Search results
1 – 10 of over 46000Antonio J. Mateo-Márquez, José M. González-González and Constancio Zamora-Ramírez
This study aims to analyse the relationship between countries’ regulatory context and voluntary carbon disclosures. To date, little attention has been paid to how specific climate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the relationship between countries’ regulatory context and voluntary carbon disclosures. To date, little attention has been paid to how specific climate change-related regulation influences companies’ climate change disclosures, especially voluntary carbon reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The New Institutional Sociology perspective has been adopted to examine the pressure of a country’s climate change regulation on voluntary carbon reporting. This research uses Tobit regression to analyse data from 2,183 companies in 12 countries that were invited to respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) questionnaire in 2015.
Findings
The results show that countries’ specific climate change-related regulation does influence both the participation of its companies in the CDP and their quality, as measured by the CDP disclosure score.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is restricted to 12 countries’ regulatory environment. Thus, caution should be exercised when generalising the results to other institutional contexts.
Practical implications
The results are of use to regulators and policymakers to better understand how specific climate change-related regulation influences voluntary carbon disclosure. Investors may also benefit from this research, as it shows which institutional contexts present greater regulatory stringency and how companies in more stringent environments take advantage of synergy to disclose high-quality carbon information.
Social implications
By linking regulatory and voluntary reporting, this study sheds light on how companies use voluntary carbon reporting to adapt to social expectations generated in their institutional context.
Originality/value
This is the first research that considers specific climate change-related regulation in the study of voluntary carbon disclosures.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a policy model for the accounting and auditing profession that fits the current fragmented regulatory context of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a policy model for the accounting and auditing profession that fits the current fragmented regulatory context of the UAE and GCC, and could help accountancy to become a cornerstone of an improved corporate governance regime. This paper aims to focus on the features of accountancy within the UAE and GCC, and develop some suggestions for a regional model.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative paper. Data for this paper were collected via in‐depth interviews with partners in Big Four audit firms in the UAE, accounting academics, and accounting students at the UAEU. Valuable primary sources of data were also web sites and publications from official organizations. A short survey was also administered to students.
Findings
In summary, accountancy's regulatory context in the UAE has remained fragmented. The state has taken the lead role, regulating in some detail the affairs of audit firms. The fragmented regulatory context of accounting and auditing in the UAE has allowed the Big Four to import their global quality assurance systems into the UAE, hiring mainly auditors with foreign examined qualifications. This may present advantages for the policy objective “internationalisation of the UAE economy”. It may, however, be regarded as suboptimal for the policy objectives “localisation of the accountancy profession to support the growth and development of local (family) businesses” and “Emiratisation of the accountancy profession”.
Research limitations/implications
It is suggested that the possible shape of a stronger UAE‐based accountancy profession be investigated in more detail and its suggested positive effects for specific, relevant UAE policies be put to the test. More interviews with other relevant institutions and local accountants would have enriched understanding of the profession.
Practical implications
Understanding the financial regulatory context of UAE is crucial for the understanding and further development of the profession. The Big Four firms have a key role to play in orchestrating efforts towards further professional development.
Social implications
Small and medium‐sized practitioners need to be supported by a clearer regulatory context, which allows them to exist alongside the Big Four.
Originality/value
The paper presents empirical and qualitative evidence about the regulatory context of the UAE.
Details
Keywords
In many countries state ownership of public utilities is being abandoned in favour of private ownership with state regulation. To prevent monopoly abuse, regulatory structures are…
Abstract
In many countries state ownership of public utilities is being abandoned in favour of private ownership with state regulation. To prevent monopoly abuse, regulatory structures are being created for the telecommunications, gas, electricity and water and sewerage sectors. From 1984 the UK privatised its major utilities and introduced a form of regulation that is proving to be a model for other countries. This paper looks at the performance of UK privatised utilities and the role of regulation in improving performance. It also considers the important subject of regulatory governance. The paper concludes that regulatory governance depends on the institutional context of regulation and that one country’s regulatory system cannot be successfully transferred to another country with a very different set of institutional constraints without appropriate adaptation.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this study is to integrate institutional theory with current research in corporate political strategy and political science to examine the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to integrate institutional theory with current research in corporate political strategy and political science to examine the relationship between organizations and regulatory agencies. It seeks to explore the limits of the power of the state to regulate organizations by comparing the historical timing of industry regulation of two different fields. It aims to examine two US regulatory agencies – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a longitudinal analysis of two US regulatory agencies that illustrates differences in agency responses to firm resistance. Specifically, event history analysis and maximum likelihood estimation are used to examine the impact that firms in the commercial airline and automobile industry have in the rule‐making process of the FAA and NHTSA.
Findings
Distinct differences were found between the rule‐making context of the airline and automobile industries.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on the rule‐making context of two regulatory agencies. Examining additional agencies in future studies would help confirm the results of this study. Moreover, because the study is limited to regulatory agencies in the USA, the results may not be directly generalizable to other nations.
Originality/value
This study emphasizes the importance of historical context and its impact on current industry conditions, particularly in regulation.
Details
Keywords
Rui J. P. de Figueiredo and Geoff Edwards
We show that, in the US telecommunications industry, market participants have a sophisticated understanding of the political process, and behave strategically in their allocation…
Abstract
We show that, in the US telecommunications industry, market participants have a sophisticated understanding of the political process, and behave strategically in their allocation of contributions to state legislators as if seeking to purchase influence over regulatory policy. We find that interests respond defensively to contributions from rivals, take into account the configuration of support available to them in both the legislature and the regulatory commission, and vary their contributions according to variations in relative costs for influence by different legislatures. This strategic behavior supports a theory that commercially motivated interests contribute campaign resources in order to mobilize legislators to influence the decisions of regulatory agencies. We also report evidence that restrictions on campaign finance do not affect all interests equally. The paper therefore provides positive evidence on the nature and effects of campaign contributions in regulated industries where interest group competition may be sharp.
Details
Keywords
David Levi‐Faur and Ziva Rozen Bachar
The wave of regulatory reforms in European telecoms and electricity industries has had an important impact on the structure of the state as well as of corporations. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The wave of regulatory reforms in European telecoms and electricity industries has had an important impact on the structure of the state as well as of corporations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the establishment of these regulatory organizations at the state and corporate levels within a unified theoretical framework, that is grounded in the politics of regulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The case selection includes governance structures at the state and corporate levels in 16 European countries in both telecoms and electricity.
Findings
The data reveal that regulatory agencies exist in both telecoms and electricity sectors in all 16 countries under study, with the notable exception of Switzerland's electricity sector. At the same time, business corporate reforms were also evident, mainly via the creation of corporate regulatory offices at the headquarters of the firms. These departments, which redefine the patterns of responsibility within the corporation and have played the leading role in the negotiations with the external regulatory environment.
Originality/value
This paper strives to overcome the tendency in the scholarly literature to look only at one or the other aspect of the growth of regulatory development and therefore also to offer a narrow understanding of the growth of regulation. It asserts that the commonalities in the expansion of autonomous regulatory agencies and corporate regulatory departments suggest that the growth in the regulatory professionalization of the state and of business corporations reflects the changing nature of capitalist economy and society and the rise of a new global order of “regulatory capitalism”.
Details
Keywords
Meige Song, Longwei Wang, Li Wang and Wan Chen
Drawing on a sensemaking perspective, this study aims to theoretically and empirically investigate the effects of participative corporate political activity (PCPA) on radical…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on a sensemaking perspective, this study aims to theoretically and empirically investigate the effects of participative corporate political activity (PCPA) on radical innovation and how regulatory uncertainty and technological uncertainty affect firms’ choice of PCPA as well as its effectiveness on radical innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the research model based on survey data collected from 227 Chinese manufacturing firms.
Findings
The results indicate that PCPA has a significantly positive effect on radical innovation. Both regulatory and technological uncertainty are positively related to PCPA. In addition, regulatory uncertainty strengthens the positive relationship between PCPA and radical innovation, whereas technological uncertainty weakens this relationship.
Practical implications
This study reveals that firm managers should be mindful that PCPA is beneficial to firms’ radical innovation activities in China. Additionally, although regulatory uncertainty and technological uncertainty can drive firms to engage in PCPA to cope with the ambiguity they experienced, managers should also be alert to the complicated role of environment forces in enlarging or discounting the positive effect of PCPA on radical innovation.
Originality/value
The findings offer fresh insights into the use of PCPA to manage the uncertain external environment when pursuing radical innovation activities in China.
Details
Keywords
This article develops Polanyi’s (2001) theme of harnessing the regulatory capacity of a social sphere by focusing on trust as an emotion for framing risk regulatory regimes. Using…
Abstract
This article develops Polanyi’s (2001) theme of harnessing the regulatory capacity of a social sphere by focusing on trust as an emotion for framing risk regulatory regimes. Using the global mining sector as its focus, it explores the role of trust in the regulation and corporate management of social and environmental risk.
Sociological perspectives on trust are employed to identify and analyze dynamics of trust in the mining industry. The article draws on data collected between 2004 and 2008 by way of participant observation, document analysis, and in-depth qualitative interviews with around 40 representatives of the mining industry, NGOs, and regulators. Trust-relationships are an example of harnessing the regulatory capacity of a social sphere, but they can also undermine regulatory effort where trust is abused. The effectiveness of trust-based regulation would be enhanced by sanctions for nonperformance that target corporate motivations and financial performance. This research focused on a selection of large, multinational mining corporations with a presence in Australia. Generalizations could not be made from this research about smaller mining entities or single-country or state-owned corporations.
A better understanding of corporate trust-building behaviors and motivations can help inform more effective regulatory strategy for improving corporate, social, and environmental impacts. This article contributes to the body of knowledge about the regulation of the social and environmental performance of the mining industry. This is important as many of the remaining accessible mineral deposits across the globe are in areas of environmental and social significance.
Details
Keywords
David Deakins, Jo Bensemann and Martina Battisti
The purpose of this paper is to undertake a qualitative case-based analysis of the factors affecting the capability of primary sector rural entrepreneurs to manage regulation. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to undertake a qualitative case-based analysis of the factors affecting the capability of primary sector rural entrepreneurs to manage regulation. The authors suggest a conceptual framework to aid understanding of their skill and capability when managing regulation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multiple case study approach the entrepreneurial skill of rural entrepreneurs is examined in light of three sets of factors: institutional regulatory, social capital and economic market.
Findings
The case analysis indicates diversity in the skill of rural entrepreneurs to manage regulation across sub-sectors including dairy and stock farming, fruit growers and vegetable/horticultural producers. The conceptual framework indicates that there are three areas that influence entrepreneurial skill: relationships with national cooperatives, relationships with the institutional regulatory environment and relationships with the economic market environment. This provides the authors with a conceptual framework to aid understanding of the interplay of factors affecting entrepreneurial skill and capability to manage regulation.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the emerging stream of literature highlighting the importance of industry sector context for understanding the complex and differing regulatory effects on entrepreneurs’ skill and hence capability to manage. Case comparisons allow the authors to explain and understand why entrepreneurs that operate similar businesses within the same sector respond differently to regulation.
Details
Keywords
Marialuisa Saviano, Giuseppe Russo, Massimiliano Farina Briamonte and Loris Di Nallo
Assuming that knowledge management is a pivotal issue in business to improve and maintain competitive advantages, this paper aims to investigate how knowledge management is useful…
Abstract
Purpose
Assuming that knowledge management is a pivotal issue in business to improve and maintain competitive advantages, this paper aims to investigate how knowledge management is useful to face challenges about the integration of environment, social and governance (ESG) factors, filling the gap in the literature regarding knowledge management and ESG in the banking world by considering a real case.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting from the analysis of the more relevant literature on the topic, this paper describes an illustrative real case through interviews with the credit department of an Italian bank that has adopted a specific sustainability approach. This paper discusses this case in the context of the outlined theoretical background to explore the trends and challenges of ESG integration. The case study allows us to evaluate and expand our theoretical framework, leading to a greater understanding of the complex phenomenon under investigation.
Findings
Based on the analysis of the literature combined with the insights that emerged from the experience of the real case, this study shows that there are three primary factors to consider: data issues, competencies and workflow. This study outlines an enhanced knowledge management framework displaying the complexity emerging from the integration of ESG into a bank’s credit department and identify the best practices to pursue.
Practical implications
Given the increasing pressure toward the incorporation of ESG factors into the banking sector, the practical implications of the study are relevant as they provide guidelines for action. Specifically, the practical problems highlighted by the real case, like the priority on themes such as questionnaires, the need for ad hoc commissions and workflow, drive the attention of decision-makers on key aspects to effectively adopt an advanced knowledge management approach aimed at improving the ESG integration. Considering the effect of the banking system on the economy, the best practices this study has identified can also have a positive impact on society as a whole.
Originality/value
The proposed enhanced knowledge management framework offers a guideline to orchestrate ESG integration into banks’ credit departments, considering the increasing need to frame a sustainability-oriented strategic approach that emerges from academic and practical enquiries. This research represents an initial attempt to investigate the integration of ESG factors in the banking system through the lens of knowledge management. The strategic nature of the ESG approach clearly appears in a dynamic environment where stakeholder pressures and regulatory evolutions are strong.
Details