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Purpose In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency. Research limitations/implications The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency. Practical implications There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions. Social implications The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society. Originality/value This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.

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Purpose -The characteristics of a particular organizational culture may affect performance in achieving the objectives of international joint ventures (IJVs), a type of partnership that is often used in international business relations between developed and emerging countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the underlying dimensions that characterize organizational culture in these countries may affect firms' performance, specifically their competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. Design/methodology/approach -The survey conducted for this study was addressed to Spanish-Moroccan IJVs trading in Morocco. The research hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis techniques (exploratory factor analysis and linear regression model). Findings -Based on information provided by the CEOs of Spanish-Moroccan IJVs between small-to medium-sized firms, the present study shows that levels of competitiveness, effectiveness and/or efficiency in these organizations are influenced by the involvement of staff in management, the degree of centralization of decision taking and the firms' emphasis on results or on procedures. Practical implications -This research contributes to the knowledge of the main factors related to the organizational culture of joint ventures that influence competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency achieved. Originality/value -The value provided by this research lies in the sample examined, in its focus on a very common type of partnership between SMEs, which has been little studied previously, and in the fact that the results obtained are extensible to other realities, such as partnerships between European companies and those from countries with similar characteristics (located in Africa or in countries where an Arab culture prevails).

initiative calls upon higher education to raise the bar for undergraduate education by transforming liberal education into a unified, impactful experience. As a focal point of LEAP, the first article discusses the importance of requiring students to complete a significant project. This "Signature Work" extends across an entire semester or longer and represents the student's own work an issue or problem that matters to the student and society. The second article describes how the LEAP challenge, especially the Signature Work, prepares students for complexity and change, taps into student motivation, and builds employment-relevant skills. The third article presents examples from colleges and universities that have implemented Signature Work projects. Navigating Institutional Change for Student Success in STEM. Peer Review, 2015, 17 (Spring) pp. 4-30.This special issue opens with an article describing a model for increasing student success in the STEM disciplines, followed by an article about leadership for sustainable interdisciplinary programs in STEM. The issue continues with descriptions of case studies: a program to increase STEM success at the University of California, Davis; STEM success through the statewide coordination of the California State University system; implementing a summer STEM program at the Claremont colleges; first-year STEM retention strategies at the University of La Verne; the creation of a "Catalyst Center" to promote STEM success at California State University, Fullerton; and efforts to improve STEM retention at California State University, East Bay. Smith, Rachel A.A case study of two residential learning communities at a private research university explored the effects of academic and social integration on academic achievement. Network and regression analysis revealed that academic in-degree (the sum of a student's subjective value received from all other students with whom they had an academic interaction) was positive related to gradepoint average, while academic out-degree (the sum of all interactions with other students) had no impact on grades. These results meant that being a magnet for other students was related to higher grades, and that learning communities allowed students to identify their academically valuable peers. The combined quantitative and qualitative findings indicated the importance of defining the type of interaction in measuring the success of learning communities. (75 ref)-