Search results

1 – 4 of 4
Article
Publication date: 8 November 2022

Andrew C. Stuart, Stephen H. Fuller, Nicole M. Heron and Tracey J. Riley

This paper aims to review and synthesize the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure literature in order to (1) develop a comprehensive definition of disclosure quality;…

2590

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review and synthesize the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure literature in order to (1) develop a comprehensive definition of disclosure quality; (2) review the evolution of disclosure quality proxies used by accounting researchers; (3) describe the antecedents to disclosure quality; (4) describe the outcomes of disclosure quality; and (5) identify gaps in the current literature and offer suggestions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a systematic review capturing articles examining CSR disclosure quality. The researchers first searched EBSCO, identifying all relevant articles by searching for “corporate social responsibility,” “CSR,” “ESG” and “sustainability reporting” anywhere in the article. Then, the results were filtered to focus on 23 of the most prominent accounting journals. The search resulted in 592 articles which were individually reviewed for relevance to the authors’ review. This study includes all articles that examine disclosure and provide insight into elements that influence disclosure quality or provide evidence of the effects of disclosure quality on user decision-making.

Findings

It is found that a comprehensive definition of CSR disclosure quality has yet to be developed and that proxies for CSR disclosure quality have evolved over time. This study synthesizes the literature on the antecedents of CSR disclosure quality, and how CSR disclosure quality affects users' decision-making and related outcomes. Overall, the review of this study suggests that assurance and a number of corporate features have important effects on disclosure quality. Also, high-quality disclosures are positively associated with many benefits to market participants.

Originality/value

This study complements Huang and Watson's (2015) CSR literature review by comprehensively reviewing and synthesizing the CSR disclosure quality literature that was only emerging when their review was published. Importantly, this study contributes to the CSR disclosure literature by developing a comprehensive definition of CSR disclosure quality that is grounded in the accounting literature and aligned with current frameworks.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. 45 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Nicole Jansen van Rensburg, Ruan Spies and Lelanie Malan

This study aims to synthesise the available literature on the phenomenon of infanticide within the context of postpartum psychosis from a novel perspective using critical…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to synthesise the available literature on the phenomenon of infanticide within the context of postpartum psychosis from a novel perspective using critical interpretive synthesis (CIS). The study placed its focus on the environmental aspects involved in the phenomenon of postpartum psychosis where the outcome was infanticide, as well as the chosen method of inflicting death.

Design/methodology/approach

CIS is a reviewing method that synthesises existing literature into a coherent frame with the exploration of literature at its core. CIS results in a natural critique of the body of literature and was critical to the study and its findings. The study ultimately found five synthetic constructs related to environmental aspects and method of inflicting death.

Findings

These included prior psychiatric history and care, demographics of perpetrators, perceptions on motherhood, profile on victims such as age and the method of death and, finally, the presence of “warning behaviour”. Reflections on the current state of the literature formed an important part of the study and enabled the authors to make recommendations for future research.

Research limitations/implications

The age of the literature acts as a limitation to the study, there is a need for updated to research to inform our current historical context. In addition, most of the included studies was based in developed countries which may impact on generalisability. The aim of he study was not to include an exhaustive body of literature, thus other relevant literature may have not been included. Some included studies did not solely focus on the concept of infanticide within the context of postpartum psychosis. Although efforts were made to ensure rigour, it is accepted that different researchers may come to different conclusion in inherently qualitative means of enquiry such as CIS. These included prior psychiatric history and care, demographics of perpetrators, perceptions on motherhood, profile on victims such as age and the method of death and, finally, the presence of “warning behaviour”. Reflections on the current state of the literature formed an important part of the study and enabled the authors to make recommendations for future research.

Originality/value

The study has not been published previously and all sources are credited. This study made a contribution by indicating important misconceptions about motherhood and the demography associated with infanticide in postpartum psychosis. It also highlighted the need for updated empirical research that may have implications for policy and practice

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1938

THE regular search for the good book for the child will continue so long as there are children's libraries. A recent report on an enquiry has reached us from Bethnal Green and…

Abstract

THE regular search for the good book for the child will continue so long as there are children's libraries. A recent report on an enquiry has reached us from Bethnal Green and follows the familiar lines of getting the children to vote on what they like; with the result that the “William” books, which should be making all concerned in their production a fortune, head the list, and the simple “small”‐child books, the Milly‐Molly, Mandy series, come next. The field surveyed was small, for “William” polled only 34 votes; only 800 of the 6,000 children registered as borrowers participated. It is questionable if such enquiries, however much they interest us as librarians, can effectively help to improve child reading, unless some method of finding and providing high literature in the type the youngsters prefer can be devised. Mr. George F. Vale prefaces his brief list of books chosen with a really interesting discussion on the subject, but a quotation from it indicates part of the problem. He writes, speaking of Tom Sawyer, Alice and The Wafer Babies, “What elements go to make a permanent children's book is one of the mysteries of literature, but evidently these books possess some quality which overrides all the chances and changes of time. It is not merely the appeal of a good story; there are many better stories than The Water Babies. The secret seems to be some mysterious rapport between the author's mind and that of the readers, an ability to see and to think upon the level of the child mind.” All this is true, but it is more than that, we think; it is the power of recording what is, has been or may be, within the child's own range of experience; that is, it is true in that it realises the conditions of the world of childhood. It is curious, and possibly significant, that a book for children in these enquiries means a story. An enquiry is overdue into the type and quality of non‐fiction read by them, the sort of child who reads and in what circumstances: Real information here might reveal gaps and surpluses in book provision that are not now widely recognized!

Details

New Library World, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Rae Cooper and Marian Baird

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the “right to request” flexible working arrangements (FWAs), located in national policy and in organisational policy contexts, are…

8689

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the “right to request” flexible working arrangements (FWAs), located in national policy and in organisational policy contexts, are brought to life in the workplace by employees and their managers. The authors seek to understand the nature and content of requests, the process followed in attending to requests, the scope of the arrangements which resulted and the implications for the work of both employees and managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a case study method, investigating how formal “right to request” FWAs policies translate to practice within two large companies in Australia. The primary data focuses on 66 in-depth interviews with line managers, employees and key organisational informants. These interviews are triangulated with legislative, company and union policy documents.

Findings

Most requests were made by mothers returning from maternity leave. Typically their requests involved an attempt to move from full-time to part-time hours. The authors found a considerable knowledge deficit among the employees making requests and a high level of informality in the processing of requests. As a result, managers played a critical role in structuring both the procedure and the substantive outcomes of FWAs requests. Managers’ personal experience and levels of commitment to FWAs were critical in the process, but their response was constrained by, among other things, conflicting organisational policies.

Research limitations/implications

The scale of the empirical research is possibly limited by a focus on large companies in the private sector.

Practical implications

The authors provide insight into the implementation gap between FWA policy and practice. The authors make suggestions as to how to make “right to request” policies more accessible and effective.

Social implications

The “right to request” flexible working is an issue of critical importance to families, employees, managers, organisations and economies.

Originality/value

“Right to request” FWAs are relatively new in legislation and policy and thus the authors have an incomplete understanding of how they operate and come to life at the workplace level. The authors show a significant implementation gap between policy and practice and point to some of the critical influences on this. Among other things, the authors build new insight in relation to the interaction of formal and informal and the role and place of the direct manager in the process of operationalising the “right to request”.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Access

Year

Content type

Article (4)
1 – 4 of 4