R. Scott Marshall

Strategically Informed, Environmentally Conscious Information Requirements for Accounting Information Systems

Accounting information systems (AIS) should provide the information firms need to manage organizational activities. Environmental considerations are increasingly important in the business world, so firms are attending more to environmental risks and activities. AIS must respond to these emerging environmental requirements. We develop an information matrix for identifying alternative management strategies for framing and responding to environmental issues. The proposed matrix provides a tool for identifying the information collected, stored, analyzed, and reported in environmentally attuned accounting information systems.

An Environmentally Enlightened Accounting

Abstract Environmental stewardship must become a primary concern if management is to adequately fulfil its societal responsibilities. Management and accounting information systems must aggressively respond to these emerging requirements in order to support adequately the associated information needs as well as to design organizational systems that motivate and facilitate desired behavior. Our purpose here is to consider a framework useful for developing environmentally enlightening management and accounting information systems that take into account alternative environmental perspectives. The framework can be used to develop prototypes representing different levels of environmental enlightenment, and as such, can provide general guidance for moving collectives and organizations toward a more environmentally responsible posture. The framework is illustrated using an example from the salmon farming industry provided in [Geogakopoulous, G., & Thomson, I., 2004. Organic salmon farming: Risk perceptions, decision heuristics and the absence of environmental accounting. In Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting. Singapore, July 4–7, 2004, this paper has since been published in this edition of Accounting Forum].

The Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective on Environmental Initiatives

How can a firm most effectively pursue environmental sustainability? This article employs a systems dynamics approach to analyze two strategic environmental sustainability initiatives implemented by Norm Thompson Outfitters. Such an analysis provides a way to identify the key variables and their relationships, the roles of key stakeholders, and the leverage points used to support the sustainability initiatives. The experience of Norm Thompson demonstrates how using systems dynamics can assist a company in identifying and implementing environmental sustainability initiatives.

A dynamic model of trust development and knowledge sharing in strategic alliances

Building on the recent advances in research on trust and knowledge sharing in strategic alliances, we weave together the existing literature to develop a dynamic model of trust development and knowledge sharing (TD/KS). We set forth three objectives for this paper. First, to review the literatures on trust and knowledge sharing and establish dynamic conceptualisations of both concepts. Second, to develop an integration of trust development and knowledge sharing in a dynamic setting; and finally, to offer the TD/KS model, which describes how alliances are formed, developed and dissolved, based on levels of trust and knowledge sharing between partners. We conclude our paper with theoretical and practical applications of our proposed model.

Introducing a new business course: “Global business and sustainability”

Purpose – To outline the themes, topics and material used in a new course, Global business and sustainability, for business educators interested in integrating this emergingparadigm into their courses.Design/methodology/approach – The structure, design and reference materials for the Global business and sustainability course are reviewed. Specific challenges in designing the course are discussed. Recommendations are provided on how key frameworks developed for this course can aid in the delivery of a business course integrating sustainability concepts.Findings – Compared to a more traditional business course, in a business course integrating sustainability concepts there is greater need for delineating the relationships between institutional, industry and corporate level factors linked to sustainability issues. However, a business course developed around the principles of sustainability is also similar to any other course in the business curriculum in that it needs to demonstrate the link between competit...

Why Do SMEs Go Green? An Analysis of Wine Firms in South Africa

Studies on why small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engage in pro-environmental behavior suggest that managers’ environmental responsibility plays a relatively greater role than competitiveness and legitimacy-seeking. These categories of drivers are mostly considered independent of each other. Using survey data and comparative case studies of wine firms in South Africa, this study finds that managers’ environmental responsibility is indeed the key driver in a context where state regulation hardly plays any role in regulating dispersed, rural firms. However, especially proactive firms are also characterized by expectations of competitiveness gains. The authors thus emphasize the role of institutional context and potential interaction effects between these drivers in explaining the reasons why SMEs engage in pro-environmental behavior in developing countries.

Organizational Resource Bundles and Institutional Change in the U.S. Organic Food and Agricultural Certification Sector

This analysis explores the competitive implications of new institutional standards within the organic certification industry based on a theoretical perspective that integrates institutional and resource-based theories. The authors provide a historical account of the development of certification standards and discussions of three certification agencies: Quality Assurance International (QAI), Oregon Tilth, Inc. (OTCO) and the Food Alliance (FA). They find that QAI incorporated the standards into its overall resource bundle. Conversely, the imposition of national standards seemed to diminish OTCO’s position by institutionalizing standards previously considered unique. Finally, FA focused on exceeding the expectations of the newly promulgated national standards. Thus, the development of national standards may serve as source of competitive advantage or constraint depending on the organization’s preexisting resource bundles. In addition, the evolution of national standards may permit the emergence of a latent niche focused on exceeding the expectations of the new standards.