Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 2 May 2024

Evie Kendal

The purpose of this paper is to consider the ethical and environmental implications of allowing space resource extraction to disrupt existing fuel economies, including how…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the ethical and environmental implications of allowing space resource extraction to disrupt existing fuel economies, including how companies can be held accountable for ensuring the responsible use of their space assets. It will also briefly consider how such assets should be taxed, and the cost/benefit analyses required to justify the considerable expense of supporting this emerging space industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts theoretical bioethics methodologies to explore issues of normative ethics and the formulation of moral rules to govern individual, collective and institutional behaviour. Specifically, it considers social justice and social contract theory, consequentialist and deontological accounts of ethical evaluation. It also draws on sociological and organisational literature to discuss Dowling and Pfeffer’s (1975) and Suchman’s (1995) theories of pragmatic, cognitive and moral legitimacy as they may be applied to off-world mining regulations and the handling of space assets.

Findings

The findings of this conceptual paper indicate there is both a growing appetite for tighter resource extraction regulations to address climate change and wealth concentration globally, and an opportunity to establish and legitimise new ethical norms for commercial activity in space that can avoid some of the challenges currently facing fossil fuel divestment movements on Earth.

Originality/value

By adopting methodologies from theoretical bioethics, sociology and business studies, including applying a legitimacy lens to the issue of off-world mining, this paper synthesises existing knowledges from these fields and brings them to the new context of the future space resource economy.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2024

Yeolan Lee and Eric A. Fong

A major obstacle regarding the measurement of an organization's sustainability and accountability in the space economy is defining the context and boundaries of commercial…

Abstract

Purpose

A major obstacle regarding the measurement of an organization's sustainability and accountability in the space economy is defining the context and boundaries of commercial activity in outer space. Here, we introduce an ecosystem framework to address this obstacle. We utilize this framework to analyze the space mining sector. Our ecosystem framework sets the space mining sector's boundaries and helps a firm identify key stakeholders, activities, policies, norms and common pool resources in that sector and the interactions between them; a significant step in structuring how to measure space sustainability and accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

Borrowing theories and perspectives from a wide range of academic fields, this paper conducts a comprehensive context analysis of the space mining ecosystem.

Findings

Using our ecosystem framework to define the context and set boundaries for the space mining sector allowed us to identify sustainability-related issues in the sector and offer roadmaps to develop sustainability measures and standards.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers to introduce a framework to define boundaries in the global space economy and provides a tool to understand, measure and evaluate the space mining sector's environmental, social and economic issues.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2024

Ramesh Chandra Das and Munjeti Benudhar Naidu

This study aims to comprehensively analyse the implementation and effectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies within the context of the Indian coal mining…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to comprehensively analyse the implementation and effectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies within the context of the Indian coal mining sector. Furthermore, it investigates the alignment between CSR initiatives and the unique challenges faced by the coal mining sector and examines the outcomes and impacts of these initiatives on the employees of the sector and their perspective on the situation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a comprehensive qualitative research method, including a review of the literature, case studies and stakeholder interviews. This study seeks to deconstruct the application of CSR policies.

Findings

The analysis developed a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding CSR policies in the Indian coal mining sector, offering insights into strategies for enhancing the effectiveness and relevance of these initiatives while fostering sustainable development.

Practical implications

This study reveals a rich tapestry of theoretical implications and how they connect to important organisational and societal paradigms. The results of this qualitative analysis can work as a foundation for creating scales to measure the level of efficiency of CSR policies implemented by different companies. Furthermore, this study goes beyond theoretical knowledge and gives companies, regulators and communities information they can use. By looking at how CSR policies work in the real world, a road map for responsible resource extraction and community growth can be made.

Originality/value

The findings are unique in exploring the CSR initiatives and the unique challenges faced by the coal mining sector. This study offers insight on the employees of the sector and their perspectives on the situation and delves into the multifaceted dimensions of CSR practices.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 20 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 May 2024

Muhammad Hanafi

This research is intended to assess the nickel smelter industry’s investment competitiveness in Indonesia and identify ways to improve its competitive advantage for the nation.

81

Abstract

Purpose

This research is intended to assess the nickel smelter industry’s investment competitiveness in Indonesia and identify ways to improve its competitive advantage for the nation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a sequential mixed-methods approach, expanding on a first qualitative phase with a second quantitative phase. Interviews are used in the qualitative phase to identify the underlying causes of issues and potential solutions to increase the competitiveness of the nickel smelter industry, while a system dynamics (SD) model is used to conduct the quantitative phase. This study uses the idea of a country’s competitive advantage from Porter’s diamond model (PDM). The model was tested and validated using SD simulation resulting in a new policy scenario, which was evaluated in metallurgy expert conferences and high policymaker discussion forums.

Findings

The results reveal the complexity of the nickel smelter industry in Indonesia and conclude that the integrated export duty beneficence policy is the most effective way to boost competitiveness. This policy gives a significant improvement both in the number of smelters and state revenue compared to the current policy. The industry’s investment competitiveness is enhanced by the six factors of the diamond model, with the first three factors being integrated strategy, limited export of excess production and export duty beneficence, while the remaining factors are metal price fluctuation, domestic demand and mineral supply which are related to mining conditions uncertainty.

Research limitations/implications

The research creates a SD model to support Indonesia’s competitive advantage in the smelter industry. Despite limitations like interpretations and distorted semantic analysis, it provides a useful framework for exploring complex industry themes, excluding social factors due to limited data and knowledge requirements.

Practical implications

The findings of this research offer a framework for policymaking by the government to enhance the competitiveness of investments in Indonesia’s nickel smelter industry.

Originality/value

This study delves into Indonesia’s nickel industry competitiveness using PDM. Using a more detailed SD model with quantitative analysis, it goes beyond strategy development to provide a comprehensive approach to the nickel smelter industry.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 July 2023

Gideon Jojo Amos

The study examines the social and environmental responsibility indicators disclosed by three International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) corporate mining members in their…

2584

Abstract

Purpose

The study examines the social and environmental responsibility indicators disclosed by three International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) corporate mining members in their social and environmental reporting (SER) from 2006 to 2014. To achieve this aim, the author limits the data two years before (i.e. from 2006 to 2007) and six years after (i.e. from 2009 to 2014) the implementation of the Sustainable Development Framework in the mining sector in 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the techniques of content analysis and interpretive textual analysis, this study examines 27 social and environmental responsibility reports published between 2006 and 2014 by three ICMM corporate mining members. The study develops a disclosure index based on the earlier work of Hackston and Milne (1996), together with other disclosure items suggested in the extant literature and considered appropriate for this work. The disclosure index for this study comprised six disclosure categories (“employee”, “environment”, “community involvement”, “energy”, “governance” and “general”). In each of the six disclosure categories, only 10 disclosure items were chosen and that results in 60 disclosure items.

Findings

A total of 830 out of a maximum of 1,620 social and environmental responsibility indicators, representing 51% (168 employees, 151 environmental, 145 community involvement, 128 energy, 127 governance and 111 general) were identified and examined in company SER. The study showed that the sample companies relied on multiple strategies for managing pragmatic legitimacy and moral legitimacy via disclosures. Such practices raise questions regarding company-specific disclosure policies and their possible links to the quality/quantity of their disclosures. The findings suggest that managers of mining companies may opt for “cherry-picking” and/or capitalise on events for reporting purposes as well as refocus on company-specific issues of priority in their disclosures. While such practices may appear appropriate and/or timely to meet stakeholders’ needs and interests, they may work against the development of comprehensive reports due to the multiple strategies adopted to manage pragmatic and moral legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this research is that the author relied on self-reported corporate disclosures, as opposed to verifying the activities associated with the claims by the sample mining companies.

Practical implications

The findings from this research will help future social and environmental accounting researchers to operationalise Suchman’s typology of legitimacy in other contexts.

Social implications

With growing large-scale mining activity, potential social and environmental footprints are obviously far from being socially acceptable. Powerful and legitimacy-conferring stakeholders are likely to disapprove such mining activity and reconsider their support, which may threaten the survival of the mining company and also create a legitimacy threat for the whole mining industry.

Originality/value

This study innovates by focusing on Suchman’s (1995) typology of legitimacy framework to interpret SER in an industry characterised by potential social and environmental footprints – the mining industry.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2024

Visalakshy Sasikala, Venkataraman Sankaranarayanan, Deepak Dhayanithy and Geetha Mohan

This paper aims to critically examine how dual-listed multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are embedded across multiple national contexts interact with other actors to shape the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to critically examine how dual-listed multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are embedded across multiple national contexts interact with other actors to shape the diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) narrative, outcomes and the associated dynamics of social change in the mining industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use data from the publicly available sustainability reports of two global mining conglomerates with dual-listing structure, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, alongside prevalent DEI regulations in the UK, Australia and South Africa to understand how DEI discourse and practice and the corresponding role of key actors have evolved since 2015. The authors combine a case study approach with topic modelling and qualitative content analysis to critically analyse the linkage between actors’ stated posture and actions in their DEI field and their impact upon various exchange relationships within the mining industry exchange field over the period 2015–2021.

Findings

The analysis revealed three broad phases of evolution in the DEI involvement of the MNEs emphasizing on diversity, equality and inclusion, respectively. Both firms progressed at a different pace across the three phases highlighting the need for a systemic perspective when addressing DEI concerns.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the earliest to adopt an issue and exchange field perspective towards examining the complexity of DEI. Taking a critical performative stance, the authors argue that for improving convergence between MNEs’ DEI rhetoric and reality and to advance DEI in new ways organizations and policymakers must devise structural interventions in the DEI field that substantively impact MNEs’ industry exchange field relationships.

Details

Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Sharad Sharma, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Ruchi Mishra and Nachiappan (Nachi) Subramanian

This study aims to address three research questions pertaining to climate neutrality within the supply chain of metal and mining industry: (1) How can an organization implement…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to address three research questions pertaining to climate neutrality within the supply chain of metal and mining industry: (1) How can an organization implement practices related to climate neutrality in the supply chain? (2) How do members of the supply chain adopt different measures and essential processes to assist an organization in responding to climate change-related concerns? (3) How can the SAP-LAP framework assist in analyzing and proposing solutions to attain climate neutrality?

Design/methodology/approach

To address the proposed research questions concerning climate neutrality, this study employs a case study approach utilizing the SAP-LAP (situation, actor, process–learning, action, performance) framework. Within the SAP-LAP framework, adopting a natural resource-based perspective, the study thoroughly examines the intricacies and interactions among existing situations, pertinent actors and processes that impact climate initiatives within a metal and mining company.

Findings

The study's findings suggest that organizations can achieve the objective of climate neutrality by prioritizing resources and capabilities that lead to reduced GHG emissions, lower energy consumption and optimal resource utilization. The study further proposes key elements that significantly influence the pursuit of climate neutrality within enterprises.

Research limitations/implications

This study is one of the earliest contributions to the development of a holistic understanding of climate neutrality in the supply chain of the metal and mining industry.

Practical implications

The study will assist practitioners and policymakers in comprehending the present circumstances, actors and processes involved in enterprises' supply networks in order to attain climate neutrality in supply chains, as well as in taking the right steps to enhance performance.

Originality/value

This study presents a climate neutrality model and provides valuable insights into emission management, contributing to the achievement of the climate neutrality objective.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 September 2024

Mark Alan Rhodes II and Kathryn Laura Hannum

Industrial heritage works within a world of contradictions, contentions and scalar liminality. Archaeologists and historians focus upon oral histories and discourses of tangible…

Abstract

Purpose

Industrial heritage works within a world of contradictions, contentions and scalar liminality. Archaeologists and historians focus upon oral histories and discourses of tangible and intangible memory and heritage while planners and economists see industrial World Heritage, in particular, as a marketing ploy to redevelop deindustrialized spaces. Within this liminality, we explore the potential for geographical perspectives to solder such contradictions into transdisciplinary heritage assessments and tourism contexts. How might the spatial tools of landscape and scalar analyses expose alternative and sustainable futures within broader patterns of industrial heritage management and consumption?

Design/methodology/approach

Using three comparative cases, interview and landscape methods and conducting discourse analysis within a spatial and scalar framework, we explore the increasing presence of industrial World Heritage.

Findings

We present both an institutional reflection upon the complexities of heritage discourse across complex spatial configurations and the intersectional historical, cultural, political, environmental and economic geographies that guide and emerge out of World Heritage Designations. Framed scalarly and spatially, we highlight common interpretation, tourism and heritage management styles and concerns found across industrial World Heritage. We point out trans-scalar considerations for future municipalities and regions looking to utilize their industrial landscapes and narratives.

Originality/value

We believe that more theoretical groundings in space and scale may lead to both the flexibility and the applicability needed to assess and, in turn, manage trans-scalar and trans-spatial complex heritage sites. These perspectives may be uniquely poised to assess the complex geographies of industrial, particularly mining, World Heritage Sites.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 October 2023

Łukasz Kurowski and Paweł Smaga

Financial stability has become a focal point for central banks since the global financial crisis. However, the optimal mix between monetary and financial stability policies…

Abstract

Purpose

Financial stability has become a focal point for central banks since the global financial crisis. However, the optimal mix between monetary and financial stability policies remains unclear. In this study, the “soft” approach to such policy mix was tested – how often monetary policy (in inflation reports) analyses financial stability issues. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 648 inflation reports published by 11 central banks from post-communist countries in 1998-2019 were reviewed using a text-mining method.

Findings

Results show that financial stability topics (mainly cyclical aspects of systemic risk) on average account for only 2%of inflation reports’ content. Although this share has grown somewhat since the global financial crisis (in CZ, HU and PL), it still remains at a low level. Thus, not enough evidence was found on the use of a “soft” policy mix in post-communist countries.

Practical implications

Given the strong interactions between price and financial stability, this paper emphasizes the need to increase the attention of monetary policymakers to financial stability issues.

Originality/value

The study combines two research areas, i.e. monetary policy and modern text mining techniques on a sample of post-communist countries, something which to the best of the authors’ knowledge has not been sufficiently explored in the literature before.

Details

Central European Management Journal, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2658-0845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2024

Rajesh Sharma and Pradip Kumar Kafle

This study aims to explore the linguistic and syntactic textual features of Central Bank of Nepal (Nepal Rastra Bank [NRB])’s monetary policy. Considering the recent literature…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the linguistic and syntactic textual features of Central Bank of Nepal (Nepal Rastra Bank [NRB])’s monetary policy. Considering the recent literature and methodological advancement in computational linguistic analysis, this study intends to explore the features of published monetary policy reports.

Design/methodology/approach

Text mining technique has been used on the monetary policy published by Central Bank of Nepal for the period between 2002/03 and 2021/22 to describe the textual features such as length, tone, degree of forward looking, use of numerical contents and readability. The raw text was tokenized using Python’s Natural Language Toolkit. Considering the LM dictionary, the frequency of tokens matching with dictionary is computed and divided by total number of words to normalize the obtained value.

Findings

This study found that NRB publishes lengthy monetary policies during economic contractions and vice versa. The tone of the policies are pessimistic most of the time. NRB’s policies are not sufficiently forward looking and complex to be comprehended by layman. Ergo, NRB shall form a team of communication experts to ensure publication of optimistic policies with appropriate linguistic features. Furthermore, publishing the minutes of monetary policy meetings will help enhance effective communication through transparency and proper functioning of expectations channel.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no similar study has been conducted to assess the textual features of monetary policy in Nepal. And this study will be helpful to gauge the status of central bank communication in the context of emerging and least developed countries.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000