In this study, we examine three potential explanations for the corporate choice to disclose environmental capital spending amounts. We investigate, first, whether the disclosure appears to be a function of the materiality of the spending and we find that, for the overwhelming majority of observations, the disclosed amounts are not quantitatively material. This suggests that non-disclosure is likely due to immateriality. We next attempt to differentiate the choice to disclose across voluntary disclosure theory and legitimacy theory arguments. Our findings show that disclosing firms do not exhibit improved subsequent environmental performance relative to non-disclosing companies. Further, controlling for firm size and industry class, we find the choice to disclose is associated with worse environmental performance. Overall, our results suggest that companies use the disclosure of environmental capital spending as a strategic tool to address their exposures to political and regulatory concerns.

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00459410/document

Corporate disclosure of environmental capital expenditures: a test of alternative theories

Corruption in international business: A review and research agenda

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the contributions made to the social and environmental accounting literature by papers that comprised a 2002 Special Issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ) entitled social and environmental reporting and its role in maintaining or creating organisational legitimacy. This paper will also provide insights into the origins of legitimacy theory as used in the social and environmental accounting literature as well as providing reflections about the strengths, and shortcomings, of the theory. Suggestions are made with respect to the ongoing application, and development, of legitimacy theory.,As a commentary, this paper utilises a review of the social and environmental accounting and institutional literature across a number of decades to reveal insights about the development and use of legitimacy theory as a basis to explain social and environmental reporting practices. Citation data are also used to indicate the potential impact that the papers in the 2002 Special Issue had upon subsequent research.,This commentary shows that the 2002 Special Issue is the most highly cited issue in the history of AAAJ. It also shows that individually, some of the papers in the Special Issue represent some of the most highly cited papers in the social and environmental accounting literature. The commentary provides arguments to suggest that the development of legitimacy theory is in need of further refinement, and suggests a way in which this refinement might take place.,This paper is largely based on the opinions of one researcher, and the evidence presented in the paper is selected on the basis that it is deemed sufficient to support the opinions being projected. The paper also relies on citation data as an indicator of “impact”. The implication of the research is that it identifies a “way forward” for the development of theory applicable to the understanding of organisational social and environmental reporting practices.,The study provides evidence to show that the 2002 Special Issue was significant within the context of AAAJ, and also within the context of the evolution of the social and environmental accounting literature. The description of the history of the development of legitimacy theory, and of the theory’s subsequent application, provides a solid impetus for future refinements to the theory.

Legitimacy theory: Despite its enduring popularity and contribution, time is right for a necessary makeover

Developing country firms and the challenge of corruption: Do company commitments mirror the quality of national-level institutions?

Professional expert directors extensively influence corporate corruption disclosure (CCD), while higher political connections may exacerbate corporate management. This study investigates the relationship between the presence of external experts on a board and CCD, as well as the moderating effect of political connections, on the positive role of legal experts in CCD. The study combines agency, resource dependence and stakeholder theories to show how resourceful directors on the board can promote corruption disclosure. Using data on listed firms in the Bangladeshi financial sector, the study analyzes 247 firm-year observations from 2012 to 2016. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicate that accounting experts, legal experts, political connections and corporate media visibility each have a positive and significant influence on CCD. Moreover, the moderating effect of political connections on the relationship between legal experts and CCD is negative and significant due to their higher political influences. The study has significant implications for corporate governance and for policies concerning the development of the economy while reducing corruption.

Board Directors’ Expertise and Corporate Corruption Disclosure: The Moderating Role of Political Connections

In the current study, we examine the changes in disclosure practices on compliance and the fight against corruption at Siemens AG, a large German multinational corporation, over the period 2000–2011 during which a major corruption scandal was revealed. More specifically, we conduct a content analysis of the company’s annual reports and sustainability reports during that period to investigate the changes of Siemens’ corruption and compliance disclosure using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Through the lens of legitimacy theory, stakeholder analysis, and organizational facades, we find evidence that Siemens changed its compliance and corruption disclosure practices to repair its legitimacy in the wake of the 2006 corruption scandal. We analyze these strategies more closely by using the rational, progressive, and reputation facades framework (Abrahamson and Baumard in The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Decision Making, pp 437–452, 2008). Our primary findings suggest that the annual reports show peaks of disclosure amounts on corruption and compliance disclosures earlier than sustainability reports, which can be partly explained by analyzing the disclosures made about—and to—the different stakeholder groups. We find that the annual report focuses more on internal stakeholders such as employees, while the sustainability report focuses more on external stakeholders such as suppliers. We also find that the company uses the facades differently depending on which report is being analyzed.

Disclosure Responses to a Corruption Scandal: The Case of Siemens AG

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether differences in media exposure regarding corporate corruption appear to influence companies’ anti-corruption disclosures. The authors also examine whether the level of press freedom in firms’ home countries affects disclosure and the impact of media exposure in different ways.,The authors use Transparency International’s 2012 ratings of anti-corruption disclosure by the 105 largest multinational firms in the world, press freedom assessments from the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders, and media exposure measures based on a search using the Dow Jones Factiva database. The authors assess relations using regression analysis controlling for other firm-specific factors potentially impacting disclosure choices. Finally, the authors consider the potential effect of other country-level factors.,The results indicate that media exposure, using either an existence or an extensiveness measure, is positively related to differences in sample companies’ anti-corruption disclosures. The authors also find that disclosure is more (less) extensive where home country press freedom is less (more) restricted and that reduced press freedom appears to reduce the impact of media exposure on the disclosure. The authors further document that press freedom levels explain more difference in anti-corruption disclosures than other country-level factors potentially influencing the practice.,Because the investigation is limited to very large international firms for a single year, the degree to which the findings apply to other companies and time periods cannot be assessed. Further, the authors cannot determine how the findings would hold using an alternative disclosure rating scheme. Finally, the authors do not assess whether differences in the source of media exposure impact the findings.,The findings suggest that, to the extent that improved anti-corruption disclosure reflects greater corporate attention to corruption issues, the media may be a powerful player in addressing this social ill. Unfortunately, the results also indicate that media efforts may not be sufficient to bring about change in locations where the freedom of the press is limited. Further, the results suggest that disclosure appears to be a function of exposure to social and political exposures, and the authors therefore question whether it will actually lead to improved corruption performance.,The study is the first to consider the impacts of media exposure and press freedom on corporate social disclosures.

/pdf/corporate-anti-corruption-disclosure-an-examination-of-the-5824xg2hp9.pdf

Corporate anti-corruption disclosure: An examination of the impact of media exposure and country-level press freedom

This paper analyses the relation between countries’ cultural characteristics and anti‐corruption disclosure. In particular, it extends prior research and examines whether country‐level secrecy also appears to impact differences in this type of disclosure, while controlling for factors previously shown to matter. Using Transparency International ratings of disclosures on anti‐corruption efforts by large multinational firms and an ordinal regression analysis, the paper documents that companies from more ‘secretive’ countries have significantly lower levels of anti‐corruption disclosure.

Cultural Secrecy and Anti‐corruption Disclosure in Large Multinational Companies

In this paper, we examine the investor response to the issuance of Transparency International's (TI) 2012 and 2014 Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing the World's Largest Companies reports. Building on prior studies of political cost-inducing events in the environmental domain, we anticipate a negative market reaction, although we argue that the adjustment will be less severe for firms rated as having better anti-corruption disclosure. Focusing on a sample of U.S. companies to control for country-level effects and to allow for comparison with the prior environmental-themed studies, we document a significantly negative market reaction to the first TI report issuance. Although also negative, the market reaction to the 2014 report was not statistically significant. However, we also document that, as expected, market adjustments differ significantly across subgroups based on anti-corruption disclosure in both time periods. These results hold controlling for other factors potentially influ...

Market Reactions to Transparency International Reports on Corporate Anti- Corruption

Collaborative robots are being increasingly used by manufacturing companies due to their potential to help companies cope with market volatility. Before introducing this technology, companies face the decision phase where they determine the investment feasibility. Decision models for cobot adoption can assist decision-makers in this task, but they require previous identification of decision criteria. Since existing literature overlooked this issue, this study aims to provide a list of decision criteria that can be considered in the cobot adoption decision process. These criteria were identified by a literature review of the benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of cobot adoption. Results show that flexibility, competitiveness, ergonomics, quality, safety, space, mobility, ease of programming, technical features, human-robot collaboration, and productivity are important aspects to consider when deciding whether to invest in cobots. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of the decision process for cobot adoption by listing decision criteria along with some indicators, which is an important input for the design of a decision-making process.

Renata Blanc

Papers

Disclosure Responses to a Corruption Scandal: The Case of Siemens AG

Corporate anti-corruption disclosure: An examination of the impact of media exposure and country-level press freedom

Cultural Secrecy and Anti‐corruption Disclosure in Large Multinational Companies

Market Reactions to Transparency International Reports on Corporate Anti- Corruption

Criteria to consider in a decision model for collaborative robot (cobot) adoption: A literature review