Factors influencing the transparency of sustainability information in regional governments: an empirical study

Alcaraz-Quiles, Francisco José; Navarro‐Galera, Andrés; Ortiz-Rodríguez, David

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.06.086

Cited by 64 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Among the remaining local governments, the majority of them use between 11-40 environmental indicators to measure and report their environmental orientation. In conclusion, this widespread use of indicators indicates an extensive environmental orientation and that the local governments are gradually moving towards a more sustainable ecosystem (compare [9,59,64,66]) and that also includes the involvement of and reporting to multiple stakeholders.…”

Section: Discussion and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Several studies show that environmental performance in the public sector is only in early stages [9,26,27] and the organizations present their sustainability efforts based on stakeholder requests [9]. Alcaraz-Quiles et al [59] describe that the demographics in the local governments influence what information is published. Local governments with high unemployment prioritize social indicators instead of environmental indicators.…”

Section: Environmental Performance Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments

2018

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This study explores the environmental orientation in Swedish local governments. Environmental concerns over potential risk factors have become more important and popular among public organizations and environmental improvement efforts are made to create a sustainable ecosystem for the actors doing business, living and working in the area. Prior research indicates that public organizations have started to become more environmentally oriented in order to take on more responsibilities for reducing their own environmental impact as well as influencing the citizens and local businesses in the direction of a more sustainable way of living and working. Through a survey of Swedish local governments we conclude that they are taking on a key role in developing a sustainable ecosystem through becoming more environmentally oriented. This includes developing a framework for setting environmental goals, identifying suitable environmental indicators and reporting to a wide range of stakeholders. A factor that explains the increasing environmental orientation in the public sector is the implementation of digitalized performance measurement systems. We find that the environmental performance measurements are used to motivate different internal and external stakeholders in the efforts to create a multi-actor ecosystem.

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Section: Discussion and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Environmental Performance Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments

2018

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“…Rüdiger and Kühnen [13] described legitimacy, stakeholders, signaling, and institutional theory as determinants of sustainability reporting. Alcaraz-Quiles, Navarro-Galera, and Ortiz-Rodríguez [14] reported that socioeconomic and e-government factors are relevant to the disclosure of sustainability information by regional governments. Barkemeyer, Comyns, Figge, and Napolitano [15] reported that the rhetoric in the chief executive officer statements of sustainability reports is indicative of impression management rather than accountability, despite the increasing standardization of sustainability reporting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Firm Characteristics and the Disclosure of Sustainability Reporting

Wang

2017

Sustainability

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Stakeholder theory is a major approach to research on sustainability management. Firm characteristics, including corporate governance and business characteristics, can be represented in terms of their effects on stakeholders. In this study, a multi-regression model is used to examine the relationship between firm characteristics and the disclosure of sustainability reporting for the Taiwan 50 Index-listed companies. Least-squares regression, panel data regression, and logistic regression analyses are applied. The results show that seven corporate governance and business characteristics, namely the size of the board of directors, ratio of independent directors, audit committee, ratio of export income, percentage of foreign shareholders' holdings, fixed asset staleness, and firm growth are positively related to the disclosure of sustainability reporting, whereas the percentage of director holdings and stock price per share are negatively related to the disclosure of sustainability reporting. This study supports the notion that stakeholder involvement is related to the disclosure of sustainability reporting.

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“…Their proximity to citizens, the volume of resources and services they manage and the high levels of debt and deficit caused by the public financial crisis in many industrialised countries [7,8] make this level of government of particular interest in studies of sustainability, which has economic, social and environmental repercussions for public entities [9][10][11]. The question of LG activity is also very significant in research into government transparency on sustainability, an issue that is of major interest to many elements of society [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, many papers have been published on the question of online transparency by LGs [14][15][16], and some have considered the question of online disclosure of sustainability information [12,13,[17][18][19], but in most cases only a partial analysis of the situation is presented. In addition, although research findings suggest that cultural differences can affect accountability and transparency [20][21][22], few studies have been undertaken to address the question of transparency on sustainability from the perspective of the cultural traditions prevailing in different countries [23,24], or to analyse factors that may influence this information disclosure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe

2018

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In the current socioeconomic context, the question of local government sustainability transparency is of great interest to policymakers, managers, citizens and other stakeholders, and yet one to which previous research has devoted little specific attention. At the same time, the Internet has become an instrument of good governance worldwide and government entities in Europe have strived to promote e-government to improve transparency towards citizens. The aim of this study was to identify factors that can help politicians and managers improve practices of sustainability information disclosed by European local governments. To do so, an empirical study was conducted of 91 municipalities in nine countries, comparing three main administrative cultures. Our analysis of the study results highlights various demographic, socioeconomic, financial and legal factors that may be useful to policymakers and managers in promoting the online provision of sustainability information in Anglo-Saxon, Nordic and Southern European countries.

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Factors influencing the transparency of sustainability information in regional governments: an empirical study

Cited by 64 publications

References 71 publications

Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments

Environmental Orientation in Swedish Local Governments

The Relationship between Firm Characteristics and the Disclosure of Sustainability Reporting

Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe

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