Sepideh Parsa

Reporting on sustainability and HRM:a comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies

As a response to the growing public awareness on the importance of organisational contributions to sustainable development, there is an increased incentive for corporations to report on their sustainability activities. In parallel with this has been the development of ‘Sustainable HRM’ which embraces a growing body of practitioner and academic literature connecting the notions of corporate sustainability to HRM. The aim of this article is to analyse corporate sustainability reporting amongst the worlds largest companies and to assess the HRM aspects of sustainability within these reports in comparison to environmental aspects of sustainable management and whether organisational attributes – principally country-of-origin – influences the reporting of such practices. A focus in this article is the extent to which the reporting of various aspects of sustainability may reflect dominant models of corporate governance in the country in which a company is headquartered. The findings suggest, first and against expectations, that the overall disclosure on HRM-related performance is not lower than that on environmental performance. Second, companies report more on their internal workforce compared to their external workforce. Finally, international differences, in particular those between companies headquartered in liberal market economies and coordinated market economies, are not as apparent as expected.

Disclosure of governance information by small and medium-sized companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of compliance with the governance regulatory requirements by small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) listed on the alternative investment market (AIM). Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on AIM-listed companies over a period of three years (2002, 2003 and 2004) and concentrates on their extent of compliance with the corporate governance disclosure guidelines set out by the regulatory bodies. To measure the extent of disclosure, a checklist was compiled based on the Combined Code and FSA listing rules. Having reviewed the literature on large companies (as there were no studies on SMEs), a number of governance and firm structure-specific characteristics were selected. The relationships between the level of governance disclosure and the chosen characteristics were examined in order to highlight those factors that are associated with and affect the level of governance disclosure. Findings – On average about 50 percent of governance items required to be disclosed had been reported by AIM-listed companies. As for large companies, there is a positive relationship between the number of non-executive directors in governance mechanisms and the extent of disclosure. Considering that there has been a declining interest in AIM-listed companies, the presence of more non-executive directors is recommended, as this would ultimately mean more compliance with the governance disclosure requirements and could result in restored investor interest and confidence. The findings also indicate that SMEs are more likely to have adopted a stakeholder approach when concentrating on their governance arrangements. Originality/value – The study presents evidence on governance disclosure practices of SMEs and indicates that, in spite of a less stringent regulatory regime set up within AIM, non-executive directors, who bring in an element of independence to boards, play a significant role in elevating corporate transparency.

Capital markets' reactions to social information announcements

This paper aims to investigate whether the London Stock Exchange (LSE) reacts to social information announcements by new entrants to LSE over a period of five years. Out of a total of 249 non-financial companies that joined LSE, only 66 social information items were announced by 40 companies. For each individual information item, the corresponding companys share price movements are observed and compared with the market benchmark. Having measured abnormal returns for all the price movements, it transpires that on the day of announcement 71% of the reported social information items corresponded with positive abnormal returns. Even though our findings illustrate an overall positive market response to the announcement of social information, the observation of some negative reactions indicates that the release of social information by companies may not always meet its intended target and enhance corporate reputation as perceived by investors.

Governance and social information disclosure – evidence from the UK

Theoretically, corporate social responsibility should be embedded in corporate governance structures. This paper presents evidence that this is not the case for listed UK companies. Our evidence shows that in the presence of less stringent regulatory requirements, companies tend to disclose less social information in comparison to mandatory governance information. The observed positive association between social and governance information disclosure levels provides supporting evidence that companies with more transparent governance structures tend to be socially conscientious. The paper also empirically shows that the level of social information disclosure tends to vary with the size and industrial affiliation of companies, providing further evidence that listed UK companies are still treating social information as a tool to project a legitimate image.

Corporate Performance and Military Production in South Africa

With the end of the Cold War and apartheid, a process of demilitarisation and dramatic cuts in military spending has marked the transition to democracy in South Africa. Between 1989 and 1997 the South African defence budget was cut by more than 50% in real terms, with most of the cuts coming from the procurement budget, which was cut by nearly 70% in real terms during the same period. These cuts have had a significant impact on the countrys defence industrial base. However, there has been surprisingly little research on the changes to defence companies that have taken place since the late 1980s. This paper makes a start at rectifying that deficiency by providing an analysis of the restructuring of the major defence‐dependent companies over the period 1988–97. It uses a number of financial ratios and other measures of corporate performance to compare their experience with non‐defence companies in the rest of the South African economy during the same period.

Have labour practices and human rights disclosures enhanced corporate accountability? The case of the GRI framework

Highlights • Companies over-claim adherence to GRI reporting guidelines while failing to report detailed information on their workforce.Fig. 1 Compliance with GRI Disclosure Guidelines.• Companies fail to provide material information.• Limited evidence of companies acknowledging impediments they encounter when reporting on their workforce.• Companies pay more attention to their internal (as opposed to their external) workforce.• GRI fails to achieve enhanced comparability, transparency and accountability goals. Highlights • Companies over-claim adherence to GRI reporting guidelines while failing to report detailed information on their workforce.• Companies fail to provide material information.• Limited evidence of companies acknowledging impediments they encounter when reporting on their workforce.• Companies pay more attention to their internal (as opposed to their external) workforce.• GRI fails to achieve enhanced comparability, transparency and accountability goals. Abstract This paper critically evaluates Transnational Corporations’ (TNCs) claimed adherence to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s ‘labour’ and ‘human rights’ reporting guidelines and examines how successful the GRI has been in enhancing comparability and transparency. We found limited evidence of TNCs discharging their accountability to their workforce and, rather, we found evidence to suggest that disclosure was motivated more by enhancing their legitimacy. TNCs failed to adhere to the guidelines, which meant that material information items were often missing, rendering comparability of information meaningless. Instead, TNCs reported large volumes of generic/anecdotal information without acknowledging the impediments they faced in practice.