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Purpose In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency. Research limitations/implications The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency. Practical implications There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions. Social implications The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society. Originality/value This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.

A substantial component of government funding for university research in the UK is now based upon an evaluation of the quality of research being conducted in each university, on a subject by subject basis. This paper describes the processes involved in the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) for business and management studies. It is argued that the strength of the current process lies in the peer review of the quality of research outputs. In addition, some of the issues needing to be resolved in undertaking such an exercise are described and evaluated. Finally, based on the authors' exposure to the full range of management research currently being conducted in the UK, some suggestions are made regarding future research directions.

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The aim of this paper is to extend the Industrial Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Index proposed for the 10 main industries in the 39 sectors of activity that comprise them. This extension will provide more detailed information on CSR practices at the industrial level, especially about sustainable development and environmental concerns. In addition, this paper stablishes an aggregate measure of industrial classification and mimetic typologies. It will tabulate the overall impact that the economic activity of a company has on society and environment. Thereby, the relationships between these indicators and the mimetic institutional forces are studied, testing these forces indicate that companies from sectors considered to have greater impact/risk have higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores than companies from other sectors. Additionally, using the MetaBiplot statistical multivariate technique, which by the comparison and integration of several subspaces provides a global view of sustainability at a sectoral level, it was found that the most polluting companies with the highest environmental risks-forestry and paper, mining, oil and gas producers, gas, water, and multi-utilities, tobacco and electricity sectors-show their predilection for environmental policies and reports, human rights, and stakeholder participation. Moreover, the less polluting companies-banks, insurance, media, telecommunications, real state, and general retailers-are more intensive on staff and implement policies aimed at favoring: the personal and work-life balance with systems for employee training and promotion; the equal opportunities and participation; the maintenance of good customer and supplier relations; and the fight to counteract bribery.