CSR Reports Research Articles

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACCOUNTING BY FIRMS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF SAFARICOM KENYA

Purpose: This study was an assessment of the practice of corporate social responsibility accounting by firms in Kenya in the case of Safaricom Kenya.Methodology: A case study design was appropriate for this study. The population used in this study entailed all the 1850 employees of safaricom. Judgmental sampling was used to select the respondents i.e. 24 in number, 8 respondents from the finance department, 8 respondents from the public relations department, 4 respondents from the sales department and 4 committee members of the Safaricom foundation. Primary data was collected by the use of a questionnaire and was the main data used in the research. The data collected was analyzed by use of inferential statistics. In particular, frequency tables, averages and percentages were used. The data was then presented using tables, graphs and charts.Results: The study findings showed that to a large extent, environmental management of the production process and environmental policy were issues reported in the safaricom CSR report. In addition, climate protection and energy eco-efficiency were reported in the safaricom CSR reports to a low extent respectively. Furthermore, its practice of CSR was driven by a genuine concern for creating shareholders wealth (business case) as well as engagement and accountability. It was also observed that another motive for practicing CSR was PR based (striving to better than competitors). However, some of the challenges facing accounting for social responsibility (social accounting) were related to verifiability requirements, comparability requirements, training requirements, standardization requirements, and quantification requirements.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that Safaricom should maintain its trend for addressing corporate social responsibility issues and come up with measures that can be used to make social accounting in the firm to be less costly. The researcher recommended an investigative study to establish the level of usefulness of the CSR reports to various users. In addition, a correlation and a regression study explaining the relationship between CSR and firms financial performance would be in order.

Global financial crisis and corporate social responsibility disclosure

PurposeThis paper investigates the effect of the global financial crisis (GFC) on the level of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) in the annual report and/or CSR report of 36 major listed Portuguese companies in each of the years 2005, 2008 and 2011.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is framed principally by stakeholder theory. Data were explored using thematic content analysis and an index of disclosure calculated by year, industry type (consumer proximity versus environment sensitivity) and category of information.FindingsBefore the GFC, Portuguese listed companies increased their CSRD practices significantly. During the crisis, there was a slight decrease in CSRD. However, this was not as pronounced, as it would otherwise have been because it was counteracted by increased disclosures of company interactions with society, particularly in matters of corruption prevention and community engagement. CSRD was higher for companies with high consumer proximity but did not appear to be influenced by companies’ level of environmental sensitivity.Originality/valueThe results reveal a strong concern by companies for stakeholder management (particularly in respect of community relations) in a period of financial crisis. This study highlights the effect of a company’s proximity to consumers on levels of CSRD.

Effects on the (CSR) Reputation: CSR Reporting Discussed in the Light of Signalling and Stakeholder Perception Theories

The aim of this conceptual paper is to discuss the impact of CSR reporting on the CSR reputation in the light of signalling and stakeholder perception theories. The method used is a literature analysis on CSR and reputation, corporate signalling and signalling CSR. For a more complete picture, the review includes findings on CSR reporting and the perception and evaluation of CSR activities by stakeholders, first for stakeholders in general, but in greater detail for the two specific groups ‘consumers’ and ‘employees’. The paper’s main contribution is a conceptual framework for CSR reporting which explains how a CSR report is a CSR communication signal filtered by the signalling context and the stakeholders’ perception. This includes a discussion of how CSR reporting can modify the outcome for the CSR reputation favourably or unfavourably – which also leads to a modified context for CSR reporting. The paper’s originality lies in the analysis and discussion of both the impacts of signalling theory on CSR reporting and how the interpretation of the signal impacts the CSR reputation. The article thus contributes to the knowledge on CSR reporting and its impact on the formation of CSR reputation.

Relationship between Management Practices and Quality of CSR Reports

Corporate scandals and the decline of public trust in recent years have increased demands for greater corporate transparency. Therefore, the quality of information disclosed by companies in their reports, also in CSR reports, has gained greater importance. A process of developing a good report on social responsibility is influenced by many factors, both external and internal. In this paper the authors are looking for the relationship between management practices and the quality of CSR reports in six EU countries. The results show that there is a correlation between the independent verification of CSR report and two indicators of management practices.

Quality Assessment of CSR Reports – Factor Analysis

The paper focuses on the problems of using confirmative factor analysis to variables of quality of CSR reports variables. The research was conducted in 2012 on the base of 507 organizations from six countries (Denmark, France, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, The Netherlands). On the basis of factor analysis we identified two hidden factors: main and additional information of the CSR report.

Determinants of CSR Standardization vs. Localization: Empirical Evidence from Korean MNEs in China

The globalization and standardization of CSR actively took place after the implementation of ISO 26000 in November 2010. Ever since, Korean firms have increasingly issued CSR reports conforming to the Global Reporting Initiative, as there is an increasing urge to join the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). While previous studies about corporate social responsibility have been focused mainly on its financial benefits and determinants, firms have faced CSR standardization, one of the most effective strategies for MNEs, a topic that has not been covered adequately in existing studies. To address this research gap, this study investigates institutional theory and the resource-based view suggesting a relationship between MNEs’ resources and standardization of CSR. Using several FDI datasets of Korean MNEs from 2011 to 2012 in China, we conducted regression analysis. The findings of this study indicate that R&D capabilities, dispatch of expatriates, size of parent firm and subsidiary influenced standardization of CSR. The results also suggest that headquarter officies and subsidiaries take on different roles in CSR standardization.

CSR Reporting Practices in Indonesia: A Case Study of Companies Listed on the Sri-Kehati Index

CSRR has become a widespread practice amongst companies to discharge their public accountability about CSR practices. In order to perfectly perform public accountability, a high-quality CSRR practices involving comprehensive disclosure of ‘vision and goals’, ‘management approach’, and ‘performance indicators’ on each of the CSR items is required. CSRR regulations, both voluntary and mandatory, have therefore emerged in order to assist companies in discharging their public accountability.CSRR is expected to be of higher quality for companies listed on SRI indices as these companies are believed to have a high ethical commitment in doing business. However, few studies have examined the quality of CSRR disclosure by SRI index participants. Moreover, these studies have been largely conducted within the context of developed countries and fail to consider the impact of CSRR regulations on CSRR quality. This research thus attempts to address these gaps by examining the influence of regulations on CSRR quality for companies listed on the Indonesian SRI-Kehati index.This study adopts a case study design involving two mining companies on the SRI-Kehati index. Employing a documentary analysis and content analysis methodology, it is demonstrated that the CSRR quality of these companies increased following the development of mandatory and voluntary CSRR regulations in Indonesia. The findings also indicate that similar companies have an identical quality and practice of CSRR.

Voluntary Assurance of Voluntary CSR Disclosure

We study a firm's decisions to engage in socially responsible activities, voluntarily report on them, and purchase external assurance of the report. In our signaling model, neither firm type nor the level of activity is observed. We show that if voluntary assurance is not too expensive, the firm that engages in more socially responsible activities purchases external assurance and thus “selects” a separating equilibrium. As a result, CSR reports can be used to infer the level of activity and this causes all firms to engage in more socially responsible activity. Further, when voluntary assurance is required to support a separating equilibrium, greater monitoring by social activists increases the chosen quality of voluntary assurance—voluntary assurance and monitoring by social activists are complements, not substitutes.

The Effects of CSR Reporting Frameworks and Financial Conditions on Managerss Willingness to Invest in CSR

This study contributes to the literature through its focus on how CSR disclosure impacts on the decision making of internal users of this information. Specifically, we investigated the impacts of CSR reporting frameworks and companies’ financial conditions on managers’ willingness to invest in a CSR project. Our findings supported our hypothesis that managers are significantly more willing to invest in a CSR project when their companies can disclose their CSR activities using a standalone CSR reporting framework. We also found that an integrated reporting framework did not incrementally affect managers’ willingness to invest in a CSR project relative to the financial statement disclosure framework. Moreover, we found that companies' financial conditions did not affect the likelihood of managers investing in a CSR project. Our findings extend legitimacy theory by suggesting that the means of legitimation, via standalone reporting frameworks, have varying impacts on managers’ behavior.

CSR Reporting of Companies on a Global Scale

Abstract Nowadays, companies are facing increased demands for information about their CSR performance. Therefore, CSR reporting is becoming an important CSR activity. The principal purpose of this paper is the identification of appropriate content of CSR report following the analysis and subsequent comparison of available CSR reports. The main finding is that in Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, the percentage of companies with CSR reports is almost equal. Also, there is no unified template for CSR reports. As a result, an appropriate content of CSR report is to be described. Recommendations are directed towards socially responsible companies.

Societal Impact of CSR Initiatives of Companies in Kerala

The study adopts qualitative approach to find out the CSR spending pattern by the companies in Kerala and the main initiatives adopted by the companies in Kerala and the impact these initiatives have on the society and environment with reference to the archival documents collected from multiple sources including the annual and CSR reports from these companies, reports prepared by the researchers and professional firms. It was found that even though the number of companies for which the CSR rule is applicable is less in Kerala, the impact of CSR initiatives executed by these companies are enormous on the society. It helped to improve the quality of life by supporting hospitals, schools, efficient water and energy management, construction of roads and buildings, pollution control, sophisticated methods for waste management, new technologies and quality seeds for farming, sustainable practices in the operations and processing activities.

Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in Ukraine

The article deals with the practices of CSR of leading in terms of sustainable development Ukrainian-based companies. The development of CSR in Ukraine is rather pushed by business than by society. Responsible initiatives are adopted by the subsidiaries of multinational corporations and by enterprises forming a company town; companies planning to go public publish CSR reports, whereas it’s a standard requirement. The participation of Ukrainian-based companies in sustainability initiatives (UN Global Compact), ratings (Gvardiya) and competitions (the center’s “The Development of CSR” business-cases competition) as well as the state of non-financial reporting of Ukrainian-based companies are analyzed. Thus according to the results of 2013 competition of the best non-financial reports con-ducted by the center “The Development of CSR” such companies as DTEK (GRI), SCM (GRI), Platinum Bank (GRI), Galnaftogaz (GRI) Interpipe (COP) were the winners. The responsible practices of Metinvest’s enterprises and the approaches to sustainable development of the subsidiaries of leading multinational corporations in Ukraine (Nestle, Sun InBev, L’Oreal, Tetra Pak, Henkel) are presented. The authors come to the conclusion that companies’ approaches to CSR in Ukraine are mostly fragmentary and unsystematic and the demand for responsible initiatives in the Ukrainian society is relatively low. In this regard the increase of the population’s level of culture and awareness in social aspects of living may become an integral part and motivator of the transformation of Ukrainian-based company’s unsystematic responsible initiatives into the part of their business-strategy.

Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from Turkish Banking Sector

Traditionally, the primary objective of financial management is known as the maximization of shareholder wealth. Companies are also responsible for the interests of stakeholders and society at large. The concept which describes this new approach is called as “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR). It is an interdisciplinary and multidimensional concept. Companies disclose their CSR activities through annual reports or a special CSR report. Measurement of social performance is a subjective and judgmental issue, and one of the methods for this purpose is to score companies based on their CSR disclosures. The level and quality of CSR disclosures depend on several factors. We search for the relationship between CSR disclosure scores and corporate governance related bank characteristics by considering five dimensions of CSR. We find out that stock exchange listing, ownership and bank type influence the CSR disclosure of banks.

Human Capital Reporting and its Linkage with Key Performance Indicators of Companies: Evidence from Estonian Companies Listed on Nasdax OMX Baltic

Today the subject of non-financial accounting and reporting has become very popular. Human Capital Reporting (HCR) has become a vital part of everyday business activities of companies across the world. Most companies declare that human capital is the most important factor of their competiveness, which is also reflected in their CSR reports by incorporated social disclosures. The subject of the present research is human capital reporting and its linkage with the performance indicators of companies. The aim of this research is to establish whether there is a linkage between HCR and financial performance indicators of Estonian companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Baltic (Tallinn market). The authors calculated various ratios and carried out HCR scoring to examine the presence of linkage between HCR reporting and companies' financial performance. The results demonstrate that there is no direct relationship between the level of HCR and the financial performance of selected companies.

Sustainable Development, Stakeholder Engagement and Analyst Forecasts’ Accuracy: Positive Evidence from the Spanish Setting

AbstractThis study looks into the effects of voluntary sustainability reporting in analysts’ earnings forecasts as a driver for sustainable development. The methodology used is based on a regression model to test whether the issuance of a CSR stand‐alone report affects analysts’ forecast errors and forecast dispersion. Forecast error refers to the difference between the forecasted earnings per share (EPS) and the actual EPS. Dispersion refers to the standard deviation in EPS forecasts between analysts following the same firm. Our study in the Spanish context includes 527 observations from listed firms and covers the period 2005–2010. We provide evidence that there is a negative statistically significant association between the absolute forecast earnings error and the publication of a sustainability report. However, we find that the CSR reports have lost power in reducing the earnings forecast error if we compare analysts' activity before the financial crisis and during the crisis itself, so we open up a question for future research to check whether this is a consistent trend or whether in times of economic recovery this phenomenon regains power. The main conclusion of this paper points to the importance of sustainable development and stakeholder engagement through the issuance of CSR reports, which can help the smooth running of capital markets in a context of increasing sensitiveness to social responsible investment. Our study in this field is pioneering in the Spanish setting, which is especially interesting given the growing trend to publish CSR reports in this country. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Information

According to the analysis of literature of accounting, the companies use CSR reports in order to identify and to validate their socially responsible activities, to fulfil their responsibility to stakeholders, to manage public impressions and to improve their image and reputation. To achieve these objectives, companies must disclose quality information, which includes important features of the report such as relevance, reliability, comparability. The purpose is to analyze the concept of quality of social information and to examine the quality of the information given by the socially responsible corporates. Particularly, this article systematizes the research, which examines the quality of social information. Following, there is a content analysis and quality index of social information of socially responsible companies in Lithuania. Study has showed that the quality index of joint stock companies is higher, which belong to those sectors which have a significant impact on the environment, i.e., manufacturing, energy and telecommunications.

Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Competitive Abilities of Corporations

Influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive abilities of corporations is analyzed in the article. While assessing the role of CSR in the processes of competitive advantages formation on the academic ground, the following traditional models of the competitive abilities analysis can be used: the model of five forces, the model of resource based approach and the model of network approach. Every model of the company’s competitive ability analysis has its advantages and disadvantages. Each of them can be useful in researching the connection between competitive advantages and CSR because they emphasize different aspects of the origins and the importance of advantages. The summarized scheme of the formation of competitive advantages, connected with CSR, is presented in the article. Meeting requirements of consumers is considered to be the centre-line of business oriented towards the market. The complex of marketing established for this purpose has to be founded on the principles of social responsibility. Meeting the requirements of consumers the interests of other groups and members of the society must be considered, so it is necessary to find out about these interests during the interactions with stakeholders. The tension between business and society is obviously unprofitable for both sides, thus its prevention and elimination are very important strategically. Only the companies, which aim to save all universally accepted ethical standards of social behaviour, can expect a positive attitude and support in the modern society. Moreover, helping to solve burning social and ecological problems they get competitive advantages and ensure their successful work in future. The company’s attitude towards CSR is reflected in its mission, vision, value-system and the whole culture of the organization. At the present stage of social development consumers are getting greater power to influence business organizations. As the modern informative technologies are broadening and the number of their users is increasing, the population has got greater possibilities to compare products and services, to choose them as well as sellers and ways of selling. Consumers are mostly intolerant of the goods or companies, which are indifferent to social and ecological problems. On the contrary, the companies, which worry about them, are supported by consumers. Getting CSR advantages enterprisers tend to consolidate, support, strengthen, defend, renovate and change them. For this purpose a new system of communication with objective markets is created or modified. The traditional complex of support is not effective although it is supplemented with unconventional instruments in order to form a set of CSR competitive advantages. Openly announced CSR reports have become the main instrumentality of communication in the field of social responsibility for recent decades. Rapidly developing processes of globalization throw new challenges for CSR competitive advantages creation. Business interaction with stakeholders has been becoming more complicated and requires from companies new knowledge, different skills and additional recourses.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: Differences among Selected EU Countries

Abstract Background: Greater transparency has become a relevant topic for companies around the world. Information and communication technologies revolution (ICT revolution) has forced companies to become more transparent. With the intention of increasing companies’ transparency, the European Union (hereinafter: the EU) has presented a new Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU which makes Corporate Social Reporting (hereinafter: CSR reporting) mandatory for certain companies. Objectives: EU Directives should be the same for all Member States; however, some authors have concluded that CSR reporting is different in companies of different sizes, industries or from different countries. The main objective of this paper is to research into differences of CSR reporting among selected EU countries. Methods/Approach: The Global Reporting Initiative (hereinafter: GRI) has shaped a reporting framework for CSR reporting. In this research the GRI will be used for comparison of CSR reports of different countries. Results: Results of this research revealed that the difference in CSR reporting is statistically significant among selected EU countries. Conclusions: As CSR reporting in the EU will become mandatory for certain companies, it will be a challenge for Member States to harmonize their national legislation to a degree which will increase companies’ transparency and at the same time protect local resources and interests of stakeholders.

Corporate social responsibility practices and performance improvement among Chinese national state-owned enterprises

Based on the stakeholder theory, this study develops “7+2” dimensions for CSR practices measurement among Chinese national state-owned enterprises (CNSOEs), and examines if their CSR practices bring financial and social performance improvements. By analyzing the 2011 CSR reports that cover 100 CNSOEs, we identify that these CNSOEs highlight CSR practices related to the environment, labor practices, political responsibility, and human rights in their reports. However, three CSR practices related to managing the supply chains, fair operating practices and community development need more of their attention. We evaluate the social performance of CNSOEs by using the two performance ranking systems developed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Regression results obtained through Structural Equation Model (SEM) using the partial least square (PLS) method indicate that CSR practices pertinent to organizational governance, human rights, and the environment are beneficial for their social performance. With secondary data inputs from the annual operating performance evaluation conducted by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration, we identify that four CSR practices can bring financial performance, but two of the four concerning communities and managing the supply chains are implemented at the lowest level among the others. Our “7+2” CSR practices dimensions together with their underlying measurement items extend the use of stakeholder theory for studying CSR practices, which can also serve as a checklist for evaluating how well CSR practices are implemented at CNSOEs. Our study results identify the need for CNSOEs to highlight community-related CSR practices in their operations and expand CSR efforts to the management of their supply chains.

Assessing the Communication Quality of CSR Reports. A Case Study on Four Spanish Food Companies

Sustainability reports are tools for disseminating information to stakeholders and the public, serving the organizations in the dual purpose of communicating CSR and being accountable. The production of these reports has recently become more prevalent in the food industry, despite the fact this practice has received heavy criticism on two fronts: The quality of the tool for communication, and the extent of accountability. In addition to these criticisms, organizations must overcome the additional challenge of publishing sustainability reports that successfully meet the demands of a multi-stakeholder audience. In light of the importance of this practice, this paper presents a method to assess the communication and accountability characteristics of Spanish food companies’ sustainability reports. This method is based on the method Analytic Network Process (ANP) and adopts a multi-stakeholder approach. This research, therefore, provides a reference model for improving sustainability reports, with the aim of successfully meeting their communication objectives and the demands of all stakeholders.