Currently, companies spend a great deal of effort on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures. CSR disclosure relates to the provision of information on companies' environmental and social performance. From an economic perspective, companies might disclose this information to avoid or decrease potential political costs. We construct a CSR disclosure index based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Using content analysis, we analyze 130 listed German companies' CSR disclosures (470 firm-year observations) to investigate the determinants of these voluntary disclosure activities. Our results show that, consistent with the political cost theory, German companies' disclosures of all CSR issues are affected by their visibility, shareholder structure, and relationship with their US stakeholders. In addition, higher profitability is associated with more environmental disclosures. Finally, size and industry membership affect the amount of CSR disclosure.
Purpose -The aim of this study is to investigate whether performance management practices affect performance in public sector organizations. Design/methodology/approach -Theoretically, the research project is based on economic as well as behavioral theories. The study distinguishes amongst quantitative performance (efficiency, quantities produced) and qualitative performance (accuracy, quality, innovation and employee morale) and uses survey data from 93 public sector organizations in the Netherlands. Findings -The research shows that the definition of clear and measurable goals is positively associated with quantity performance as well as quality performance. In addition, the use of incentives is positively associated with quantity performance yet not related to quality performance. Finally, the effects of performance management practices in public sector organizations are affected by institutional factors. The results suggest that the behavioral effects of performance management practices are as important as the economic effects in public sector organizations. Research limitations/implications -All limitations of survey research apply. The survey is based on public sector organizations in The Netherlands; findings may not be transferable to other countries. Practical implications -The joint introduction of performance management practices may provide an opportunity to increase quantity performance yet may have no impact on quality performance. Originality/value -The paper responds to previous calls in the literature to use quantitative research methods to generalize findings from previous case studies. Also, the paper empirically tests the impact of performance management practices on performance, an area that has attracted scarce research attention.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether narrative corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures (the provision of textual information on companies’ environmental and social performance to external stakeholders) are associated with firm value in Germany.
Design/methodology/approach
– Based on the global reporting initiative guidelines, the paper uses content analysis to assess the value relevance of CSR disclosures of 130 German companies over four years.
Findings
– The results show that CSR information is value-relevant, but the value relevance of CSR information differs among CSR categories. Specifically, the disclosure of social information is positively associated with firm value yet environmental disclosures are not.
Practical implications
– The results confirm that management should be aware of the potential capital market effects of voluntary CSR disclosures, even though such disclosures may be directed at other stakeholders.
Originality/value
– Germany is an interesting setting as CSR disclosures are voluntarily, even though the institutional environment appears sensitive to CSR disclosures. Despite this, little research has focussed upon the value-relevance of CSR-disclosures in Germany. In addition, the results confirm that management should be aware of the potential capital market effects of voluntary CSR disclosures, even though they are not directed at shareholders as such.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.