In this book, Andrew Harvey sets out to provide a unified and comprehensive theory of structural time series models. Unlike the traditional ARIMA models, structural time series models consist explicitly of unobserved components, such as trends and seasonals, which have a direct interpretation. As a result the model selection methodology associated with structural models is much closer to econometric methodology. The link with econometrics is made even closer by the natural way in which the models can be extended to include explanatory variables and to cope with multivariate time series. From the technical point of view, state space models and the Kalman filter play a key role in the statistical treatment of structural time series models. The book includes a detailed treatment of the Kalman filter. This technique was originally developed in control engineering, but is becoming increasingly important in fields such as economics and operations research. This book is concerned primarily with modelling economic and social time series, and with addressing the special problems which the treatment of such series poses. The properties of the models and the methodological techniques used to select them are illustrated with various applications. These range from the modellling of trends and cycles in US macroeconomic time series to to an evaluation of the effects of seat belt legislation in the UK.

Forecasting, Structural Time Series Models and the Kalman Filter

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

The aim of this paper is to analyze whether a number of firm and industry characteristics, as well as media exposure, are potential determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices by Spanish listed firms. Empirical studies have shown that CSR disclosure activism varies across companies, industries, and time (Gray et al., Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
 8(2), 47–77, 1995; Journal of Business Finance & Accounting
 28(3/4), 327–356, 2001; Hackston and Milne, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
 9(1), 77–108, 1996; Cormier and Magnan, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting
 1(2), 171–195, 2003; Cormier et al., European Accounting Review
 14(1), 3–39, 2005), which is usually justified by reference to several theoretical constructs, such as the legitimacy, stakeholder, and agency theories. Our findings evidence that firms with higher CSR ratings present a statistically significant larger size and a higher media exposure, and belong to more environmentally sensitive industries, as compared to firms with lower CSR ratings. However, neither profitability nor leverage seem to explain differences in CSR disclosure practices between Spanish listed firms. The most influential variable for explaining firms’ variation in CSR ratings is media exposure, followed by size and industry. Therefore, it seems that the legitimacy theory, as captured by those variables related to public or social visibility, is the most relevant theory for explaining CSR disclosure practices of Spanish listed firms.

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Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms

The emergence of sustainable development as the complex notion through which social and environmental issues must be addressed – whether at policy, personal or organisational levels – has had a growing influence in the accounting literature. In addition to explorations of what sustainability may mean for accounting and finance, we have experienced a growth in both critiques of sustainability reporting (sic) and in experiments and speculations on how accounting for sustainability might advance. This growth – as with social and environmental accounting before it – has very properly attracted critique. One convergent theme in that critique has been a challenge that much of the realist and procedural baggage associated with conventional accounting is no longer apposite when seeking to account for sustainability. What may be required, is a more nuanced understanding of what ‘sustainability’ actually is and how, if at all, it can have any empirical meaning at the level of the organisation. This essay seeks to initiate an auto-critique of accounting for sustainability via an examination of meanings and contradictions in sustainable development which, in turn, leads towards a suggestion for the development of multiple and conditional narratives that whilst no longer realist or totalising, explicitly challenge the hegemonic claims of business movements in the arena of sustainability and sustainable development.

Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability…and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet

Since the end of the 1990s, sustainability reporting has become an increasingly relevant topic in business and academia. However, literature is still limited in quantity and no major reviews of the latest developments have thus far been presented. This paper provides a review of 178 articles dating from 1999 to 2011 from journals related to business, management, and accounting. Our aim is to identify what determinants of sustainability reporting are examined in the literature and to identify (in)consistencies, gaps, and opportunities for future research. We specifically illuminate factors influencing the adoption, the extent, and the quality of reporting. Based on our findings we provide an otherwise often missing link to theory (especially legitimacy, stakeholder, signaling, and institutional theory). Finally, possible future research themes are discussed by illuminating gaps and underexposed themes in the area of regulation and governance as well as reporting quality and stakeholder perception.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2330264_code1468472.pdf?abstractid=2290524&mirid=4

Determinants of Sustainability Reporting: A Review of Results, Trends, Theory, and Opportunities in an Expanding Field of Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the proposition that corporate social responsibility reporting could be viewed as both an outcome of, and part of reputation risk management processes.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws heavily on management research. In addition, an image restoration framework is introduced.Findings – The concept of reputation risk management could assist in the understanding of corporate social responsibility reporting practice.Originality/value – This paper explores the link between reputation risk management and existing theorising in social accounting.

Corporate social reporting and reputation risk management

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/19.pdf

GRI and the camouflaging of corporate unsustainability

Mandatory environmental reporting has been seen as a way of increasing accountability of organizations, regarding environmental issues. This paper is concerned with one standard, which requires all the Spanish companies to include environmental disclosures in their financial statements. From the survey of the rationale of the disclosure requirements we suggest that more sound environmental initiatives are obscured by an end-of-pipe emphasis. Additionally, from the research of the reporting activity of a sample of companies a low compliance level results, with roughly 80% of companies not providing any environmental information. In addition, those companies who are reporting some environmental information neglect those aspects of the regulation that are not in their interests to report. The interpretation of these findings, using the theoretical distinction between administrative and institutional reforms, leads us to conclude that the Spanish standard on environmental disclosure is insufficient to enable ...

Accountability and accounting regulation: the case of the Spanish environmental disclosure standard

The objective of this paper is to analyse the environmental reporting practices found in the annual reports published by companies operating in Spain, as well as to determine the evolution of these practices during the period 1992–4, on the basis of stakeholder theory. In order to carry out this analysis, we have examined the annual reports of seventy large companies operating in industries considered to be sensitive for the environment. The reporting practices have been grouped into a number of categories, as follows: type of environmental reporting provided; sections of the annual report devoted to environmental reporting; corporate environmental policies and projects; natural environment protection activities and achievements; and disclosure of environmental data in the annual accounts. Finally, we have considered whether the fact that a company is quoted on the stock market, or that a parent company is foreign-based, or that it belongs to a regulated sector, are differentiating factors with respect to...

Environmental disclosures in the annual reports of large companies in Spain

Purpose – To determine whether the strategic commitment of the company to its stakeholders is positively related to its social and financial performance.Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses the mission statements and the sustainability reports, of a sample of 52 Spanish listed firms (70 per cent Madrid stock index capitalization). The vision, mission and values of the company will define its strategic stakeholder or shareholder orientation. In the process of evaluation of the social performance of the firm it is built a scale (strategic consistency index (SCI)) which considers the quality of the sustainability reporting using the GRI Guidelines. Some traditional financial and economic indicators are used to analyse the company's financial performance.Findings – Results show a not very high level of the stakeholder approach in Spanish companies, a high level of publication and quality of sustainability reports and, finally, a positive and not significant relationship between these variables an...

José M. Moneva

Papers

Corporate social reporting and reputation risk management

GRI and the camouflaging of corporate unsustainability

Accountability and accounting regulation: the case of the Spanish environmental disclosure standard

Environmental disclosures in the annual reports of large companies in Spain

The corporate stakeholder commitment and social and financial performance