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This paper aims to examine how the level of corporate governance disclosures by Spanish universities is influenced by a set of variables.

To do this, the authors carried out a content analysis of the website disclosures of all Spanish universities identified by the Universities Rectors’ Conference in Spain.

Results show that the amount of corporate governance information disclosed by Spanish universities is far from being adequate and does not meet the stakeholders’ demands, as well as those requirements imposed by the law. The findings have revealed that the most influential variables associated with better disclosure levels of corporate governance information are the public–private status and institution size.

Compared to the private sector, the researchers have paid less attention to corporate governance disclosures in universities. In the Spanish university context, there is limited literature on the level of corporate governance disclosures.

This paper aims to examine how the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curricula of top-ranked business schools are offering stand-alone courses on ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). To provide additional evidence, this study tests some hypotheses to contrast the effect of different variables on the inclusion of stand-alone courses on ethics and CSR. Also, the paper provides a comparative analysis in two ways: one comparison aims to analyse how the presence of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes over the past 10 years has evolved, and the other comparison seeks to explore whether there are differences between different rankings with regard to the inclusion of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA curricula.

A Web content analysis was conducted on the curricula of 92 of the top 100 global MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times in their 2013 ratings.

The findings show that there is a trend towards the inclusion of stand-alone courses on CSR and ethics as electives. Empirically, the findings suggest that the presence of ethics and CSR elective stand-alone subjects in the MBA programmes is explained by the following variables: public/private, business school’s accreditation and cultural influence. Comparatively, the findings suggest that requiring CSR and business ethics stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times have not increased over the past 10 years. In addition, when we have compared the results of this study with other rankings, we have appreciated that there are important differences between top MBA programmes in accordance with the aims and scope of rankings.

The findings of this study seem to suggest that business schools included in the Financial Times ranking have not changed their view based on a shareholder approach, which is focused on providing an economics-centred training.

This paper examines the level of sustainability disclosures provided by Spanish hospitals using exclusively the information revealed in their institutional websites. Based on different levels of disclosure, the authors try to find the possible reasons why some Spanish hospitals reveal more sustainability information than others.

To achieve this goal, the authors conducted a content analysis of the official websites of all Spanish hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality.

The results reveal that Spanish hospitals seem to use sustainability disclosures for different legitimizing purposes. In general, the results indicate that Spanish hospitals may be driven by symbolic rather than substantive actions to achieve legitimacy from stakeholders.

Due to the lack of empirical research on the hospital sector, more research is required to improve understanding of why hospitals disclose sustainability information or not.

Relying on institutional theory and Oliver’s (1991) strategic responses framework, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the different strategies adopted by Spanish public universities to respond to institutional pressures for sustainability reporting.

Data were collected from a variety of sources, such as a series of email-structured interviews with key personnel from universities, a qualitative analysis of sustainability reports and a consultation of the website of each Spanish public university.

The findings reveal that Spanish public universities have responded to institutional pressures for sustainability reporting by adopting acquiescence, compromise, avoidance and defiance strategies. The variety of strategic responses adopted by Spanish public universities suggests that these organizations have not fully adhered to institutional pressures.

The results of this paper would be useful for practitioners since it tries to demonstrate whether universities, which are facing increasing institutional pressures and demands from stakeholders, have been developing sustainability reporting practices.

Universities have a remarkable social impact that could be used to promote sustainability practices. This paper investigates how these organizations can contribute to sustainability reporting as they should reproduce social norms.

The sustainability reporting context is in a phase of change. This paper tries to contribute to the accounting research by analyzing the extent to which universities are engaged in sustainability reporting. Relying on these premises, Oliver’s (1991) framework might be an insightful theoretical perspective to examine the responses provided by universities to institutional pressures.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how different variables can affect the amount of information reported by Spanish enterprises owned by the central state as well as by local and regional governments, all categorized as state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Using, as a reference, the obligations of information disclosure contained in the Spanish Law 19/2013 on Transparency and Good Governance, the authors performed a web-content analysis of web pages of all Spanish SOEs and the authors examined a sample of Spanish enterprises owned by regional and local governments.

The results show that the amount of information reported by Spanish SOEs is quite reduced and limited. Among the variables examined, the most influential ones for explaining the amount of information reported are the nature of public ownership and the institutional size.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the potential determinants of the online disclosure of mandatory information reported by enterprises whose ownership is shared by private and public organizations. Thus, this research could help public managers make decisions and improve public confidence.

The purpose of this study is to provide an initial, valid and reliable measure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in small companies from the theoretical perspective of the stakeholders.

To design the multi-item scale or measure a factorial analysis was used. This helped the authors develop the CSR assessment tool, measurement instrument and formalize the model connecting observable phenomena to theoretical attributes.

The results of the analysis provided a four-dimensional structure of CSR, including, employees, customers, the environment and society. Specifically, the authors concluded with an original scale of 24 validated indicators that measures CSR in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The observed results confirmed the validity of the measure proposed to evaluate the commitment of SMEs to CSR through the level of practices developed with their stakeholders.

The scale developed to assess the level of CSR practices in SMEs stands not only as a valid and reliable measure for future research studies but also as a perfect guide for SMEs managers that want to develop CSR practices in their firms.

This paper examines the level of mandatory information disclosed by Spanish university foundations on their websites.

A content analysis on the Spanish university foundations' websites is performed based on the mandatory reporting requirements indicated in the Spanish Law 19/2013 on Transparency and Good Governance.

The results of this paper reveal that the amount of mandatory information disclosed by Spanish university foundations remains low. When compared to the prior empirical research, the authors find remarkable differences in the levels of information disclosure. The level of mandatory disclosures by Spanish university foundations is rather low compared to the voluntary disclosure of information by other NPOs. Meanwhile, such differences are smaller when compared to previous studies focused on mandatory disclosures.

This study contributes to the very limited literature focused on the level of transparency of mandatory information of public foundations. Most of prior empirical research examined the level of voluntary disclosures of corporate or fundraising foundations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the amount of online information reported by Spanish municipal-owned enterprises (MOEs) according to the legal requirements indicated in the Spanish Law 19/2013 on Transparency and Good Governance. In addition, the authors analyze how different variables can affect the extent of online information reported by such enterprises.

To do this, we conducted a content analysis of the web pages of Spanish MOEs located in cities with more than 100.000 habitants, as well as those cities that are provincial capitals. To find information about these enterprises, the authors accessed the General Intervention Board of the State Administration (IGAE) webpage (www.igae.pap.minhafp.gob.es/sitios/igae/es-ES/Paginas/inicio.aspx). This sample was composed of 273 enterprises majority owned and controlled by local governments.

The findings reveal that the amount of information reported by Spanish MOEs, in accordance with the legal requirements, is quite reduced. The most influential variables for explaining Spanish MOEs’ commitment to information disclosure are population size, political positioning of the local government and reputation.

This study seeks to contribute to the scarce literature on mandatory transparency in the public sector as well as to reinforce the degree of compliance with requirements of information disclosure.

Numerous sustainability assessment tools are being created and applied in the higher education sector. In light of such diversity, there is a need to provide a common guideline for sustainability assessment which makes easier the comparison among universities. Using as a reference the Spanish university system, the main aim of this paper is to develop a multi-item quantitative tool for measuring sustainability performance at universities.

To accomplish this task, the first step was to review the literature on sustainability assessment in universities. After reviewing the literature, the authors found more than 1,000 items. The next step was to select those items which were able to fit to the Spanish university context. On this basis, the authors selected a total of 268 items. These items were discussed in a workshop with senior management members from eight Spanish universities with the aim of analyzing the validity and relevance of the items selected.

Then, the proposal for measuring sustainability in Spanish universities was composed of a total of 156 relevant items. In addition, these items were grouped according to seven different dimensions (corporate governance, students, staff, society, environment, companies and continuous improvement). Also, it is important to note that these items were not associated with political risk and they were linked to provide more reliable information to assess sustainability in universities.

Recent literature have stated that the existing tools specifically developed for assessing higher education institutions performance toward sustainability have some weaknesses. Then, one of the main contributions of this study has been the creation of a new multi-item quantitative tool aimed at measuring the integrated consideration of social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability in universities.

The analysis intends to clarify whether higher education institutions place as much value on internal transparency as on external transparency. This study aims to analyze the university budgeting process as a reflection of internal transparency. It also aims to identify the weaknesses of the budgeting process regarding transparency in order to improve decision-making.

A case study that applies mixed methods – documentary analysis, observations and interviews – has been conducted. To study internal transparency, the model of three levels of transparency of Biondi and Lapsley (2014) has been applied to the budgeting process of a university. Then, the results have been compared to the external transparency of this institution.

While external transparency is achieved, internal transparency in the budgeting process is far from optimal in the case of study. An improvement in transparency of the budget process can promote the engagement of stakeholders in the process and achieve better governance.

The general inductive approach is not as strong as other approaches in the area of theory or model development. However, it does provide a simple approach for deriving findings linked to this research’s questions.

Trust issues and external accountability appear to be more relevant than internal transparency for universities. However, improving the three levels of transparency along the budgeting process could motivate collegiate members to reinforce accountability, as it requires them to effectively communicate their actions and decisions to their represented.

This paper seeks to situate transparency as an attribute of university governance, contributing to the scarce literature on transparency, internal and external, in the university. The study compares the approach of this university to external transparency – which relates to accountability – with internal transparency – a concept that links to corporate governance. This study uses the novel lens of Biondi and Lapsley model (2014) to study internal transparency, focussing on university budgeting as a key management tool.