计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy

Framework Convention on Climate Change

This study compares the Internet (corporate web pages) and annual reports as media of social responsibility disclosure (SRD) and analyses what influences disclosure. It examines SRD on the Internet by Portuguese listed companies in 2004 and compares the Internet and 2003 annual reports as disclosure media. The results are interpreted through the lens of a multi-theoretical framework. According to the framework adopted, companies disclose social responsibility information to present a socially responsible image so that they can legitimise their behaviours to their stakeholder groups and influence the external perception of reputation. Results suggest that a theoretical framework combining legitimacy theory and a resource-based perspective provides an explanatory basis for SRD by Portuguese listed companies.

Factors Influencing Social Responsibility Disclosure by Portuguese Companies

The study empirically investigates the relationship between corporate governance and the triple bottom line sustainability performance through the lens of agency theory and stakeholder theory. We claim, in fact, that no single theory fully accounts for all the hypothesised relationships. We measure sustainability performance through manual content analysis on sustainability reports of the US-based companies. The study extends the existing literature by investigating the impact of selected corporate governance mechanisms on each dimension of sustainability performance, as defined by the GRI framework. Our approach allows to identify which governance mechanisms foster triple bottom line performance, also revealing that some mechanisms fit only specific dimension(s) of sustainability. The fact-based findings provide support for a new beginning in the theorising process in which the theories must try not only to provide rationale for the impact of corporate governance on sustainability, but also to explain which dimension of sustainability might be more affected. The most important implication for practitioners is the support for sustainability practices, which may be gained through implementation of particular corporate governance mechanisms. The findings contribute also to the improvement of the ongoing standard setting process, in particular as it concerns the in-depth revision of the economic dimension of sustainability carried out under the new GRI framework.

Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance

This study examines the nature and extent of sustainability reporting practices in the various reporting media used by companies listed on the ASX (annual reports, discrete reports and websites). The sustainability reporting practices of the sample are compared with key indicators outlined in the GRI framework. The annual report is found to be the least valuable source of information on corporate sustainability in terms of the number of indicators observed and the diversity of the information provided. The discrete reports and websites provide greater levels of information on sustainability; however the overall levels of disclosure are generally low.

A Survey of Sustainability Reporting Practices of Australian Reporting Entities

There is a growing body of literature on ethical or socially responsible investment across a range of disciplines. This paper highlights the key themes in the field and identifies some of the major theoretical and practical challenges facing both scholars and practitioners. One of these challenges is understanding better the complexity of the relationship between such investment practices and corporate behaviour. Noting that ethical investment is seldom characterised by agreement about what it actully constitutes, and that much of the extant research focuses on a narrow set of issues, the paper argues that there are benefits associated with examining ethical investment as a process.

Ethical Investment Processes and Outcomes

Corporate social disclosures (CSD) are primarily voluntary in nature and subsequently provide an area for research into motivational aspects of disclosures. The main focus of prior research has been whether corporate social disclosures constitute a discharge of accountability or are part of a process of legitimation. Prior research, however, ignores the emergence of an alternate style of corporate social disclosure, the 'solicited' disclosure. Increasingly companies are requested to report on their interactions with society in various forms. Non-government organisations (NGOs), regulatory agencies, ethical or socially responsible investment fund managers and other researchers are requesting social information from corporations. This shift from voluntary information provision to demanded information can be viewed as a natural consequence of the increasing pressures on corporations to be 'responsible', particularly in light of intensified world wide attention on unethical corporate behaviour and corporate collapse. These contemporary variants of social disclosure are worthy of scrutiny when considering these 'solicited' disclosures potentially reduce a corporation's power in defining the scope and nature of disclosures. Two theories, which are similar and derived from the broader political economy perspective, are commonly offered as explanations of motivations for social disclosures. Stakeholder theory offers an explanation of accountability to stakeholders. Legitimacy theory, on the other hand, suggests voluntary disclosures are part of a process of legitimation. This paper argues that these theoretical perspectives may provide greater insights into managerial motivation for disclosure if they are linked more explicitly to the nature of corporate social disclosure under examination: voluntary or solicited.

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The Role of Theory in Explaining Motivation for Corporate Social Disclosures: Voluntary Disclosures vs ‘Solicited’ Disclosures

Interest in the notion of the possible financial sacrifice suffered by socially responsible investment (SRI) fund investors for considering ethical, social and environmental issues in their investment decisions has spawned considerable academic interest in the performance of SRI funds. Both the Australian and international research literature have yielded largely mixed results. However, several of these studies are hampered by methodological problems which can obscure the significance of reported results, such as the use of small sample sizes, inconsistencies in the time frames selected to analyse performance and different modelling frameworks used to estimate investment returns. This study attempts to redress some of these issues by investigating the returns performance of 89 ethical funds in Australia over the period 1986–2005. Using a multi-factor CAPM model [Fama, E. F., and K. R. French (1996) J. Finance
 51(1), 55] (which controls for factors such as size, book-to-market value and momentum) we find that ethical funds significantly under-perform the market in Australia, particularly in the most recent 5 years of our sample period (2000–2005). Risk adjusted returns (using Jensen’s alpha) indicate that average annual underperformance is around 1.52% in the 2000–2005 period for our sample and .88% over the whole sample period. Our results contrast with many previous studies (both Australian and international), which have not found statistically significant differences in the performance of ethical funds relative to market benchmarks and/or a matched sample of conventional funds.

The Investment Performance of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in Australia.

The importance of sustainability reporting to external stakeholders is reflected in the advent of various reporting guidelines and government inquiries However, evidence of the inadequacy of such reporting, coupled with limited evidence of its use by market participants (such as investors and creditors) for resource-allocation decisions, raises questions about the overall value-relevance of sustainability reporting This study seeks to identify, in the Australian context, whether the level of sustainable reporting is associated with a range of financial and market performance attributes of the firm

Sandra van der Laan

Papers

A Survey of Sustainability Reporting Practices of Australian Reporting Entities

Ethical Investment Processes and Outcomes

The Role of Theory in Explaining Motivation for Corporate Social Disclosures: Voluntary Disclosures vs ‘Solicited’ Disclosures

The Investment Performance of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in Australia.

An Empirical Examination of the Market Returns and Financial Performance of Entities Engaged in Sustainability Reporting