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Article
Publication date: 2 April 2021

Olivier Boiral, David Talbot, Marie-Christine Brotherton and Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria

The purpose of this paper is to explore the practices, challenges and ethical issues underlying the fabric and dissemination of corporate sustainability ratings.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the practices, challenges and ethical issues underlying the fabric and dissemination of corporate sustainability ratings.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 36 semi-structured interviews with sustainability rating practitioners, the study shows the trade-offs, ethical judgments and customizable aspects involved in rating practices, which cannot rely only on formal and predefined methods.

Findings

In contrast with the official optimistic rhetoric about the rationality and rigor of sustainability rating methods, agencies face serious challenges in the measurement and comparison of performance in this area, particularly in terms of the aggregation of scattered and fuzzy indicators, commercial pressures and the availability, materiality and reliability of the information collected. Despite these concerns, sustainability ratings do appear to be useful in improving corporate responsiveness and increasing investor awareness of the complex and difficult-to-measure aspects of nonfinancial reports.

Practical implications

Rating agencies should collaborate to set up common indicators that would be easier for firms to produce and should better separate their sustainability rating production activities from other services they offer to companies (e.g. consultancy).

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on the measurement and promotion of corporate sustainability by analyzing rating practices through the lens of moral fictionalism, which here refers to the human tendency to build ethical judgments on fictional but convenient and useful representations.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2025

Olivier Boiral, Marie-Christine Brotherton and David Talbot

The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the motivations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk management by agri-food companies and the neutralization…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the motivations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk management by agri-food companies and the neutralization techniques used to legitimize the measures taken in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an analysis of the sustainability reporting of 135 companies, this study shows the interdependence between the main motivations for ESG risk management and the neutralization techniques used in disclosing information about their exposure to threats or negative events that could damage their image.

Findings

The results of the study allow us to understand the four main complementary neutralization techniques used to obfuscate the negative consequences of risks related to agri-food activities: mitigating ESG threats, addressing global risks through corporate leadership, taking advantage of sustainability trends and turning risks into opportunities.

Practical implications

Managers can use the results of this paper to identify the best management approaches to take ESG risks into account more substantially in their company.

Social implications

Ultimately, this study is important to improve the practices of agri-food companies and therefore their social legitimacy.

Originality/value

The examination of these neutralization techniques and their underlying motivations makes important contributions to the emerging literature on ESG risk management. The study also contributes to research on the disclosure of negative information that can damage a company’s reputation and on the strategies that companies use to promote the social acceptability of their activities.

Details

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8021

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2019

Olivier Boiral, Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria and Marie-Christine Brotherton

The purpose of this paper is to examine the professionalism and professionalization of sustainability assurance providers based on the experiences and perceptions of auditors…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the professionalism and professionalization of sustainability assurance providers based on the experiences and perceptions of auditors involved in this activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study was based on 38 semi-directed interviews conducted with assurance providers from accounting and consulting firms.

Findings

The findings highlight the division of this professional activity between accounting and consulting firms, each of which question the professionalism of the other. The main standards in this area tend to be used as legitimizing tools to enhance the credibility of the assurance process rather than effective guidelines to improve the quality of the verification process. Finally, the complex and multifaceted skills required to conduct sound sustainability assurance and the virtual absence of recognized and substantial training programs in this area undermine the professionalization of assurance providers.

Research limitations/implications

This work has important practical implications for standardization bodies, assurance providers and stakeholders concerned by the quality and the reliability of sustainability disclosure.

Originality/value

This study shows how practitioners in this area construct and legitimize their professional activity in terms of identity, standardization and competences. The work contributes to the literatures on the assurance of sustainability reports, self-regulation through standardization and professionalization.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Dominique Diouf and Olivier Boiral

The purpose of this research is to analyze the perceptions of stakeholders – more specifically, socially responsible investment (SRI) practitioners – of the quality of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to analyze the perceptions of stakeholders – more specifically, socially responsible investment (SRI) practitioners – of the quality of sustainability reports using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on 33 semi-structured interviews carried out with different stakeholders and experts (e.g. consultants, fund managers, analysts, consultants) in the field of SRI in Canada.

Findings

The perceptions of SRI practitioners shed more light on the elastic and uncertain application of the GRI principles in determining the quality of sustainability reports. Their perceptions tend to support the argument that sustainability reports reflect the impression management strategies used by companies to highlight the positive aspects of their sustainability performance and to obfuscate negative outcomes.

Originality/value

First, undertake empirical research on stakeholders’ perceptions – which have been largely overlooked – of the quality of sustainability reports. Second, shed new light on the impression management strategies used in sustainability reporting. Third, show the reflexivity and the degree of skepticism of practitioners with regard to the reliability of information on sustainability performance.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 February 2020

Alexander Yuriev, Olivier Boiral and Laurence Guillaumie

The aim of this study was to identify and quantitatively assess the importance of psychosocial and organizational factors that influence employees' intentions to engage in…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to identify and quantitatively assess the importance of psychosocial and organizational factors that influence employees' intentions to engage in pro-environmental behaviors at the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior was completed by 318 employees. To validate three suggested hypotheses, a series of path analysis models were constructed using AMOS software.

Findings

The theory of planned behavior explained 79 percent and 37.7 percent of variance in predicting intentions of employees to travel to work using alternative transportation and to make eco-suggestions directed toward the workplace, respectively. While organizational barriers did not play a significant role in predicting intentions to use alternative transportation, some organizational obstacles (opinion of colleagues, required paperwork) influenced workers' intention to make eco-suggestions.

Originality/value

This is one of the first articles in the field of pro-environmental workplace behaviors in which the theory of planned behavior is implemented in a systematic manner (qualitative exploration of beliefs followed by their quantitative evaluation). This article contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the disproportionate influence of organizational and psychosocial factors on pro-environmental workplace behaviors.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2013

Marie‐Josée Roy, Olivier Boiral and Pascal Paillé

The aim of this study is to focus on manufacturing small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that are simultaneously pursuing quality and environmental objectives. Specifically…

1844

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to focus on manufacturing small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that are simultaneously pursuing quality and environmental objectives. Specifically, the paper examines: the specific motivations and resources of SMEs that have chosen to pursue both priorities, the types of initiatives these SMEs have implemented, and whether pursuing both priorities is correlated with various facets of organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study gathered data from a sample of 254 ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified Canadian SMEs. Data collection was based on a survey questionnaire sent to a random sample of 1,514 companies.

Findings

The results highlighted significant differences between the SMEs holding both the ISO 9000 and 14000 certifications and those holding only the 9000 ISO certification. Each group was shown to have distinct motivations and resources and to have implemented different types of initiatives to address environmental concerns. Each group was positively correlated with different facets of organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study's findings contribute to the environmental and SME literature on this very complex topic by providing relevant empirical evidence based on primary data.

Practical implications

The results should provide guidance to manufacturing SMEs currently examining how to address environmental issues. SMEs need to address these issues carefully and understand the potential trade‐offs and consequences associated with their decisions.

Originality/value

An important contribution of this study is its detailed characterization of environmental initiatives, drawing on insights derived from the environmental, accounting and management literature. By using the analytical framework of organizational citizenship behaviours, the characterization also included informal and behavioural aspects often neglected in environmental management studies.

Article
Publication date: 21 October 2013

Dogui Kouakou, Olivier Boiral and Yves Gendron

This paper aims to examine, through a qualitative study, how auditor independence is socially constructed within the network of individuals involved in the realization of ISO…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine, through a qualitative study, how auditor independence is socially constructed within the network of individuals involved in the realization of ISO 14001 audit engagements – ISO auditors, consultants, and managers of certified companies. The paper analysis focuses on the sense-making strategies used by actors within the network to develop and sustain trust (or doubt) in professional independence.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is predicated on a theoretical perspective centered on sense-making processes and the construction of inter-subjective meanings around claims to expertise. Interviews were conducted with 36 Canadian practitioners – including ISO auditors, managers of certification bodies, accreditation inspectors, consultants, and corporate environmental managers – to better understand how confidence into auditor independence is constituted in the flow of daily life within the small group of people involved in the surroundings of ISO 14001 audit engagements.

Findings

Practitioners use a range of sense-making strategies to construct and maintain the belief that IS0 14001 audits meet the professional requirements of auditor independence. As such, the constitution of confidence involves stereotyping, distancing, storytelling and procedural mechanisms that are collectively mobilized in the production of a culture of comfort surrounding the concept of auditor independence.

Originality/value

Through interviews with a range of actors involved in the achievement of ISO 14001 audits, the study provides insight into the production of meaning related to one of the chief claims surrounding auditing expertise, that of professional independence. This paper also points to a lack of self-criticism in the ISO auditing community since practitioners seem disinclined to adopt a reflective attitude of professional skepticism towards the claim of auditor independence.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 26 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2007

Olivier Boiral and Marie‐Josée Roy

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical study of the impact of motivational factors underlying ISO 9000 certification on several aspects of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical study of the impact of motivational factors underlying ISO 9000 certification on several aspects of organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

An extension of a typology based on motivational factors is proposed and four integration rationales (quality enthusiasts, ISO integrators, ritual integrators, and dissidents) are exposed. The paper then evaluates how each of these four rationales related to potential organizational problems and benefits. Various statistical analyses were conducted on data obtained from a sample of 872 certified Canadian firms. A factor analysis was completed to develop an instrument allowing to develop a typology distinguishing between the four integration rationales.

Findings

The results demonstrate that the nature and intensity of motivations behind a decision to adopt the ISO 9000 standard play a key role in the success of the implementation process and the emergence of organizational problems arising from certification.

Research limitations/implications

The main contribution of the study was to develop a typology of certified organizations based on a theoretical framework explaining some paradoxes and pervasive effects of ISO 9000 adoption.

Practical implications

The typology helps characterize certified firms and anticipate potential consequences ancillary to the certification process; it can assist firms in evaluating whether they should go forward with the certification process.

Originality/value

Contrary to many studies focusing on traditional performance criteria only, this study sheds light on organizational problems and the possible ineffectiveness of ISO 9000 certification depending on their integration rationale. This approach led to a more comprehensive and tempered vision of ISO 9000 impacts.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 September 2013

Olivier Boiral

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which sustainability reporting can be viewed as a simulacrum used to camouflage real sustainable-development problems and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which sustainability reporting can be viewed as a simulacrum used to camouflage real sustainable-development problems and project an idealized view of the firms' situations.

Design/methodology/approach

The method was based on the content analysis and counter accounting of 23 sustainability reports from firms in the energy and mining sectors which had received application levels of A or A+ from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The information disclosed in some 2,700 pages of reports was structured around 92 GRI indicators and compared with 116 significant news events that clearly addressed the responsibility of these firms in sustainable development problems. Moreover, the 1,258 pictures included in sustainability reports were categorized into recurring themes from an inductive perspective.

Findings

A total of 90 per cent of the significant negative events were not reported, contrary to the principles of balance, completeness and transparency of GRI reports. Moreover, the pictures included in these reports showcase various simulacra clearly disconnected with the impact of business activities.

Originality/value

The paper shows the relevance of the counter accounting approach in assessing the quality of sustainability reports and question the reliability of the GRI's A or A+ application levels. It contributes to debates concerning the transparency of sustainability reports in light of Debord's and Baudrillard's critical perspective. The paper reveals the underexplored role of images in the emergence of several types of simulacra.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 26 February 2014

259

Abstract

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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