The aim of this paper is to clarify the relationship between companies' sustainable behavior and their financial performance (FP), which has been studied for several years without reaching a consensus on the effect and the direction of it. Hypotheses are tested for an unbalanced sample of 1960 multinational non‐financial listed companies from 25 countries and one administrative region for the period between 2002 and 2010. Due to the use of an international database and the differences among countries, it is possible to observe divergence between institutional settings. For this reason, a corporate governance system (Anglo‐Saxon, Germanic, Latin and Asian) is used as characteristic of the macro‐environment. Results obtained via the generalized method of moments estimator allow us to support the existence of a positive bidirectional relationship between corporate social responsibility and FP, evidencing the existence of a synergistic circle. The use of market value indicated that investors are able to identify economic, social and environmental practices generating a positive effect on FP. These relationships differ between corporate governance systems, due to the specific characteristics of each system. Findings are robust for each sustainable sub‐index (society, human rights, environmental and board). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Purpose -The aim of this study is to analyse the level of environmental, economic, and social engagement disclosed by local governments, taking into account factors such as political ideology and media pressure. Design/methodology/approach -The authors analysed 102 large Spanish municipalities, using data from 2011. An econometric model was used based on dependency techniques for cross-sectional data. The Tobit technique is suitable, since it enables the authors to address particular considerations of extreme scores on the dependent variable. Findings -The results show that local governments report less strategic and socio-economic information when subjected to strong media pressure, because the press tends to focus on unusual, negative news, and ignores other issues such as the environment. However, in municipalities governed by left-wing parties, media pressure actually promotes disclosure of this type of information.Research limitations/implications -It would be interesting to create an information index which includes local governments' disclosure, spanning a period of several years. Practical implications -Particularly in municipalities governed by a left-wing party, media pressure favours the disclosure of sustainability information, including information about the municipal corporation and strategic and social issues. Originality/value -This study analyses the impact of the press on the disclosure of sustainability information by local governments and also tests the moderating effect of the ruling party's political ideology. The authors did not find any paper that had analysed this impact before.

In the last decade, a growing number of organizations worldwide have started reporting on issues concerning their economic, social and environmental behaviour. However, public administrations show a delay in this regard although there is growing interest from citizens regarding sustainability transparency. This paper contributes to intra-country analyses of non-financial reporting in the public sector by studying transparency concerning sustainability in municipalities; it analyses the coherence between societal values, identified using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and local governments’ corporate social responsibility disclosures. We undertook a content analysis of 101 Colombian, Portuguese and Spanish local government websites and employed different graphical and statistical techniques to analyse the extent of disclosure and the relationship with societal expectations of transparency. The results showed several thematic differences between countries in disclosure preferences relating to societal cultural values of collectivism, femininity, tolerance and equity. Countries with equilibrium in all cultural values are more transparent; those with a prevalence of masculine and uncertainty avoidance cultural dimensions are particularly oriented to social perspectives and show a higher preference for strategic and economic information.

This study is an attempt to understand the importance of the broadcasting of information about the financial health of local governments. For this, a sample comprising the 110 most important Spanish cities has been used, for the period 2008–2010. Results show that transparency about local governments' actions improves their financial condition. If citizens know this information, the uncertainty over how the resources are used by leaders decreases, encouraging them to carry out efficient governance.

This study is an attempt to understand the importance of the broadcasting of information about the financial health of local governments. For this, a sample comprising the 110 most important Spanish cities has been used, for the period 2008–2010. Results show that transparency about local governments' actions improves their financial condition. If citizens know this information, the uncertainty over how the resources are used by leaders decreases, encouraging them to carry out efficient governance.