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1 – 10 of over 15000Deborah Branswijck and Patricia Everaert
The purpose of this paper is to compare intellectual capital disclosure in the prospectus of an initial public offering (IPO) with the intellectual capital disclosure in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare intellectual capital disclosure in the prospectus of an initial public offering (IPO) with the intellectual capital disclosure in the subsequent annual report. The first objective was to investigate whether companies make a commitment toward intellectual capital disclosure. The second objective was to investigate whether companies report more on intellectual capital in the prospectus.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigated the prospectus and annual report using a sample of 55 firms that applied for an initial listing in Belgium and The Netherlands from 2005‐2009. A coding framework of 86 items was used to perform the content analysis.
Findings
The existence of intellectual capital disclosure commitment was confirmed. Moreover, the results demonstrated that companies report more extensively on intellectual capital in their prospectus in comparison to their annual reports.
Originality/value
This paper documents the first study to provide empirical evidence on the existence of intellectual capital disclosure commitment. Therefore, it offers a new path for future intellectual capital disclosure research.
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Mohamed Anouar Gadhoum, Zulkarnain Bin Muhamad Sori, Shamsher Ramadilli and Ziyaad Mahomed
This paper aims to assess the ethical disclosure of Islamic banks (IBs) under different accounting regimes and to ascertain whether the adoption of an Islamic accounting standards…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the ethical disclosure of Islamic banks (IBs) under different accounting regimes and to ascertain whether the adoption of an Islamic accounting standards (Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions [AAOIFI]) promotes the practice of ethical disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethical identity disclosure index was developed to serve as a benchmark to assess the level of the communicated ethical identity disclosure (CEID) of 47 IBs over 18 countries using annual reports.
Findings
The findings suggest that, overall, there is poor ethical disclosure practices and even banks that had some initiatives towards disclosures had no proper reference to benchmark for effective implementation of ethical reporting standards and had no plans for ethical and socially responsible schemes. There was no evidence to suggest that IBs that adapted the religious-based accounting regime (AAOIFI) had better levels of ethical disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
Though poor practices of CEID are expected to increase reputational risks and the likelihood of loss of religious conscious customers and investors’ confidence and therefore market share and performance in the long-term, the current practice does not concur with this expectation. Furthermore, since there is no evidence to support the notion that the adoption of AAOIFI standards would support greater initiatives towards level of ethical identity disclosures, a mandatory requirement for effective disclosure through enforcement of AAOIFI’s financial reporting standards, specifically with regard to ethics and social and environmental commitment is needed.
Practical implications
In addition to introducing commonly accepted regulatory and supervisory guidelines and best practices that cater for the specificities of Islamic banking could significantly improve the level of CEID of IBs. In addition, the standardization of ethical (non-financial) reporting practices of IBs through guidelines and key performance indicators will facilitate CEID practices of IBs.
Originality/value
This paper contends that for Islamic bankers, ethics is an entrenched part of the business practice and should mitigate unethical behaviour, more so with the additional filter of Sharīʿah supervisory boards. Even if there are such practices due to ineffectiveness of Sharīʿah committees, management pressure to meet performance expectations and competitive pressures from peers in the conventional banking sector, it will not be in the interest of the banks to report them.
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Haslinda Yusoff, Glen Lehman and Noraini Mohd Nasir
The objective of this paper is to examine environmental disclosure practices among Malaysian public‐listed companies in an attempt to interpret corporate motivations for their…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to examine environmental disclosure practices among Malaysian public‐listed companies in an attempt to interpret corporate motivations for their environmental engagements and commitments.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates corporate motivations using content analysis by examining the corporate annual reports. Discourse analysis was used to analyse and then interpret the environmental information. In particular, the reasons that have inspired companies in Malaysia to engage in environmental matters are the focus of the research.
Findings
The results revealed high levels of information in environmental disclosures concerning current environmental engagements and future environmental plans/strategies. The environmental information was found to contain messages that revealed the corporate motives of certain environmental engagements. Three key motivating factors were found to be: “stakeholders' concern”, “self‐environmental concern” and “operational improvements”.
Research limitations/implications
The paper advocates interpretation of the discourse of environmental information to determine the comprehensive scope on corporate environmental reporting.
Originality/value
Disclosure practices (through the use of language) are utilised by business corporations to articulate messages concerning their environmental engagements and the motives behind such engagements. Furthermore, the paper offers some insights into current environmental reporting practices in a developing country.
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Marco Ieva and Cristina Ziliani
The purpose of this paper is to identify the patterns of customer exposure to touchpoints by segmenting consumers based on the frequency of their exposure, and to understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the patterns of customer exposure to touchpoints by segmenting consumers based on the frequency of their exposure, and to understand the relationship of patterns of exposure with customer loyalty intentions (relationship commitment, self-disclosure and positive word-of-mouth) and demographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey of almost 4,000 customers was employed in a supermarket retail setting. Customers were segmented based on their frequency of recalled exposure to multiple touchpoints, by means of a latent class cluster analysis, while considering the role of demographic characteristics. Afterwards, loyalty intentions variables were regressed on the resulting customer segments.
Findings
Based on the touchpoint exposure, six customer segments emerge. The main differences across segments relate to the intensity of frequency of exposure and the types of touchpoints customers have been exposed to. Sex, age, shopping role and geographic area of residence are related to segment membership. The identified patterns of exposure explain relationship commitment, self-disclosure and positive word-of-mouth: clusters displaying higher exposure to touchpoints display higher loyalty intentions than clusters displaying lower exposure.
Practical implications
The study offers actionable implications for brands and retailers on how to manage touchpoints for implementing omnichannel strategies.
Originality/value
As far as the authors know, this study is the first to identify exposure to multiple touchpoints and understand the role of demographics as far as touchpoint exposure is concerned. It also provides interesting findings on the relationship of different combinations of touchpoints with customer loyalty.
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Anam Javeed, Muhammad Yar Khan, Mobashar Rehman and Asif Khurshid
The aim of this study is to gather and analyse the information regarding the level of awareness and commitment of the public as well as the organizations of Pakistan pertaining to…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to gather and analyse the information regarding the level of awareness and commitment of the public as well as the organizations of Pakistan pertaining to sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 500 respondents in total including employs and general public is selected for their opinion regarding SDGs. The data was collected by personal administration of questionnaires in organizations and general public. The data has been collected from federal and provincial capitals of Pakistan. The data has been analysed using Smart PLS and the hypothesized relationships have been tested using regression analysis.
Findings
The level of awareness as well as level of commitment towards the fulfilment of SDGs varies across the cities of Pakistan according to the business volume and their affiliation with the United Nations.
Research limitations/implications
This study has been conducted in Pakistan only however a cross-country implementation of the framework and comparison would have yielded more in-depth facts.
Practical implications
This study provides the policy makers with the ground-level data regarding the awareness and commitment of Pakistani organizations and public towards SDG fulfilment. A glance towards the attitudes of the people towards the subject could also be seen through this study. It could be further utilized and referred by other researchers for comparison with their own studies regarding SDGs.
Originality/value
This a comprehensive study conducted at federal and provincial level of Pakistan which has yielded ground realities towards the implementation of SDGs. The results could be used for policy making and planning at national level.
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Muhammad Bilal Zafar and Ahmad Azam Sulaiman
This paper begins with a challenge to explore the scope and dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Islamic banking and design a CSR disclosure index, which may…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper begins with a challenge to explore the scope and dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Islamic banking and design a CSR disclosure index, which may gauge the level of CSR disclosure in Islamic banking.
Design/methodology/approach
It adopts a two-fold approach to develop the CSR disclosure index for Islamic banking, such as “identification” and “prioritization.” In the ambit of identification, it relies on the existing literature related to CSR and Islamic banking. However, it undertakes analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method for prioritization through the sample of 104 experts related to Islamic banking of Pakistan.
Findings
It concludes the CSR index for Islamic banking contains five dimensions, including 79 items across 20 sub-dimensions. The results of AHP indicate that the CSR dimensions are important for Shariah governance, employee, community, customer and environment. Moreover, within dimensions, the most important sub-dimensions are Shariah compliance, customer service and quality, green investing/banking, customer relationship, training and development and poverty alleviation.
Practical implications
The CSR disclosure index of this study has important implications for academicians, such as it paves the ways for further investigations and practical usage of index to gauge the level CSR disclosure of Islamic banking. Moreover, it delineates the spectrum of responsibilities for managers of Islamic banking under the domain of CSR.
Originality/value
The proposed CSR disclosure index is comprehensive and stresses on the social responsibility of Islamic banking toward stakeholders. In nutshell, this study offers what is expected from the practitioners of Islamic banking in the domain of social responsibility.
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Alessandro Da Giau, Laura Macchion, Federico Caniato, Maria Caridi, Pamela Danese, Rinaldo Rinaldi and Andrea Vinelli
The purpose of this paper is to examine which environmental and social sustainability practices companies in the Italian fashion industry adopt and how these companies communicate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine which environmental and social sustainability practices companies in the Italian fashion industry adopt and how these companies communicate their sustainability commitment through their corporate websites.
Design/methodology/approach
The multiple case studies approach was selected and the practices of 12 companies in the Italian fashion industry were investigated.
Findings
The findings showed that four different approaches in the field of sustainability practices and web-based communication are available within the Italian fashion industry (i.e. low commitment, high commitment, low disclosure, high marketing) by highlighting the alignment (i.e. fit or misfit) among these dimensions and by discussing the practices as well as the drivers/barriers of each approach.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by deepening the understanding of both the environmental and social dimensions of the sustainability issue. Moreover, the work investigates the relationship between sustainability practices and web-based sustainability communication, a topic that has not yet been addressed in the current literature.
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Simona Cosma, Salvatore Principale and Andrea Venturelli
The purposes of this paper are: firstly, to assess the disclosure related to climate change (CC) by major European banks to understand if the banks have grasped the most…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this paper are: firstly, to assess the disclosure related to climate change (CC) by major European banks to understand if the banks have grasped the most substantive aspects of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and secondly, to evaluate the contribution of a non-traditional committee (i.e. corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee) to TCFD-compliant disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
Using content analysis and ordinary least squares regressions on a sample of 101 European banks, this study sought to investigate completeness, tone and forward-looking orientation of CC disclosure and explore the relationships between CSR committee and previous disclosure aspects.
Findings
This study shows that European banks have been able to reach an intermediate level of adequacy of compliance in terms of completeness of information but forward-looking orientation seems to be the aspect that needs the most improvement. The existence of a CSR committee dedicated to sustainability issues seems to constitute the difference between the banks in terms of disclosure. The results highlight vulnerabilities in disclosure and board characteristics relevant for improving CC disclosure.
Practical implications
Firms interested in strengthening stakeholder engagement and capturing strategic opportunities involved in CC should be encouraged to establish a CSR committee and appoint female directors in financial companies. This paper should be of interest to policymakers, governance bodies and boards of directors considering the initiative of corporate sustainable governance complementary to Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting by the European Commission.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study has investigated the relationship between the CSR committee and the application of the TCFD’s recommendations in the European banking industry.
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Ashesha Paveena Weerasinghe, Larelle Chapple and Alexandra Kate Williamson
This paper aims to explore how corporate Australia engages in reconciliation through recognizing and providing pathways for Indigenous Australians' corporate leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how corporate Australia engages in reconciliation through recognizing and providing pathways for Indigenous Australians' corporate leadership aspirations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is informed by the prior literature on pathways by minority groups to corporate leadership through the theoretical lens of transformational leadership. The investigation is conducted using textual analysis of reconciliation action plans (RAPs), a contemporary and voluntary practice adopted by Australian listed companies to disclose their commitment to national reconciliation. RAPs are publicly available from the official websites of listed companies.
Findings
The analysis of contemporary RAPs highlights organizational initiatives to support Indigenous Australians related to corporate and community leadership. Since the authors’ focus is the former, corporate leadership initiatives are further analyzed. Two initiatives for Indigenous Australians to pursue corporate leadership positions are emerging future leaders' programs and mentoring programs. This is the extent to which the authors observe Australian firms' transformational leadership. While some firms have implemented these initiatives with specific targets, other firms do not have specific initiatives or targets. The paper also conducts longitudinal analysis into the transformational leaders' past RAPs and triangulates to other evidence of reconciliation commitment such as the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes new insights to the research area of board cultural diversity, specifically to the limited literature on Indigenous reconciliation. It provides insights into firms and policymakers to address the ongoing issue of the underrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in corporate leadership. The sample of firms comprises Australian listed firms that have adopted higher-order RAPs, which restricts the generalizability of the findings to other sectors.
Originality/value
This paper explores the under researched phenomenon of Indigenous people's pathways to corporate leadership. The research design is informed by transformational leadership theory through considering institutional actions for reconciliation. This research provides evidence of the extent to which corporate Australia has taken action on the issue of the under-representation of Australian Indigenous people in corporate leadership.
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Zoe Lee, Sianne Gordon-Wilson, Iain Davies and Cara Pring
Communication about sustainability in fashion is complex. While fashion businesses have increasingly sought to manage their sustainability practices, their understanding of how to…
Abstract
Purpose
Communication about sustainability in fashion is complex. While fashion businesses have increasingly sought to manage their sustainability practices, their understanding of how to communicate about sustainability persuasively remains limited. The authors argue that a key problem with a firm’s efforts in communicating about sustainability is that it is a psychologically distant issue for both businesses and stakeholders. This paper aims to apply construal level theory to explore managers’ construal level in shaping communication about sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used a two-phase qualitative methodology. Phase one involved undertaking interviews with ten managers in fashion firms to address communications about sustainability in the UK. In phase two, 16 consumers interpreted and reflected on the persuasiveness of communications about sustainability encompassing both concrete and abstract forms of messaging.
Findings
The authors identify the factors driving different approaches to communication (concrete and abstract) depending on the construal levels of managers, managers’ perceptions of the construal level of target stakeholders and the perceived authenticity of the sustainability claim. The paper highlights the conditions under which the (mis)match with the brands’ sustainable practices works in crafting communication. The authors also highlight three main communication strategies in responding to the complexity of sustainability in fashion ecosystems: amplification, quiet activist and populist coupling.
Research limitations/implications
As an in-depth qualitative study, the authors seek to expose an under-researched phenomenon, yet generalisations both within the fashion industry and beyond are limited by this focus.
Practical implications
Fashion managers need to be flexible and evaluate how their communications about sustainability affect stakeholders’ evaluations of their brands. As sustainability in fashion brands grows, concrete and specific sustainability messaging may be necessary to improve sustainable behaviours.
Originality/value
The prevailing literature encourages symbiosis between sustainability practices and communications; such relationships are rare, and studies outside the consumer perspective are also rare. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this exploratory study is the first to understand how managers’ construal level influences decisions around communications about sustainability in fashion and how these messages are perceived by consumers.
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