reports as disclosure media using content analysis., – Banks with a higher visibility among consumers seem to exhibit greater concern to improve the corporate image through social responsibility information disclosure. Results thus suggest that legitimacy theory may be an explanation of social responsibility disclosure by Portuguese banks., – The sample is small, although it is constituted by all the relevant Portuguese banks., – Contributes to the scarce literature on social responsibility disclosure by financial institutions. A proxy for public visibility of banks which has not been previously used is proposed in this study.

The implementation of lean Six Sigma in financial services organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to obtain pertinent information pertaining to benefits accomplished, main difficulties felt, and key lessons learned in the implementation of lean Six Sigma (LSS), which are likely to be helpful to financial services organizations wanting to implement the same tool.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports the results of a case study from a financial services organization which has begun the implementation of LSS methodologies ten years ago, in the pursuit of service excellence.Findings – The benefits derived from LSS implementation, such as lowering the operational costs, improving processes and product quality, increased efficiency, which leads to the increase of productivity, the agility and versatility obtained by the organization, vastly outweigh the costs. At an international level, there are cultural differences pertaining mainly to internal resistance and openness to change.Research limitations/implications – This work focuses on a specific case study....

Environmental disclosure in response to public perception of environmental threats: the case of co-incineration in Portugal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine changes in levels of voluntary environmental disclosures of Cimpor and Secil in response to increased public awareness of its activities resulting from the co‐incineration controversy in Portugal.Design/methodology/approach – The annual reports of Cimpor and Secil for the period 1994‐2003 are analysed. The extent of environmental disclosure directly relating to the co‐incineration and the locations of the co‐incineration sites is also assessed.Findings – Findings suggest that Cimpor used environmental disclosure as a mechanism of managing its legitimacy which was threatened by the co‐incineration controversy. However, the strategy adopted by Cimpor may be described as one of trivializing or skirting the issue, by not directly addressing it. Secil has directly addressed the issue since its inception.Research limitations/implications – First, only two companies and their reaction to one environmental event are examined. Second, only annual reports are analys...

An analysis of intellectual capital disclosure by Portuguese companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) by Portuguese listed companies and to evaluate size, industry and time effects on disclosure as well as the effects of ICD on the growth of a company.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines ICD in 2004, 2006 and 2008 annual reports using content analysis. Non‐parametric statistical methods are used to test size and industry effects on disclosure, the effects of the level of disclosure on the growth of a company and to determine the significance of the differences in disclosure between the years under analysis.Findings – The analysis showed that size is significant in explaining ICD. The results also indicated that industrial affiliation is only partially a factor explaining ICD. It was not possible to confirm neither an increase in ICD over time, nor the relationship between ICD and growth.Research limitations/implications – The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues a...

Factors influencing the assurance of sustainability reports in the context of the economic crisis in Portugal

Purpose - – The paper aims to analyse the engagement in sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) by a sample of Portuguese firms between 2008 and 2011. Design/methodology/approach - – Bivariate and multivariate non-parametric statistics is used to analyse some factors that influence the decision to have sustainability reports assured. Findings - – Results indicate that size, leverage, profitability, listing status and industrial affiliation are determinants of SRA, whereas type of ownership is not. A downward trend in sustainability reporting and its assurance was also detected. Research limitations/implications - – The sample is small. Originality/value - – It adds to the scarce research on SRA by providing new empirical data in a context of crisis and extends prior research by analysing the effects of listing status and type of ownership.

Exploring the importance of social responsibility disclosure for human resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the social responsibility disclosure (SRD) on the internet by Portuguese companies which are engaged in processes of obtaining or enhancing a good social responsibility reputation and are confident of having a good social performance pertaining to the human resources area – the best companies to work for (BCWF).Design/methodology/approach – A matched pair approach is used to address the empirical question of whether the SRD on the internet of the BCWF differs from that of a benchmark group of companies selected by matching industry and size. Using a resource‐based perspective (RBP) the hypothesis that the BCWF disclose more social responsibility information is analysed.Findings – Results suggest that BCWF do disclose more items of social responsibility information than control companies, which allows thinking that companies which want to have a good social responsibility reputation and think that their social performance relating to their employees is good...

Comparing CSR communication on corporate web sites in Sweden and Spain

Purpose – This study investigates the use of the internet by the largest companies based in Sweden and Spain to communicate their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Its purpose is to analyse to what extent, if any, are there differences in the CSR communication on the web sites companies from these two countries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines CSR communication on the internet by companies based in Sweden and Spain. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors that influence disclosure, namely country, industry affiliation, profitability, and size. Findings – Findings suggest that in spite of the existence of a high degree of similarity between CSR communication practices, companies from Spain place social responsibility information in more prominent sections and devote more space to said information. Swedish companies are found to disclose more their codes of conduct/ethics and CSR-related press clips and published articles. Research limitation...

Intellectual capital disclosure media in Portugal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the internet and annual reports as media of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) and analyse its determinants.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines ICD on the internet in 2009 and compares the internet and 2008 annual reports as disclosure media using content analysis. Non‐parametric statistical methods are used to analyse some factors which influence disclosure.Findings – Portuguese companies attribute greater importance to the internet. The analysis showed that size is significant in explaining ICD only in the case of annual reports. The results also indicated that industrial affiliation is only partially a factor explaining ICD.Research limitations/implications – The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process and the use of a limited content analysis method.Originality/value – The paper adds to the scarce research on ICD by Portuguese companies by providing new empirical data. Thi...

Sustainability reporting and assurance in Portugal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive comprehensive analysis of sustainability reporting (SR) and assurance in Portugal after the onset of the most recent economic crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze 290 sustainability reports for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and find those that include assurance statements and characterize them. Findings – The authors present evidence supporting the view that the Portuguese sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) market follows the international trends and suggest that the most recent economic crisis had a negative effect in terms of publication of sustainability reports but not in terms of its quality and assurance. Research limitations/implications – The authors merely provide descriptive evidence of SR and the assurance thereof in Portugal. Originality/value – The authors contribute significantly to the literature on SRA in peripheral countries and in the period of crisis.

Research on corporate social responsibility and disclosure in Portugal

Purpose – This descriptive paper seeks to explore the role of Portuguese academics within corporate social responsibility and disclosure (CSRD most papers focus on CSR; research is overwhelmingly empirical in orientation; and most papers focus on Portugal. Hence, there is great scope for expanding the amount of...