María Jesús Barroso-Méndez, Maria-Luisa Pajuelo-Moreno and Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez
Previous research has explored the link between sustainability disclosure and reputation but produced contradictory results. This study aims to clarify the sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has explored the link between sustainability disclosure and reputation but produced contradictory results. This study aims to clarify the sustainability disclosure–reputation relationship through a quantitative analysis of the correlations between these variables reported in empirical research papers. The second objective was to determine how various moderators affect the sustainability disclosure–reputation link.
Design/methodology/approach
The meta-analysis was based on a systematic review of the literature covering empirical research on the corporate sustainability disclosure and reputation relationship. A total of 92 articles were meta-analyzed to compile their findings on four extrinsic moderators: company size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.
Findings
The findings confirm that a significant positive correlation exists between corporate sustainability disclosure and reputation. The moderator analysis also revealed that companies’ different characteristics can explain researchers’ divergent results.
Practical implications
The results have considerable practical relevance for organizational management. First, they can motivate managers to improve and disclose their company’s social and environmental impacts to strengthen their reputation, which in turn will help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the findings can ensure organizations develop disclosure and reputation management strategies adapted for each firm’s size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.
Social implications
The results have considerable practical relevance for organizational management. First, they can motivate managers to improve and disclose their company’s social and environmental impacts to strengthen their reputation, which in turn will help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the findings can ensure organizations develop disclosure and reputation management strategies adapted for each firm’s size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this meta-analysis is the first to clarify the link between disclosure and reputation, which makes a unique contribution to the field of social and environmental accounting. A larger sample of primary research was collected, and key extrinsic moderators were examined to explain prior studies’ contradictory findings.
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Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez, Juan de la Cruz Sánchez-Domínguez and Luis Enrique Valdez-Juárez
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have multiple interactions with higher education institutions (HEIs), and CSR strategies present…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have multiple interactions with higher education institutions (HEIs), and CSR strategies present a remarkable importance for companies and society, being necessary for universities to provide teaching and research within this topic. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the practical implications of the implementation of sustainability concepts in HEIs and, by extension, in society.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample formed by papers obtained from WoS (Web of Science) and Scopus databases was used (34 papers from WoS and 30 papers from Scopus). Both bibliometric and content analysis were performed to better understand the main characteristics of the sample, such as the most prolific countries and universities, as well as the main practical implications of each of the 64 papers analyzed.
Findings
The findings show the state of the art of the literature about sustainability and responsible management education published between 2014 and 2023. This paper also reports results like the most prolific authors and universities, the most cited papers and authors and the yearly production of papers, among other data. Implementing CSR and sustainability courses in HEIs curricula has a plurality of practical implications for businesses, the academic institutions and for society.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is limited because it is formed of papers written in English only, and that affects the productivity figures of both Spanish and Latin American universities. Having used a single piece of software for bibliometric analysis also limits the scope and depth of the results.
Practical implications
By analyzing a sample of 64 papers with different practical implications, this paper offers important data and practical ideas for HEIs to implement sustainability and responsible management education in their curricula, as well as of University Social Responsibility (USR) practices implementation. The paper also offers some insight into practical experiences with sustainability education for both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as advice for policymakers.
Originality/value
The paper’s originality and value are trifold: First, it links CSR and the SDGs with HEIs. Second, it combines a bibliometric analysis with a content analysis, creating added value for the research. And third, this paper studies the effect of the impact of CSR both in HEIs and in society.
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Flavio Hourneaux Jr, Marcelo Luiz da Silva Gabriel and Dolores Amalia Gallardo-Vázquez
The purpose of this paper is to propose a minimum set of indicators to be measured by industrial companies to represent the triple bottom line (TBL) approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a minimum set of indicators to be measured by industrial companies to represent the triple bottom line (TBL) approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is both descriptive and quantitative. Three hypotheses establish associations among the degrees of use of TBL indicators and their different degrees of use in firms. The authors used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to validate the scale and structural equation modelling to represent the final measurement model. The survey gathered 149 industrial companies.
Findings
The results pointed out that there are positive associations among the degree of use of environmental indicators and social indicators, economic, environmental and social indicators have different degrees of use in firms, a positive association between the degree of use of environmental and social indicators and the use of economic indicators was not confirmed. The findings suggest how to measure sustainable performance for industrial companies and highlight the differences in the degree of use for the three dimensions of TBL.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations refer to the non-probabilistic sample, applied in a specific context, industrial companies.
Practical implications
This set of indicators is intended to be used by industrial companies as a reliable instrument to sustainable performance assessment of the current stage of the TBL deployment and provide alternative approaches to address specific issues related to the environmental, social and economic sustainability.
Social implications
The results offer tangible results for measuring and reporting firm’s social and environmental performance.
Originality/value
This paper intends to offer an integrated and consistent way of measuring sustainability in industrial companies.
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Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez, M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández and Francisca Castilla-Polo
– The purpose of this paper is to address a theoretical and methodological framework to validate a model for explaining social responsibility in cooperative societies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address a theoretical and methodological framework to validate a model for explaining social responsibility in cooperative societies.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology based on the assessment and agreement of an expert panel has been used. More exactly, a Delphi technique will help achieve agreement about the set of indicators previously defined and to get a single and agreed definition.
Findings
The results consist of a consensus scale for each variable of the proposed model. This unanimity in the opinions about the final result will be the basis for further quantitative treatment of the proposed conceptual model.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations derive from the initial state of the study and the need to practical analysis.
Practical and social implications
Cooperative societies could have a way to analyze their position related to social responsibility. In general, contributions to social responsibility have improved, in particular, in the field of these entities.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to properly measure the variables of the conceptual model. The main variable of analysis, called Orientation to Social Responsibility in Cooperatives (OSRCOOP), is not directly observable, and it is necessary to measure it through a set of indicators. Likewise, with the other strategic variables with which OSRCOOP is related to the model proposed (member satisfaction, innovation, quality of service and cooperative outcome or performance).
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M. Isabel Sanchez-Hernandez, Dolores Gallardo-Vazquez and Beatriz Corchuelo Martinez-Azua
The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ opinion on their proficiency in one or more foreign languages, and the importance they attribute to their foreign language…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ opinion on their proficiency in one or more foreign languages, and the importance they attribute to their foreign language competence because the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implies the promotion of the mobility of teachers and students.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative and quantitative approach conducted at the University of Extremadura in Spain. The method used was to triangulate the data resulting from three quite different procedures: promoting the participating students’ awareness of the issue through a seminar on the importance of mastering other languages and their relevance for graduate employability; inquiring into the students’ impressions when receiving an English class with a focus group; and a questionnaire on their opinions about the importance of proficiency in foreign languages.
Findings
The findings highlight how teaching in English in European universities could bring real opportunities for the development of the EHEA. Furthermore, the development of foreign languages competences have to be a priority line of innovation in higher education in order to build a more meaningful relationship between education institutions and the European project.
Research limitations/implications
The study is a first attempt to analyse the need to teach in English in European higher education institutions. Results are not completely generalizable because the study has been conducted in one university, in the field of social sciences in the branch of Economics and Business, and it has been examined only the views of students.
Originality/value
The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how higher education institutions can be more aware to the needs of developing studentś English competences when designing programmes in the EHEA.
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Francisca Castilla-Polo and Dolores GALLARDO-VÁZQUEZ
We must acknowledge the importance of intangibles in today’s economies and the controversy over the accounting and reporting of these assets. For this reason, the purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
We must acknowledge the importance of intangibles in today’s economies and the controversy over the accounting and reporting of these assets. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to synthesize the lessons learned from research to date and identify gaps in that research that would be useful to academics and practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature review was conducted after an analysis of the most important academic databases in the period of 1990-2013: ABI Inform Complete, CSIS, EconLit, ISOC, Journal Citation Reports, Scopus, Emerald, Springer, and Google Scholar.
Findings
The authors offer a summary of the main gaps in the literature on intellectual capital disclosures, among which the authors perceive a need for increased qualitative or explanatory research, which would allow further analysis of such decisions.
Research limitations/implications
Specifically, the main problem encountered in the research on voluntary disclosure of intangibles appears to relate to the type of methodology used, which is usually quantitative or descriptive.
Practical implications
Given that the principal limitations in the field of the disclosure of intangibles have been discussed, the authors conclude by indicating the principal directions for future research.
Social implications
Qualitative analysis is absent in the literature the authors reviewed, and considered it fundamental to understanding this type of disclosure. In fact, the development of future lines of research could provide better-quality intangible asset reporting.
Originality/value
Although there are previous studies on this topic, the authors believe that the main contribution of this study is to offer an integrated framework of existing findings concerning decisions by companies to disclose information on intangibles, a topic on which previous literature is sparse.
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M. Isabel Sanchez‐Hernandez and Dolores Gallardo‐Vázquez
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of how corporate volunteering is actually put into practice in Spanish firms as part of their social responsibility…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of how corporate volunteering is actually put into practice in Spanish firms as part of their social responsibility strategy. The paper presents the notion and the basics of corporate volunteering (CV), with emphasis on its capacity to strengthen the bonds between the company and its employees.
Design/methodology/approach
With the intention of approaching the actual state of corporate volunteering, a survey was conducted of Spanish firms regarding their managers' perceptions of the main success factors and the potential benefits and costs of CV programs.
Findings
In the contemporary Spanish business environment, companies have incorporated volunteer initiatives as a key element of their corporate responsibility strategy. The importance of the practice of CV is interpreted as a symptom of commitment to a stronger socially responsible behavior in Spanish companies.
Practical implications
To stay well informed of employees' needs, to evaluate which NGOs to work with or human resource management responsiveness, the authors put forward recommendations for CV programs designed to increase both competitive sustainability and employee satisfaction and retention.
Originality/value
Reflecting the literature which highlights the importance of CV in Spain, the results indicate that while organizations strive to achieve corporate responsibility goals, it is expected that effectiveness will be greater among organizations using CV for this purpose. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time this relationship has been discussed and recommendations have been offered for practitioners.
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María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, Valentín-Alejandro Martínez-Fernández, Beder Gonzalo Aguilar Campoverde and Jackson Guillermo Valverde Jaramillo
This chapter investigates the environmental behaviours of three, four- and five-star hotels in Azuay (Ecuador). The methodology involved a quantitative research that measured the…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the environmental behaviours of three, four- and five-star hotels in Azuay (Ecuador). The methodology involved a quantitative research that measured the relationship between environmental responsibility (Gallardo, Sanchez, & Corchuelo, 2013) and stakeholder engagement (Kostova & Roth, 2002; Llamas-Sanchez, García-Morales, & Martin-Tapia, 2013; Vargas-Sánchez & Riquel-Ligero, 2012). The main findings suggest that the managers of the hotels implement environmental practices as they reduce waste, gas emissions and recycle materials. These practices are aligned with Ecuador’s extant legislation and regulations. In conclusion, this contribution implies that the hotels’ managers ought to communicate about their environmental responsibility with their stakeholders, including the employees, suppliers and customers.
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María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez and Paula Remoaldo
The authors want to study the connection between institutional theory and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the set of hotels with three, four and five star situated in…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors want to study the connection between institutional theory and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the set of hotels with three, four and five star situated in Galicia (Spain) and in the Northern region of Portugal. The authors aim to see whether there is a contrast of isomorphic behaviour in the institutional context of both regions.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study in which the authors apply the partial least square (PLS) technique, a methodology based on structural equations models using the software Visual-PLS. The authors intend to study the relationships between the pressures of institutional context and CSR practices, together with the relationship between legitimacy and these practices. The focus of the proposed model is based on the system theory.
Findings
The main findings of this research clearly show that hotels are incorporated into an institutional context marked by enforced and regulatory pressures.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed research model can be replicated using other units of study, sectors, geographic areas, among others, due to the explanatory capacity of the theoretical framework used.
Originality/value
The originality of this work derives from the main contributions based on the theoretical framework (institutional theory and CSR), the object of study and geographical area (three, four and five star hotels located in Galicia and in the North of Portugal), the context (economic crisis), the field of study (private sphere) and the type of organizations (profit making).