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Article
Publication date: 21 May 2018

Emilio Passetti, Lino Cinquini and Andrea Tenucci

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the implementation of internal environmental management and voluntary environmental information is related to…

3338

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the implementation of internal environmental management and voluntary environmental information is related to organisational change.

Design/methodology/approach

Organisational change literature provided a framework for the analysis of the materials which were collected through a mixed method. Data on internal environmental management were collected through a survey, while a quality disclosure index was used to assess the quality of the environmental voluntary disclosure. Interviews were used to enhance the quantitative results interpreted according to the four pathways proposed by Tilt (2006) and characterised by several levels of internal environmental management and voluntary disclosure.

Findings

The results indicated that companies implement more internal activities than external disclosure. Environmental planning and operational practices were the most important changes carried out. When environmental management accounting and environmental disclosure were also implemented, environmental aspects were more integrated within companies, thus revealing that a more structured integration of sustainability aspects within organisational values had taken place. The results underline the importance of primarily establishing a set of internal changes, driven by environmental planning, to promote organisational change.

Research limitations/implications

The study presents a larger empirical analysis of the organisational change pathways followed by companies, showing similarities and differences among the four pathways. The results underline the importance of both dimensions for studying organisational changes. The framework of Tilt has been enriched, considering a more precise explanation of the internal aspects and adding the concept of the quality of disclosure as proxy to assess organisational change.

Originality/value

Organisational change is investigated through an extensive analysis of internal and external aspects and collecting quantitative and qualitative evidence. The analysis complements previous sustainability accounting literature focussed on the analysis of internal environmental management and external disclosure.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2017

Marsha B. Keune, Timothy M. Keune and Linda A. Quick

Voluntary changes in accounting principle represent explicit and fundamental decisions by managers to exercise accounting discretion. This paper develops an organizing framework…

Abstract

Voluntary changes in accounting principle represent explicit and fundamental decisions by managers to exercise accounting discretion. This paper develops an organizing framework to review prior literature on voluntary changes, provides descriptive insights on contemporary changes, and identifies opportunities for future research on voluntary changes. The voluntary change literature is robust and has examined many questions using data prior to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). We find that contemporary voluntary changes often vary across the pre-SOX, post-SOX, and post-SFAS No. 154 periods by the materiality of their income effect, issue type, and justifications provided by managers, suggesting that manager use of voluntary changes has evolved over time. Our future research opportunities consider potential determinants of voluntary changes including strategic incentives, environmental conditions, and manager characteristics, as well as the potential direct or moderating role of corporate governance and auditors on manager use of voluntary changes. They also consider user reactions to voluntary changes. By providing insight into both extant voluntary change research and the contemporary use of voluntary changes, our study informs standards setters who grant managers the ability to exercise this form of accounting discretion, as well as researchers who plan to study accounting choice through voluntary changes.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2019

Seth A. Hoelscher

This paper aims to investigate the implications of governance quality on a firm’s information environment in the context of voluntary changes in hedging disclosures made by oil…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the implications of governance quality on a firm’s information environment in the context of voluntary changes in hedging disclosures made by oil and gas companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research utilizes a Factiva-guided search to hand-collect public disclosures related to changes in hedging policies along with the hand collection of financial derivatives positions and operational hedging contracts data using 10-K filings. The paper addresses self-selection bias, which typically plagues voluntary disclosure studies, by implementing a Heckman (1979) two-step model to estimate the decision process, make changes in their hedge program and, conditional on making changes to their hedging activities, provide disclosure.

Findings

Oil and gas firms with relatively poor governance are more likely to voluntarily disclose hedging changes and do so more frequently (substitution hypothesis). There is evidence that poorly governed firms in the presence of large shareholders (i.e. high institutional ownership) are more likely to provide transparency of hedging policy changes.

Originality/value

This is the first study to combine hand-collected changes in hedging voluntary disclosures and hand-collected derivative position data to investigate the interaction of corporate governance and voluntary disclosure. The sample allows for analysis between three sub-samples: companies that do not make changes in hedging and do not hedge, firms that make changes in their hedging policies but do not disclose the changes during a given year and companies that change their hedging activities and provide voluntary disclosure. This unique setting helps to alleviate concerns of self-selection bias associated with voluntary disclosure.

Details

Review of Accounting and Finance, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1475-7702

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Hsiao‐Yen Mao

This study presents a meaningful moderator, a fundamental characteristic of employers – their size, to unravel the inconsistencies regarding the relationship between the workers’…

1685

Abstract

This study presents a meaningful moderator, a fundamental characteristic of employers – their size, to unravel the inconsistencies regarding the relationship between the workers’ voluntary employer changes and salary attainment in previous studies. Results indicate that voluntary employer changes did not predict salary attainment in large firms, whereas a positive effect was found to be stronger in medium than in small firms. Also presented herein are several explanations for the moderating property of firm size.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2024

Alieena Mathew, Sebastian Isbanner and Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

This study aims to develop a research agenda for the advancement of theory application in practical contexts by presenting a case study of the Engagement in Plastic-free…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop a research agenda for the advancement of theory application in practical contexts by presenting a case study of the Engagement in Plastic-free Innovation for Change (EPIC) programme delivered by Plastic Oceans Australasia (POA).

Design/methodology/approach

EPIC is a behaviour change programme by POA that aims to reduce single-use plastic (SUP) consumption in workplaces. The study evaluates the programme’s impact on employee perceptions and actual behaviour through pre- and post-programme data collection in two Australian workplaces. Data was gathered via online surveys and waste audits and analysed using SPSS statistics and Excel.

Findings

The case study highlights the need for theory application in programme evaluation instruments. Theory was not used in the programme evaluation tool, and theory could not be mapped onto the tool retroactively. The data from the present study showed mixed results. Data from Workplaces 1 and 2 indicated that EPIC successfully improved three out of seven employee perceptions of SUP reduction efforts. However, individual workplace data showed that EPIC only improved one out of seven perceptions in Workplace 1 and three out of seven perceptions in Workplace 2. Surprisingly, Workplace 1 observed a decrease in plastic waste after the programme, while Workplace 2 saw an increase. Without the clear integration of theory, it is difficult to pinpoint areas for improvement. It is, however, posited that COVID-19 restrictions on people attending their workplaces and low survey response rates may have contributed to these unexpected results.

Practical implications

The present study highlights key improvements that can be made to evaluations of voluntary behaviour change programmes. Careful evaluation of behaviour change programmes is key to improving programme effectiveness. Practitioners will find the suggested improvements from this study helpful in developing and refining voluntary behaviour change programme evaluations.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to evaluate the impacts of a voluntary behaviour change programme aimed at reducing SUPs in the workplace. It also adds to the limited literature on voluntary behaviour change interventions overall and adds to the movement towards better application of theory in behaviour change interventions.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1994

Roger Courtney

Suggests that voluntary organizations must respond to various changestaking place in order to survive. Many public sector units are beingtransferred to the independent sector…

1216

Abstract

Suggests that voluntary organizations must respond to various changes taking place in order to survive. Many public sector units are being transferred to the independent sector which will mean growth in the voluntary sector, calling for increased professionalism in income generation and accountability. The care sector is also being restructured causing further confusion. Outlines a number of new directions as the key development areas for the management of voluntary organizations.

Details

Management Development Review, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0962-2519

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1988

John Creedy and Keith Whitfield

Introduction The literature on earnings change has increasingly suggested that the key processes generating earnings inequality are those operating within the firm. However, there…

Abstract

Introduction The literature on earnings change has increasingly suggested that the key processes generating earnings inequality are those operating within the firm. However, there has been little empirical work on these phenomena, largely reflecting data deficiencies. Very few data‐sets on earnings contain information about internal processes and those which do often measure them narrowly. For example, most surveys of labour mobility define it either as movement between firms or as such movement plus major, once‐and‐for‐all changes of work type.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2023

Tam Huy Nguyen, Yue Yang, Thi Hong Thuy Nguyen and Lien Thi Huong Nguyen

This study aims to examine the reaction of stakeholders (i.e. capital providers) to climate-related corporate reporting. Climate-related corporate reporting is captured by the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the reaction of stakeholders (i.e. capital providers) to climate-related corporate reporting. Climate-related corporate reporting is captured by the level of voluntary carbon disclosure, while the recognition and appreciation of capital providers are captured through the cost of equity capital (COE).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a sample including the 350 largest companies by market capitalization on the London Stock Exchange, UK (FTSE350) from 2015 to 2019. The authors use fixed-effects regression models to examine the effect of climate-related corporate reporting on the COE.

Findings

This study finds that voluntary carbon disclosure proxied by carbon disclosure score is negatively associated with COE. This suggests that firms’ superior quality disclosure of carbon information could contribute to a lower COE. This implies that the market and stakeholders positively appreciate the involvement in climate-related reporting by businesses.

Originality/value

The finding provides insights to regulators, investors and other stakeholders in terms of the positive economic implication of actively engaging in reducing climate change impact through voluntary carbon disclosure. These findings also motivate corporates to be proactively involved in climate-related reporting by extending the quality of carbon information disclosure.

Details

Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-2517

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 May 2007

Rucker C. Johnson

I use data from employers and longitudinal data from former/current recipients covering the period 1997 to early 2004 to analyze the relationship between job skills, job changes

Abstract

I use data from employers and longitudinal data from former/current recipients covering the period 1997 to early 2004 to analyze the relationship between job skills, job changes, and the evolution of wages. I analyze the effects of job skill requirements on starting wages, on-the-job training opportunities, wage growth prospects, and job turnover. The results show that jobs of different skill requirements differ in their prospects for earnings growth, independent of the workers who fill these jobs. Furthermore, these differences in wage growth opportunities across jobs are important determinants of workers’ quit propensities (explicitly controlling for unobserved worker heterogeneity). The determinants and consequences of job dynamics are investigated. The results using a multiplicity of methods, including the estimation of a multinomial endogenous switching model of wage growth, show that job changes, continuity of work involvement, and the use of cognitive skills are all critical components of the content of work experience that leads to upward mobility. The results underscore the sensitivity of recipients’ job transition patterns to changes in labor market demand conditions.

Details

Aspects of Worker Well-Being
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-473-7

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2019

Merve Kılıç and Cemil Kuzey

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of voluntary climate change disclosures in the Turkish banking industry and explore the factors explaining the extent of…

1747

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of voluntary climate change disclosures in the Turkish banking industry and explore the factors explaining the extent of such disclosures.

Design/methodology/approach

The research sample is based upon 24 banks that had been continuously operating in Turkey over the seven-year period from 2010 to 2016. The study uses a disclosure index to investigate the extent of voluntary climate change-related disclosures made in their annual and sustainability reports by banks. The study also investigates factors impacting the extent of disclosures by using multiple regression and fractional regression analysis.

Findings

The findings of the research reveal that while the number of banks providing voluntary information on their climate change-related practices substantially increased from 2010 to 2016, there remains a significant number of banks that have not incorporated climate change-related issues into their lending policies or corporate strategies. Further, with regard to the regression analysis, the study documents the significant and positive impacts of bank size, profitability, bank age and listing status upon the extent of the climate change disclosures, in line with political cost and legitimacy theory.

Practical implications

The banking sector crucially impacts climate change indirectly, since banks provide financial backing to companies operating in environmentally sensitive industries. This paper presents empirical evidence of the factors impacting the extent of climate change disclosures by these banks, which might then be referred to by regulatory bodies when developing policies to promote environmentally responsible business practices within the banking industry.

Social implications

Several parties, which include governments, companies, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must work together to fight climate change. In this sense, the NGOs and green activists have a crucial role in raising public awareness about climate change, which might then inspire financial institutions to incorporate climate change-related issues into their policies, operations and strategies.

Originality/value

The study extends the prior literature in two ways. This study has concentrated on environmental reporting practices in the banking sector which have been investigated in very few prior studies. Since prior research has focused on developed countries, this paper adds to the current literature by examining the environmental disclosure practices of commercial banks operating in Turkey, which is a rapidly developing country.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

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