Eleftheria Papastefanaki, Christos Papathanasiou and Nikos Vafeas
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the conditions that lead academics to seek co‐authors in some cases, but not in others: i.e. to identify empirical determinants of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the conditions that lead academics to seek co‐authors in some cases, but not in others: i.e. to identify empirical determinants of the co‐authorship decision.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used for this purpose is logistic regression. Specifically, data is collected on all the articles published in 25 accounting and finance journals over a five‐year period and a comparison is made on how these articles differ among them, on various dimensions across the co‐authorship choice.
Findings
The findings are consistent with authors being more likely to work on a project alone when the project is conceptual or analytical, rather than empirical in nature, when the amount of work involved is small, when the author is affiliated with a highly ranked university, and when the author is a junior faculty member.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this type of analysis is that it does not employ actual faculty perceptions about co‐authorship, but has to rely on the output of this choice (i.e. the published articles) to draw inferences.
Practical implications
The results of this study have practical implications to those who write, evaluate, and study accounting and finance research, by offering them a better understanding of the conditions that determine the presence of co‐authors on a research project.
Originality/value
The results of this study would be useful to decision‐makers, academic authors, journal editors, referees, and other members of the academic community, who may gain additional insights on papers and authors that conform to or deviate from the suggested norms.
Details
Keywords
Nikos Vafeas and Vasoulla Nikolaou
We compare differences in performance for samples of firms classified as good, average, and poor environmental performers by the Council for Economic Priorities. Test results…
Abstract
We compare differences in performance for samples of firms classified as good, average, and poor environmental performers by the Council for Economic Priorities. Test results suggest that both environmentally “good” and “average” firms significantly outperform environmentally “poor” firms. These results are consistent with poor environmental performers being poorly managed and/or with market participants penalizing corporate polluters. Implications for expanded environmental disclosure are discussed.
Robert W. Rutledge, Khondkar E. Karim and Alan Reinstein
This study examines possible influences on the level of collaboration in published research by the most productive authors of accounting literature. Understanding the…
Abstract
This study examines possible influences on the level of collaboration in published research by the most productive authors of accounting literature. Understanding the collaboration tendencies of these authors should benefit early-career-stage accounting faculty. Seven factors are examined for the publications of 93 of the most productive accounting authors. These productive authors are found to include fewer coauthors on their publications early in their careers. The number of coauthors increases through their first 16 to 17 years and then decreases through the remainder of their careers. The results also indicate that productive accounting researchers include a greater number of coauthors on more recently published articles and on longer articles. Fewer coauthors are included when a productive author is affiliated with a “top-10” university or on articles published in highly ranked accounting journals. Lastly, the results show that prolific authors seek out coauthorship throughout their careers and usually include one or more coauthors on their publications. Implications from these results and specific suggestions for accounting faculty are discussed.
Antonios Chantziaras, Emmanouil Dedoulis, Vassiliki Grougiou and Stergios Leventis
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has been theorized as a key communication device and an integral part of a broader stakeholder integration management strategy…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has been theorized as a key communication device and an integral part of a broader stakeholder integration management strategy. This paper aims to examine the relationship between CSR disclosures and organized labor, an important internal stakeholder, whose institutional role in dynamically advancing employee interests creates opportunities and challenges for strategic management and firm sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
By using a sample of 2,526 US firm-year observations for the period 2002–2015, the authors demonstrate that managers in unionized contexts are more likely to issue CSR reports than managers in firms, where labor is not organized.
Findings
The authors demonstrate that managers in unionized contexts are more likely to issue CSR reports than managers in firms where labor is not organized. Considering stakeholder theory, they argue that, in unionized contexts, managers more intensively resort to CSR disclosures to form an alignment of interests, develop collaborative bonds with unions and smoothen relationships with external financial stakeholders. This effect is more prominent in areas where corporate spatial clustering and the prevailing political ideology facilitate the role of unions.
Research limitations/implications
First, the data refer to USA, which may limit the generalization of the results. Hence, researchers could use cross-country datasets to overcome this limitation. Second, it would be important to know what benefits are enjoyed by the unionized companies that issue CSR reports. Third, they acknowledge that there is useful qualitative information they do not analyze. This analysis could potentially relate specific CSR information to unions’ needs and demands. Further, there are alternative channels through which companies disclose relevant information such as 10-K filings, annual reports, firm websites, media, public announcements, etc. These are not captured by the data.
Practical implications
Managers could benefit from the empirical analysis, which suggests that through the initiation of CSR reports a dialogue with unions is greatly facilitated. Managers should consider that CSR reports reduce information asymmetries and may attract the interest of investors. Unionists should be aware that CSR reports constitute an opportunity to identify mutual interests and align goals. Business analysts, investors and shareholders should be aware that standalone CSR reports are used by managers to reduce information asymmetries and disparities with unions and to communicate an investment-friendly context. So, market participants should factor such policies by unionized firms into their investment analyses.
Social implications
The authors offer implications for managers, labor unionists and market participants.
Originality/value
This paper examines the relationship between CSR disclosures and organized labor, an important internal stakeholder, whose institutional role in dynamically advancing employee interests creates opportunities and challenges for strategic management and firm sustainability.