Thomas W. Guenther

Stakeholder Relevance for Reporting - Explanatory Factors of Carbon Disclosure

Although stakeholder theory is widely accepted in environmental disclosure research, empirical evidence about the role of stakeholders in firms’ disclosure is still scarce. The authors address this issue for a setting of carbon disclosure. Our international sample comprises the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global 500, S&P 500, and FTSE 350 reports from 2008 to 2011, resulting in a total of 1,120 firms with 3,631 firm-year observations. The authors apply Tobit regressions to analyze the relationship between carbon disclosure and the relevance of the following stakeholder groups: government, general public, media, employees, and customers. Our results confirm that in addition to carbon performance, all stakeholders are associated with carbon disclosure. Only one stakeholder group (government) acts as a moderator for the relationship between carbon performance and carbon disclosure. Furthermore, the authors find that carbon performance but not the affiliation to a carbon-intensive industry acts as a moderator between stakeholder relevance and carbon disclosure.

The contents of assurance statements for sustainability reports and information asymmetry

This paper investigates how the assurance of sustainability reports enhances the credibility of such reports in the eyes of the investors and, thus, results in lower information asymmetries, as measured by bid-ask spreads. We measure the assurance of sustainability reports based on a content analysis of the assurance statements in which the assurance providers describe the design of the assurance process. For a matched sample of 442 STOXX 600 Europe companies with and without assured sustainability reports, our results indicate that a high-quality design of the assurance process reduces the level of information asymmetry. While an assurance process substantiating a high assurance level decreases information asymmetries, an assurance process that ensures only a moderate assurance level is insufficient. If an assurance provider performs tests of details of numerical data, this further reduces information asymmetries. For countries without regulations on sustainability reporting, we provide evidence that analytical tests of aggregated indicators, the description of the assurance provider’s competencies and the description of the sustainability assurance-specific work steps also contribute to a reduction of information asymmetries.

Accounting for Social Innovations: Measuring the Impact of an Emerging Intangible Category

Following the definition of the Center for Social Innovation of the Stanford Graduate School of Business (Social innovation, 2009), “a social innovation is a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than present solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals.” This definition focuses on the result, i.e. the outcome of the innovation. In order to judge whether a solution is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just, it is indispensable to measure the impact of social innovations along those four lines. Moreover, the value created has to be allocated to the society and to private individuals. Between society and private individuals, organizations, both for-profit as well as non-profit organizations, act as socio-mechanical systems combining technical and organizational solutions (such as machines, buildings, or processes) with human beings as part of a social system in terms of internal (i.e. workforce) or external stakeholders (e.g. customers) of the organization.

Adoption and Use of Management Controls in Higher Education Institutions

Management control systems are formal, routine-based systems which help to maintain or alter organizational activities to increase efficiency and effectiveness. During the last decade the higher education sector faced crucial changes towards more autonomy and self-financing in most countries. Thus, also the management control systems were challenged to be adapted to these environmental changes. This article gives insight into the design of management control systems of 176 higher education institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (response rate 40.9 %). We analyze both the adoption and use of budgeting, planning and reporting instruments, of financial control instruments and of instruments and systems for quality management.

What We Know about the Economic Payoffs of Corporate Ecological Sustainability

Abstract The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Toward this end, we summarize the findings of four meta-analyses (conducted between 2012 and 2016), which indicate that there is, on average, a small positive association between CES and CFP. In addition, these empirical associations seem to be contingent on the firm’s strategic approach with regard to ecological sustainability (e.g., proactive vs reactive approach) and on the operationalization of both constructs. We conclude that future research may benefit from an even more explicit, analytic shift to the circumstances under which it pays for firms to go green. The main research limitations we point out are model misspecifications, endogeneity, and problems in the measurement of both CES and CFP.

Information dissemination on intellectual capital in mergers and acquisitions: purchase price allocations, press releases and business press

In order to reduce information asymmetries in relation to a firms current decisions and long-term strategy, firms must consistently provide information to stakeholders. This paper investigates intellectual capital (IC) information disclosed in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) provided through three different disclosure channels (voluntary press releases, related newspaper articles and subsequent mandatory corporate disclosures in the notes to the financial statements). For a sample of 215 randomly selected US and European M&As, we analyse 215 press releases, 1025 newspaper articles and 215 purchase price allocations. Our findings suggest that IC disclosure in press releases is not perceived as informative and qualitative forward-looking IC information in voluntary corporate disclosures appears to lack credibility. Moreover, we empirically demonstrate interdependencies across the three disclosure channels. The business press seems to filter IC information provided in press releases. The amount of IC disclosure in the notes to the financial statements is positively associated with prior IC disclosure in newspaper articles, but negatively associated with IC disclosure in press releases. The managements of acquirer firms appear to pay attention to news coverage and public opinion. However, both voluntary and mandatory corporate disclosures appear to substitute rather than complement each other.