Sustainable Development Goals

Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis

The Hidden Dimensions of Annual Reports: Sixty Years of Social Conflict at General Motors

Southeast Asia is the rising star of the global market, however, contrary to its impressive economic achievements, many countries in the region have suffered diverse social problems because of economic growth. Given that a key mechanism to hold businesses accountable is their disclosure practices, this study is looking to expand the understanding of the influences of institutional environment and corporate governance on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD) in six Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. A multi-theoretical framework, including institutional theory, agency theory, stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, was applied. For the purpose of this study, 2013 annual reports of 30 largest companies in the stock exchanges of the six countries were collected. The final sample consists of 171 companies.

Firstly, empirical findings of CSRD levels across the countries showed that Thailand has the highest level of disclosure, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and finally Vietnam. There were significant differences between the extent of CSRD of the two countries with highest disclosure (Thailand and Indonesia) and the lowest disclosure group (Philippines and Vietnam). The findings are interesting in a sense that the levels of CSRD do not reflect the stages of economic development, and therefore, the differences in CSRD levels could be attributable to the impact of other institutional factors.

Secondly, in relation to internal determinants and based on the existing literature and the context of Southeast Asia, six corporate governance practices were identified to examine the impact of corporate governance on CSRD. The results of OLS regression supported the negative impact of block ownership and the positive impact of board size as well as the presence of CSR committee on CSRD. Contrary to the theoretical and empirical expectations, board gender diversity was found to have significantly negative relationship with CSRD, and board independence had no impact on CSRD. These differences could be explained by the context of the study where the presentation of women on board is very low and independent directors might not be wholly independent.

Thirdly, in order to examine the impact of the institutional environment on CSRD in a comprehensive way, institutional theory, the Scott’s institutional framework (1995) and existing literature are used to identify relevant institutional factors that potentially influence CSRD. The effect of six institutional factors representing the three pillars, regulative (legal origin and mandatory disclosure), cultural-cognitive (uncertainty avoidance and masculinity cultural dimensions), and normative (the adoption of GRI standard and membership of CSR-related associations), were evaluated in this study. The empirical results indicate that mandatory disclosure, uncertainty avoidance dimension and the adoption of GRI standard have positive impact on CSRD, while the masculinity dimension has negative relationship with CSRD. The findings imply that institutional environment influences CSRD through all the three pillars with some institutional factors have greater impact than others.

The study, therefore, has contributed empirically to the existing literature by providing deeper insights into CSRD levels in Southeast Asia, identifying the effectiveness of corporate governance practices in emerging economies and the Asian context, particularly in relation to CSRD, including further examination of the role of diverse external determinants on CSRD. Theoretically, the study is one of a few that have attempted to quantify institutional environment into measurable institutional factors. These factors, hence, could be re-used in future research to advance understanding on the role of institutional environment in shaping a country’s CSRD practice.

Institutional Environment, Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: A Comparative Study of Southeast Asian Countries

The aim of this study is to assess current HRM practices in Bangladesh, as well as the future challenges the country faces. Based on secondary sources, we explain the institutional contexts of the ...

Human Resource Management Practices in Bangladesh: Current Scenario and Future Challenges:

Recruitment and selection is one the most important functions of human resource management (HRM). The present study aims at exploring differences and similarities between the public and private sector manufacturing firms of Bangladesh with respect to recruitment and selection practices, sources of recruitment, and selection devices. Data collected from twenty six public and thirty four private sector manufacturing firms show that the overall status of recruitment and selection practices of the private sector firms is significantly better than that of the public sector firms in Bangladesh. Some implications are also offered for the enhancement of the recruitment and selection practices of the public and private sector manufacturing firms of Bangladesh.

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Recruitment & Selection Practices in Manufacturing Firms in Bangladesh

This study aims at examining the nature and extent of voluntary human capital reporting in the annual reports of 27 banks out of 30 listed banks on Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. By using the content analysis framework of theme, form, amount and location; the study finds that all the banks report HC in their annual reports, where 'employee training and development' has been found to be the highest reported theme. This study, perhaps for the first time, has uncovered that five Bangladeshi banks offers dedicated sections for reporting HC in their annual reports. Moreover, this study unfolds that approximately 93% of the sample banks report HC quantitatively. The HC reporting themes highlighted in this study can be used as a model by the banks of Bangladesh and other emerging economies in augmenting their HC reporting in the annual reports.

Human capital reporting: evidences from the banking sector of Bangladesh

This paper aims at exploring the impact of Islamic human resource (HR) practices on organizational performance though organizational commitment. Data were collected from randomly selected 170 branch managers of six Islamic Banks listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange of Bangladesh. After collecting data, descriptive analysis and structural equation model were done to examine reliability and validity of the model. By analysis, the study finds that Islamic HR practices have more significant impact on organizational performance though organizational commitment rather than the direct effect of Islamic HR practices to organizational performance. The findings of the study advocate that Islamic banks should emphasize more on Islamic HR practices and organizational commitment to uphold their organizational performance.

http://ddms.usim.edu.my:80/jspui/bitstream/123456789/18108/1/Mediating%20Effect%20of%20Organizational%20Commitment%20Between%20Islamic%20Human%20Resource%20Practices%20and%20Organizational%20Performance%20Among%20Islamic%20Banks%20of%20Bangladesh.pdf

Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment Between Islamic Human Resource Practices and Organizational Performance Among Islamic Banks of Bangladesh

Anchored in stakeholder theory, the study aimed at examining the extent of voluntary human capital disclosures in annual reports of top 20 Bangladeshi and Indian listed companies. In addition to qu...

Mir Mohammed Nurul Absar

Papers

Recruitment & Selection Practices in Manufacturing Firms in Bangladesh

Human Resource Management Practices in Bangladesh: Current Scenario and Future Challenges:

Human capital reporting: evidences from the banking sector of Bangladesh

Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment Between Islamic Human Resource Practices and Organizational Performance Among Islamic Banks of Bangladesh

Stakeholders’ Views on Voluntary Human Capital Disclosures in Corporate Annual Reports of Top Bangladeshi and Indian Listed Companies: