Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Sandra Maria Cerqueira da Silva, Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova and David B. Carter
The social role of women in Brazil is subject to significant change in both capacity and scope. While women constitute the majority of the population in Brazil, they account for…
Abstract
The social role of women in Brazil is subject to significant change in both capacity and scope. While women constitute the majority of the population in Brazil, they account for 40 per cent of the workforce, and thus, they remain comparatively invisible in public life. This is evident in political representation, as although Brazilian law stipulates that political parties must reserve at least 30 per cent of their nominations for women for legislative elections, this does not occur in reality. Furthermore, despite Afro-descendant Brazilians constituting the majority of the population, in the Chamber of Deputies, for instance, there are only 9 per cent Afro-descendant representatives. Therefore, this study focuses on understanding issues of political representation of Afro-descendant women in political spaces in Brazil – a country where politics is still predominantly white and male. Thus, despite a rhetorical position of an ‘open country’ with opportunities for all, the whiteness and masculinity of Brazilian politics illustrates the degree of mythology concerning the rhetoric of Brazil’s racial democracy. We employ a qualitative research approach in this study and we employ an oral-history-informed post-structuralist approach. We focus our empirical analysis on in-depth interviews with an Afro-descendant female accounting professor who was elected to an important political position. We argue that discussions about democracy in Brazil go beyond formal aspects of civil rights, as our study highlights the necessity of reshaping political processes to engender greater female and Afro-descendent participation, to engender both groups to seek political careers as well as to encourage political parties to include more female and more Afro-descendent candidates. The ultimate goal of such institutional reform is a reformation of ‘racial democracy’ as Afro-descendent women interact with, stand and succeed in Brazilian elections.
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Regina A. Sanches, João Paulo Pereira Marcicano, Maria Silvia Barros de Held, Bárbara Maria Gama Guimarães, Raquel Seawright Alonso, Karina Mitie Takamune, Adriana Yumi Sato Duarte and Franco Giuseppe Dedini
The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study on the characteristics of knitted fabrics used in the manufacturing of apparel, which are produced from organic cotton…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study on the characteristics of knitted fabrics used in the manufacturing of apparel, which are produced from organic cotton, lyocell and soybean protein fiber (SPF). It is important for both the environment and society that textile industry continues to adopt more ecofriendly materials and furthermore, pushes to increase awareness regarding these material choices available to the consumer and the corresponding impacts of consumers’ decisions. The use of sustainable fibers may be a starting point for changing the industrial paradigm of the textile industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presented herein analyzes the potential use of three raw materials used in the development of knitted fabrics: organic cotton, lyocell and SPF. The experimental trials, based on norms, determined the weight, pilling, rupture pressure resistance, absorption by capillarity, dimensional alteration and elasticity. The significance of the experimental results was verified through the analysis of variance, with a confidence interval of 95 percent (p=0.05) and the determination of the optimal regulation of the machine was made through an analysis of the response surface.
Findings
The results indicate that each of the studied materials are suitable for textile application; however, the fabrics manufactured from soybean yarn, compared to those manufactured from organic cotton or lyocell, have a higher potential to meet the needs of the costumer.
Social implications
The discussion regarding sustainability is far reaching on the ways it interacts with human life. As such, the latent need for meeting this new demand presents a unique opportunity for the development of new processes and products. In the case of the textile industry, initiatives are gradually being adopted that make the processes used by the supply chain less damaging to the environment. Clothing and fashion are highly visible elements of society, so consequently, the textile industry serves as an excellent candidate for promoting a sustainable and eco-friendly mindset.
Originality/value
The incorporation of sustainable fibers can serve as a starting point for change to the industrial paradigm existing within the textile industry. To this point, this study intended to analyze the potential implementation of three raw materials – organic cotton, lyocell and SPF – in the development of knitted fabrics. The results indicated that these materials are adequate for textile applications.
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Silvia Massa, Maria Carmela Annosi, Lucia Marchegiani and Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering over 20 years of research (from 2000 to 2023) and including 73 journal papers.
Findings
This review allows us to highlight a relationship between firms’ international strategies and the knowledge processes enabled by applying digital technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss the characteristics of patterns of knowledge flows and knowledge processes (their origin, the type of knowledge they carry on and their directionality) as determinants for the emergence of diverse international strategies embraced by single firms or by populations of firms within ecosystems, networks, global value chains or alliances.
Originality/value
Despite digital technologies constituting important antecedents and critical factors for the internationalization process, and international businesses in general, and operating cross borders implies the enactment of highly knowledge-intensive processes, current literature still fails to provide a holistic picture of how firms strategically use what they know and seek out what they do not know in the international environment, using the affordances of digital technologies.
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Maitreyee Das, K. Rangarajan and Gautam Dutta
The purpose of this paper is to do a thorough literature review to assess the current status of corporate sustainability practices, issues and challenges in small and medium-sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to do a thorough literature review to assess the current status of corporate sustainability practices, issues and challenges in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and, based on literature, suggest a model that can improve and strategically manage their sustainability practices in the emerging market context of Asia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors did a meta-analysis of the reviewed literature taken from peer-reviewed scholarly journals in the time frame of 1985-2016. Methodology used by the authors is through preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Findings
Corporate sustainability is a well-practiced area in big organisations. However, literature suggests that in case of SMEs, the situation is different. Social and environmental practices are grossly neglected in SMEs, more specifically in emerging markets. Existing literature mentions that collaborative mode of operation, government policy and facilitation and supporting organisation culture can positively influence SME’s sustainability performance and hence improve their financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
Most of the papers in corporate sustainability literature are qualitative in nature and there is no empirical evidence of establishing this relationship in SME context. This paper tries to conceptualise the existence of a possible framework relating factors of sustainability and their role in improving business performance of the SMEs. However, the findings are purely literature-based and piloting of the questionnaire is also done on 20 SMEs in a specific geography. This is a very small and also a biased sample. Future research studies based on this paper are expected to verify the proposed relationship with larger data set catering to different industry clusters and countries.
Practical implications
The proposed model is only directional in nature. With the content analysis, the authors have tried to answer the research questions relating to factors of sustainability and its impact on business performance. To address the research questions in a more generalised way, an empirical research needs to be conducted to establish the research propositions. The proposed model needs to be validated and optimised with further research and data analysis. Once such a model is established, this can be proved beneficial for providing guidance to SMEs to enhance the sustainability of their business operations.
Social implications
The SME sector has made a significant contribution to the economic development in countries, and this sector has huge potential for growth, and their geographic spread and penetration is much higher than large organisations. Sustainable growth of this industry sector can reasonably be expected to lead to stable and sustainable development of the nation. Moreover, environmental and social best practices adopted by SMEs will also have a positive influence on society and environment in the long run.
Originality/value
This paper had done a geography wise analysis of sustainable practices in SMEs, and based on the recommendations and suggestions of different analyses, the authors developed few research propositions and also presented a conceptual model. Finally, to address the gap, it mentions some future research possibilities to test and validate the proposed model in the context of SMEs in emerging markets of Asia.
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Mohammadreza Akbari and Robert McClelland
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing the current literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps for future discipline research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research identifies information from existing academic journals and investigates research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, industry involvement and geographic locations. Information regarding university affiliation, publishers, authors, year of publication is also documented. A collection of online databases from 2001 to 2018 were explored, using the keywords “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in their title and abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 164 articles were found, and information on a chain of variables was collected.
Findings
There has been visible growth in published articles over the last 18 years regarding supply chain sustainability, CSR and CC. Analysis of the data collected shows that only five literature reviews have been published in this area. Further, key findings include 41% of publications were narrowly focused on four sectors of industry, leaving gaps in the research. 85% centered on the survey and conceptual model, leaving an additional gap for future research. Finally, developing and developed nation status should be delineated, researched and analyzed based on further segmentation of the industry by region.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to reviewing only academic and professional articles available from Emerald, Elsevier, Wiley, Sage, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Scopus, JSTOR and EBSCO containing the words “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in the title and abstract.
Originality/value
This assessment provides an enhanced appreciation of the current practices of current research and offers further directions within the CSR and CC in supply chain sustainable development.