Abstract
Purpose
Aims to determine the magnetic parameters at no‐load of a variable reluctance machine excited by DC and AC currents.
Design/methodology/approach
Presents the linear analytical model used to determine the electro‐magnetic variables of a stator current excited reluctance machine. The 2D FEM approach is also introduced. Then the prototype designed in the laboratory is presented and its magnetic characteristics determined. The results are calculated using both models and compared with the experimental values.
Findings
According to the different results, apart from the atypical E(Ie) characteristic, for both excitation models, the doubly slotted machine excited by current in the stator can be modelled in a manner similar to that of a smooth rotor synchronous machine with an electromagnetic gear box.
Originality/value
This paper has succeeded in determining the magnetic parameters at no‐load of a variable reluctance machine excited by DC and AC currents.
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Simon Alcouffe, Marie Boitier and Richard Jabot
This study aims to provide an integrated review of the literature on the diffusion, adoption and implementation of multicapital accounting (MCA) innovations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide an integrated review of the literature on the diffusion, adoption and implementation of multicapital accounting (MCA) innovations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes a sample of 68 articles collected from 21 peer-reviewed journals. An integrated model of the diffusion, adoption and implementation of MCA innovations is developed and used to frame data collection, content analysis and the critical synthesis of findings.
Findings
The involvement of various key actors, including academics, regulatory agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses, is crucial in the diffusion of MCA innovations as they provide resources, promote legitimacy and drive the adoption process through regulation, advocacy, tool design and capacity building. The adoption of MCA innovations is significantly influenced by their perceived relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability and trialability. Organizations may adopt MCA innovations due to rational motives, regulatory requirements or to gain legitimacy by imitating peers. Larger firms with better financial performance and strong corporate sustainability responsibility (CSR) practices are more likely to adopt MCA innovations due to greater resources and exposure to stakeholder pressures. The implementation of MCA innovations often proceeds incrementally, requiring alignment with organizational routines, top management support and consistent use. Successful integration into organizational practices necessitates a culture that values sustainability alongside financial metrics.
Practical implications
This study provides several practical and societal implications. For practitioners, understanding the key drivers of adoption, such as perceived advantages and compatibility with existing organizational processes, can help in designing and implementing more effective MCA strategies. For instance, companies can benefit from training programs and workshops to reduce perceived complexity and enhance trialability. Additionally, regulatory bodies can create supportive policies and incentives to encourage voluntary adoption and improve compliance rates. On a societal level, the broader adoption of MCA innovations can lead to more comprehensive and transparent reporting of both financial and non-financial performance, which in turn enhances stakeholder trust and engagement. This transparency can drive societal benefits by promoting greater accountability and encouraging sustainable business practices.
Social implications
On a societal level, the broader adoption of MCA innovations can lead to more comprehensive and transparent reporting of both financial and nonfinancial performance, which in turn enhances stakeholder trust and engagement. This transparency can drive societal benefits by promoting greater accountability and encouraging sustainable business practices.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the emerging research on MCA by offering a systematic review that integrates various perspectives on the diffusion, adoption and implementation of MCA innovations. It provides a nuanced understanding of the dynamics influencing MCA practices and suggests avenues for future research.
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Lara Tarquinio and Chiara Xhindole
This paper aims to explore why a company voluntarily engages in the sustainability reporting process, how this process becomes institutionalised and the resulting effects.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore why a company voluntarily engages in the sustainability reporting process, how this process becomes institutionalised and the resulting effects.
Design/methodology/approach
The research focusses on a single case study, conducted following an action research approach and interpreted through the lens of institutional work. According to the institutional work theoretical perspective, the individual or organisation is responsible for creating, maintaining or disrupting institutions.
Findings
The case company, Deco S.p.A., undertook sustainability reporting to clarify the values that the company was founded upon and how those values translate into management practice. By institutionalising the sustainability reporting process, Deco S.p.A. found its corporate climate improved, various aspects of its operations could be rationalised and the information gathered to produce the report was valuable for decision support.
Practical implications
This research project contributes to understanding why and how a company institutionalises its sustainability reporting. It also provides a better understanding of the internal forces that drive the voluntary reporting of sustainability issues and sheds light on the stages of the institutionalisation process.
Social implications
The authors find that universities have a role to play in promoting the sustainability of companies, as they can transform the knowledge produced from research into useful knowledge for managing and reporting sustainability issues.
Originality/value
This four-year action research project contributes to the literature on both engagement research and the institutionalisation of sustainability reporting practices. The authors also expose some of the drivers affecting a company’s approach to sustainability reporting.
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Manuel Castelo Castelo Branco, Delfina Gomes and Adelaide Martins
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion surrounding the definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021a, 2021b) and further elaborated by Carnegie…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion surrounding the definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021a, 2021b) and further elaborated by Carnegie et al. (2023) from/under an institutionalist political-economy (IPE) based foundation and to specifically extend this approach to the arena of social and environmental accounting (SEA).
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting an IPE approach to SEA, this study offers a critique of the use of the notion of capital to refer to nature and people in SEA frameworks and standards.
Findings
A SEA framework based on the capabilities approach is proposed based on the concepts of human capabilities and global commons for the purpose of preserving the commons and enabling the flourishing of present and future generations.
Practical implications
The proposed framework allows the engagement of accounting community, in particular SEA researchers, with and contribution to such well-established initiatives as the Planetary Boundaries framework and the human development reports initiative of the United Nations Development Programme.
Originality/value
Based on the capability approach, this study applies Carnegie et al.’s (2023) framework to SEA. This new approach more attuned to the pursuit of sustainable human development and the sustainable development goals, may contribute to turning accounting into a major positive force through its impacts on the world, expressly upon organisations, people and nature.
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Owing to the worldwide outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2, social media conversations have increased. Given the increasing pressure from regulatory authorities and society, green…
Abstract
Purpose
Owing to the worldwide outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2, social media conversations have increased. Given the increasing pressure from regulatory authorities and society, green accounting – as a dimension of sustainable development – remains the most discussed topic on most social media platforms. This study aims to incorporate a technological approach to green accounting and sustainability to enhance the innovation process inside and outside organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the hermeneutic phenomenological technique to investigate Twitter content. Tweets were subjected to a manual coding process to analyze their content, including recent advancements, challenges, cross-country initiatives and promotion strategies in green accounting. Public perception of green accounting and the COP26 climate summit was also studied.
Findings
Tweeters view green accounting favorably; however, they are apprehensive about its implementation. Regarding the challenges in green accounting, “corporate green washing” was the most tweeted content. The UK was the top-rated nation with respect to green accounting development. Furthermore, the most discussed breakthrough was the application of artificial intelligence in the domain of green accounting functions. However, Twitter users were observed to have directed heavy criticism at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Originality/value
This study’s primary innovation is its integration of emerging technologies such as machine learning and data mining with social media platforms such as Twitter. Incorporating manual coding of tweets is a rigorous procedure that amplifies the strength of machine learning software’s auto-coding feature.
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Wai Fong Chua and Tanya Fiedler
The purpose of this paper is to develop a concept of engaged research that promotes research on matters that matter. Engaged research comes to the fore at the margins of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a concept of engaged research that promotes research on matters that matter. Engaged research comes to the fore at the margins of accounting where issues are often ill-structured and less well studied. This study empirically illustrates how the principles of engaged research are embodied in practice at the borders of accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first consider engaged research conceptually, by articulating the philosophical principles upon which such research is grounded. This study argues that engaged research comes to the fore in settings where accounting practices are emergent and uncertainty high. The authors illustrate the “doing” of engaged research by exploring accounting for the financial effects of climate change. The authors conclude by highlighting the integrated form and purpose of engagement and by making suggestions for engaged research of the future.
Findings
Engaged research is characterised by an ontology of becoming, an epistemology of cross-cultural travel and a methodology of co-production. It is enacted through multilingualism, a reflexive dialogue that enables self-others to travel into and experience alternative worlds, as well as through the mediation of knowledge and associated artefacts. Its intent is to promote dialogue and knowledge sharing. This study argues and shows how engaged research is an active entanglement of metatheory, theory, artefacts and the lives of self and others.
Originality/value
This paper reflects on engaged research at the margins of accounting, as well as on how such research is a “becoming”, sociomaterial, co-produced entanglement.
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Caterina Pesci, Lorenzo Gelmini and Paola Vola
This paper draws on the thinking of the nineteenth-century Italian philosopher and poet Giacomo Leopardi and scholars who studied his thoughts on the relationship between nature…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper draws on the thinking of the nineteenth-century Italian philosopher and poet Giacomo Leopardi and scholars who studied his thoughts on the relationship between nature and humans. Leopardi's philosophy of nature recognizes the alienness of nature in relation to humankind, thus challenging human governance of the planet. The poet’s thoughts align with the dilemma identified in the Anthropocene literature: who speaks for nature? This dilemma has accounting implications in terms of the frameworks and disclosures to be adopted. Therefore, Leopardi’s thoughts can become the basis for a more articulated and complex understanding of some key concepts and issues at the roots of SEA.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes content analysis to examine four essays by Giacomo Leopardi, which serve as the source of our data.
Findings
Leopardi recognizes the alienness of nature with respect to humanity and the voicelessness of nature as a generative of conflict. He also warned of the consequences of human governance that does not take nature’s needs into account. These findings open a discussion on the complex accounting implications of the distance between humanity and nature. They can inspire SEA scholars to change the status quo by developing new accounting frameworks from the perspective of nature and adopting forms of governance of nature that recognize the need to protect it as a voiceless stakeholder.
Originality/value
Through Leopardi’s humanistic and poetic philosophy, the perspective of nature can be infused into SEA studies, thereby promoting the need for a multidisciplinary and complex approach to the discipline.
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This study uses a meta-analysis approach to analyse the impact of applying corporate green accounting practices as vital sustainable development tools on firm performance. This…
Abstract
Purpose
This study uses a meta-analysis approach to analyse the impact of applying corporate green accounting practices as vital sustainable development tools on firm performance. This study aims to examine the moderating effects of country-specific variables and characteristics on the association between corporate green accounting and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Three databases were used for a meta-analysis of 68 independent studies involving 19,625 subjects conducted over 25 years from 1996 to 2020.
Findings
The results show that corporate green accounting positively affects firm performance, but country-specific variables do not moderate this association. The positive association between corporate green accounting and firm performance was enhanced when it was measured in terms of environmental costs. Subgroup analyses revealed that study characteristics are significant source of heterogeneity in the corporate green accounting indicators-firm performance association.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that firms should strategise to integrate environmental costs into their respective financial accounting frameworks, which would help managers justify the contribution of their firms towards environmental protection.
Social implications
Accessing accurate and timely information on corporate environmental functioning can assist national policymakers in framing appropriate legislation on environmental protection and sustainable development.
Originality/value
Although meta-analysis has been used previously in accounting research (Guthrie and Murthy, 2009; Alcouffe et al., 2019), to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use a meta-analytical technique to examine the impact of corporate green accounting on firm performance.
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Renu Devi, Mohammad Firoz and R. Saravanan
This study aims to investigate redundant information in mandatory non-financial reports (NFRs) demanded by regulators, focusing primarily on overlapping disclosures in a new…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate redundant information in mandatory non-financial reports (NFRs) demanded by regulators, focusing primarily on overlapping disclosures in a new Indian sustainability reporting (SR) framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample comprised NIFTY100 listed entities that published SR voluntarily during 2021–2022. The authors used content analysis and cosine similarity techniques to conceptually compare redundancy in SR disclosures with non-financial disclosures.
Findings
The findings reveal an information overlap in SR disclosure with other NFRs disclosures. The disclosures of Directors’ Report have higher cosine similarity scores at the firm level with SR, followed by the Management Discussion and Analysis report, Corporate Governance report and Corporate Social Responsibility report. The additional analysis reveals that qualitative disclosures and disclosures comprising governance factors overlap more in SR.
Practical implications
Policymakers should look to establish relevant disclosure guidelines in the SR system, and thereby, shed light on fundamental issues to enhance future SR framework reforms.
Social implications
The study highlight the need for integration and amendment in the disclosure guidelines of NFRs to improve the overall transparency of the reports.
Originality/value
Previous studies have examined the redundancy in annual reports and SRs from the point of view of overlapping information. To the best author’s knowledge, this is possibly among the first studies to offer insights into the repetition of disclosures required by regulators in statutory NFRs based on environmental, social, and governance factors through the lenses of the institutional theory.