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The purpose of this paper is to look at opportunities for Kazakhstan to participate in voluntary carbon markets by submitting forest protection, afforestation and reforestation projects that can be offered to domestic or foreign participants willing to take corporate social responsibility (CSR) and reduce their anthropogenic impact on the climate system by buying these projects.

The study applies a qualitative approach which is based on analysis of scientific articles, entity reports, and national legislative framework related to the topic of the research.

The findings reveal that the issues of CSR, participation in voluntary carbon markets and domestic forestry sector may be integrated if addressed properly. However, Kazakhstan lacks the level of understanding and acceptance of social or environmental responsibilities necessary to engage in CSR practices. In addition, participation of project developers from Kazakhstan in voluntary carbon markets is a subject to the complicated project submission process. Although voluntary carbon markets are not driven by specific regulations and do not require national legal frameworks to enter the voluntary market system, participation may still be a subject to other national legal aspects.

The study shows how CSR actions may bring win‐win situations both for entities’ sustainability reporting which undertake these actions, and for the forestry sector of Kazakhstan. Therefore, a specific strategy should be customized to reflect national circumstances, and which provides assistance for and enhance discussions about CSR, voluntary carbon markets, and their overall contribution to sustainable development.

The paper addresses the aspects of taking CSR in a developing country as Kazakhstan where the concept of CSR still lacks supportive legal and promotional mechanisms. It introduces the possible relation of the voluntary carbon markets to the forestry sector of Kazakhstan.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the auditor in enhancing the market consequences of voluntary disclosure in East Asian countries that have different reporting environments. This study also investigates the effect of quality of the reporting environment on the role of the auditor in enhancing market consequences of voluntary disclosure.

The methodology used in this research is multiple regressions using the least square method. This research uses East Asian countries context that covers India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand with cross-sectional data during 2016. This research uses four measurements of market consequences, namely, cumulative abnormal return (CAR), volatility of return, bid-ask spread and trading volume.

The results show that voluntary disclosure gives positive consequences to the capital market by increasing the CAR, volatility of return and average trading volume, and decreasing asymmetric information. The results also show that auditor plays a significant role in increasing the credibility of voluntary disclosure by increasing the market consequences of disclosure. The role of the auditor in increasing the effect of voluntary disclosure is higher in a country that adopts international best practice in financial reporting.

The findings of this study need to be interpreted with caution due to several limitations. Although the measurement of voluntary disclosure used in this study is relatively more complete compared to previous research, there are still much voluntary information disclosed that are not included in the checklist. Moreover, this study only considers voluntary disclosure in the annual report. Therefore, future studies can develop a more comprehensive measurement of voluntary disclosure and use sources of information beyond the annual report.

This study shows that in a reporting environment that is less transparent as in the conditions of countries in East Asia, voluntary disclosure and the role of the auditor in increasing value of voluntary disclosure for market participants is crucial. Companies need to increase their voluntary disclosures as they become additional provisions in improving the reporting environment and consider the result of this study when choosing the auditor. Second, audit quality is more important in increasing the credibility of voluntary disclosure in countries that adopt international best practices in financial reporting. The result of this study implies that audit quality is a complementary mechanism of the reporting environment.

This study expands the literature of the role of the auditor on the market consequences of voluntary disclosures and explores the role of the auditor in different reporting environment across countries in East Asia. This study shows that auditor increases the credibility of voluntary disclosure in the different context of accounting and auditing practices.

The chapter studies the functioning of the so-called “voluntary” carbon offset market, a market in which moral controversies take place. The analysis dwells on the theoretical framework that enables us to study the functioning of a contested market through particular devices. The chapter seeks to contribute to the literature on moral struggles within markets by focusing the attention on one specific device: relational work, including several dimensions like meeting between seller and buyer, establishing contracts and maintaining the relationship with clients in the long run. By studying relational work, the authors highlight how this basic market activity is a crucial device that makes it possible for a contested market to continue to exist.

This paper aims to investigate whether providing voluntary external assurance on voluntary environmental information by firms operating in environmentally sensitive industries (ESI) is relevant in terms of market value. It also examines how various characteristics of assurance statements (i.e. level of assurance, scope of assurance and provider of assurance) affect the value-relevance of environmental disclosure by ESI firms.

To mitigate the endogeneity problem, the authors use the two-step generalized method of moments estimation approach.

Focusing on annual and social reports of French companies listed in the SBF120 index, results show that environmental disclosure by ESI firms and its assurance are destructive in terms of market value. Moreover, while providing a broader scope of assurance and having a professional accountant as the assurance provider enhance the value relevance of environmental reporting of the whole sample, this is unlikely to be the case for ESI firms. In particular, a higher level of environmental disclosure is financially rewarded by market participants for ESI firms that provide a higher level of assurance.

The study provides a better understanding of the circumstances under which market participants assign value to voluntary environmental information disclosed by companies operating in ESI. It also provides insights into the value added to different characteristics inherent in the quality of assurance provided with regard to environmental disclosure.

The study indicates that the institutional context of the relationship between the firm and its shareholders influence the value obtained from assurance. Results provide value insights regarding cultural and legal dimensions of environmental reporting.

The study extends the prior literature on the capital market benefits of voluntary assurance practices by focusing on the French legal environment. France can be considered as a new institutional context that has been little addressed by the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not listed Turkish companies’ voluntary disclosure practices are value‐relevant in the capital market.

The sample consists of 129 manufacturing companies listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) for the year 2010. Data regarding voluntary disclosure level and other variables have been collected by analyzing the contents of annual reports. Through multiple regression analysis, the authors investigated whether or not voluntary disclosure level impacts firm value.

The main finding of the study is that voluntary disclosure is value‐relevant; i.e. impacts firm value. This implies that market participants value voluntary disclosure. The more information firms disclose voluntarily, the higher value they have in the eyes of investors. Therefore, this finding might be accepted as a signal to corporations to disclose more information to the stakeholders. However, the finding varied based on the dependent variable used; hence, the result was not supported by all models.

The findings of this paper are based on the study conducted on the ISE including manufacturing industry. Thus, the results might not be valid for non‐listed and non‐manufacturing companies.

There is a scarcity of studies regarding how the marketplace perceives voluntary disclosure. The paper evaluates comprehensively the value relevance of overall voluntary disclosure as well as of 12 sub‐categories of disclosure. It contributes to the relevant literature, particularly in an emerging market context.

To broaden the scope of our knowledge of collective voluntarily simplified lifestyles in the UK, by exploring whether voluntary simplifiers achieve their goals by adopting a simpler life.

Radical forms of voluntary simplifier groups were explored through participant‐observation research. The methodology can be broadly classified as critical ethnography, and a multi‐locale approach has been used in designing the field.

Although for some of these consumers voluntary simplicity seems to have reinstated the enjoyment of life, certain goals remain unfulfilled and other unexpected issues arise, such as the challenges of mobility in the attainment of environmental goals.

This is an ongoing research, however many opportunities for further research have arisen from this study. Quantitative research could be undertaken on the values and attitudes buttressing voluntary simplicity specifically in the UK. The extent to which such communities influence mainstream consumers could be studied both quantitatively and qualitatively. Mainstream consumers' attitudes to the practices of such communities could prove useful for uncovering real consumer needs.

Despite these communities position in the extreme end of the voluntary simplicity spectrum, their role in shaping the practices and attitudes of other consumers is clear.

This paper provides new consumer insights that can re‐shape policy‐making and marketing practice aimed at achieving a sustainable future.

Greater contribution of voluntary simplicity to sustainability may extend beyond the scope of consumption behavior. This paper aims to argue that work behavior is also important and it explores how and why personal consumption of the voluntary simplifiers relates to the way they work.

This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews to explore the consumption–work experience relationship and driving values of voluntary simplifiers. Thailand is the chosen context, as it represents an emerging economy aiming to converge economic growth and sufficiency.

The findings demonstrate that, driven mainly by contentment and integrity, simple living complements leisurely, meaningful and, most intriguingly, ethical work. In return, such work behavior provides enough earnings and fulfills the beginners, as well as the progressive and extensive simplifiers.

The consumption–work relationship model of the voluntary simplifiers provides an alternative starting point for further research and practice to tackle overconsumption, inequality, inequity and corruption – the critical challenges of sustainability.

This research takes a more complete approach to study the voluntary simplifiers. The empirical results demonstrate the greater scope of voluntary simplicity literature beyond sustainable consumption and work–life balance. Based on the consumption–work relationship driven mainly by contentment and integrity, this paper proposes meaningful and ethical work as the promising contribution of voluntary simplicity to sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to examine consumers’ motives in signing up for a week-long voluntary simplicity experiment, No Impact Week (NIW), and reducing their consumption during and afterwards.

The empirical data come from informants who filled out a pre-week email inquiry, completed a daily diary template centred on eight themes, responded to a post-week email inquiry and answered follow-up questions one month after completion.

Those who participate in NIW were motivated by personal factors, such as curiosity and desire to be more aware, to learn tips for eco-living applicable to daily life and to challenge themselves. People who chose not to participate did so largely because they did not understand what would be required of them. Participants incorporated the experiment into their lives, but the outcomes remained dependent on existing structures, in this case environmental and personal factors. The findings indicate the existence of a value–action gap and an awareness–behaviour gap.

While a mismatch between consumers’ consumption values and behaviour is not uncommon, enabling behaviour in line with values is crucial for reducing consumption. Although voluntary simplicity is a drastic form of consumption reduction that appeals only to a small but growing niche of people, the motives for and consequences of engaging in it highlight pressing issues of consumer behaviour and consumption.

The study is unique in that it links voluntary simplicity to a social marketing campaign that should appeal to those with a favourable attitude towards taking action and reducing their consumption.

This paper aims to explore the impact intentional non-consumption has on consumer practices, the resulting consumption experiences and meanings attached to the actions of participants and what is learned from this relative to voluntary simplicity, most specifically when participants are asked to become voluntary simplifiers versus volunteering to do so.

A phenomenological approach was applied utilising unstructured interviews and autoethnography. Data were analysed through the theoretical lens of voluntary simplicity within the contexts of contemporary Irish consumer culture and the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.

The study highlights findings in four key areas: self-imposed parameters of intentional non-consumption and subsequent voluntary simplicity categories; motivations, practices and experiences of participants; the role intentional non-consumption plays relative to personal satisfaction, fulfilment and happiness; and how participant consumption practices reverted to “normal” once the study was complete.

This study focuses on an all-female group of participants; future research is warranted that explores the issue from a male perspective.

Findings are of particular interest to policy makers seeking to develop initiatives that reduce consumption practices and contribute to discussions that explore the role of consumption in modern society – in particular the wide-ranging debate on whether consumption leads to happiness and how consumers might be persuaded to consume in a more sustainable manner.

This study adopts an innovative methodology that explores voluntary simplicity and contributes to an understanding of consumption culture by exploring what happens when consumers are asked to reduce their consumption and become voluntary simplifiers. An extension of Huneke’s definition of voluntary simplicity is offered, which recognises the role non-material consumption plays in consumption practices, and explores voluntary simplicity relative not only to individuals’ values and beliefs, as discussed in the literature, but also to their lifestyle activities and wider sociocultural and institutional factors.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of competition in financial markets on the frequency of portfolio disclosures by mutual funds and its implications for consumer search costs.

The empirical analysis merges the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) survivorship bias-free mutual fund database, the Thompson Financial CDA/ Spectrum holdings database and the CRSP stock price data. The sample covers the time period between 1993 and 2010 and OLS and logistic regressions are used to investigate the impact of competition on fund disclosures.

This paper finds that mutual fund disclosures decrease with market competition and this effect is amplified for funds holding illiquid assets. These results provide empirical support for the findings of Carlin et al. (2102). Mutual funds use portfolio disclosures as a marketing tool to attract investments in a tournament-like market, where superior relative performance and greater visibility are rewarded with convex payoffs. With competition, the likelihood of receiving new investments decreases for each fund and funds respond by reducing costly voluntary disclosures. The disclosure costs are higher for funds holding illiquid assets, and hence, the effect is stronger for them.

This paper has important policy implications for disclosures in a market where relative performance matters. The traditional view is that competition induces voluntary disclosure because entities would like to differentiate themselves from competitors, and hence, competition should increase market transparency. However, this paper sheds light on the negative consequence of competition in a tournament-like mutual fund market.