Toomas Haldma

Status Quo and Future Development of Sustainability Reporting in Central and Eastern Europe

Reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has broadened widely within the last decade. A great deal of research on sustainability reporting (SR) has focused on American and Western Europe companies. Only fragmentary studies exist that compare reporting patterns of CEE countries. There is substantial room for investigating how and to what extend companies in CEE disclose sustainability information.This study examined the reporting behaviour of the 50 largest companies in nine CEE countries and two WE countries in order to investigate the practice and divergence of sustainability reporting in CEE countries.

Sustainability Reporting in Estonia: Patterns of Sustainability Information Disclosure in Estonian Companies

The aim of the current chapter is to examine the patterns of sustainability information disclosure of the companies in the smallest CEE country, namely, Estonia. More precisely, we intend to highlight the possible country-specific features or similarities of disclosure practices of Estonian companies in comparison with the CEE region. Empirical data of the common research project were used in order to determine the nature of sustainability reporting and the content of sustainability information in Estonian companies. After the introduction, the main findings of the empirical analyses are described. Firstly, the annual reports and sustainability reports of Estonian companies are analysed, concentrating on the reporting forms and the focus of the key performance indicators (KPIs). Secondly, the overview of sustainability aspects and its management based on the companies’ survey data are studied. The current study examines the practice of sustainability information disclosure in the context of a small open economy on the example of Estonian companies. The main patterns of sustainability information disclosure are summarised in the concluding subchapter.

Sustainability Reporting in Central and Eastern European Companies: Results of an International and Empirical Study

Reporting on corporate social, environmental and economic responsibility has broadened widely within the last decade. The European Union is the most active region in the world in terms of sustainability reporting, largely on a voluntary basis. Most of the empirical research related to sustainability reporting in Europe has been conducted in Western European countries. In Central and Eastern Europe, only a small number of studies have focused on sustainability reporting. Little, however, is known whether how and why companies in CEE report about their corporate sustainable activities. The aim of the research project is to describe the status quo of SR in CEE, to explain some noteworthy differences between the two subsamples CEE and WE and to predict the future development of SR in the CEE region. To address this research issue, we have established a research consortium with researchers from ten Central and Eastern European Countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Two Western European countries, Germany and Austria, have been added to the sample to enable a regional comparison.

The Balanced Scorecard as a Performance Management Tool for Museums

This chapter examines the impact of the design and implementation of the BSC concept on the development of performance measurement and management of museums. The main focus relies on the BSC design and the elements of implementation that enable the communication of strategy between the management of an organisation and its different departments. These issues are discussed based on the experiences of a central museum in Estonia.

Performance Information Disclosure at the Estonian Universities

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the performance information disclosure, its objectives and used performance measures at Estonian public universities. The present study focuses, using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle model on the linkages between disclosed performance information in various stages of performance management cycle. This study uses predominantly document analysis, describing and analysing the performance information in strategic plans, budget strategies and annual reports on a six public Estonian universities. Additionally, a number of interviews have been conducted to explore some qualitative aspects of performance measurement issues at Estonian universities. Paper also focuses on financial and non-financial indicators presenting performance of three main areas of university operations teaching, research and service to the society activities. The findings reveal that the financial and non-financial performance indicators are weakly linked within the performance measurement of the main areas of university operations. Considering the influential factors affecting the improvements of performance measurement, legal regulatory requirements continue to have a substantial impact in Estonian universities.