How SMEs disclose their sustainability performance. Which variables influence the choice of reporting guidelines?

Scagnelli, Simone Domenico; Corazza, Laura; Cisi, Maurizio

doi:10.1108/s1479-3512(2013)0000026003

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…For example, as far as SMEs are concerned, ref [41] argues that although they are not a uniform group, they have significantly different behavioral characteristics in respect of CSR management compared to larger firms. SMEs have relatively informal organizational structures and are often managed by their owners.…”

Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…SMEs are particularly tightly integrated into the local communities where they operate, and there is a sort of 'closeness' between the firm and the environment. According to [41], this 'closeness' is defined as a fundamental feature of SMEs because their founders and managers are embedded in the company and involved in community matters. Therefore, they are often perceived as local benefactors or activists [43].…”

Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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CSR in Non-Large Public Interest Entities: Corporate Talk vs. Actions

Krasodomska

Godawska

2020

Sustainability

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Smaller companies’ understanding of and attitude toward corporate social responsibility (CSR), both in terms of actions and disclosure, is distinct from that of other organizations, including large public interest entities (PIEs) that dominate the existing literature in the field. In this study, we examine the interdependencies between non-large PIEs’ CSR practices and disclosures with the use of the organizational hypocrisy concept as a theoretical lens. Our sample consists of 111 companies operating in Poland and pursuing 646 CSR-related practices in 2017. We perform content analysis of their websites using the disclosure index to assess the extent of their CSR disclosures. The total number of observations equals 1227. Both practices and disclosures are analyzed according to ISO 26000 standards. The relationship between the sample companies’ CSR talk and actions is analyzed by means of the Pearson coefficient. Our findings suggest that CSR practices and disclosures of non-large PIEs are loosely coupled. For the whole sample and for the non-SMEs (small and medium sized entities) subsample, the strongest association between the two was observed as regards the organizational governance area. As far as the SMEs are concerned, the statistically significant association between their CSR reporting and actions was identified for the environmental area. Our study contributes to the CSR literature, as it provides new insights into the relation between voluntary CSR talk and actions of non-large PIEs operating in a relatively unexplored setting.

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Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

CSR in Non-Large Public Interest Entities: Corporate Talk vs. Actions

Krasodomska

Godawska

2020

Sustainability

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“…Several studies support the idea of different levels of SBSR commitment. Scagnelli et al (2013) have demonstrated the existence of non-linear behaviors in SBSR, including opportunistic choices and camouflaging effects. Benn et al (2014) presents an evolutionary model of sustainability leading from a complete rejection of CSR to a “sustain organization” phase, and thus an idealized leadership model for sustainability applicable for SMEs.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small business social responsibility: the CSR4UTOOL web application

Corazza

2018

JAAR

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Purpose Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) positively represent the backbone of the European economic system and, negatively, they make a significant contribution to environmental pollution and social impacts. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a new tool for supporting the adoption of small business social responsibility (SBSR) can be tailored in order to be more effective. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical framework – a literature analysis of how SMEs address sustainability issues will be discussed, especially the need for SME tools with the following features: quality, materiality, free of charge, anonymous, easy-to-use and easy to understand. This need has been confirmed by the literature of SBSR and also social accounting doctrine. Methodology – this paper analyzes CSR4UTOOL, an applied research project of a web-based application dedicated to SMEs in order to provide a self-assessment on sustainability performances. A technical paper aims to describe a specific development, technique or procedure that is capable of presenting a software tool or an experimental or computational method that should be well-tested and should preferably provide a solution to a problem and have some demonstrable practical values. Findings The recent studies over SBSR sustain the need of sustainability management tool for SMEs. A web-based tool co-designed and co-created with SMEs reveals the importance of new tools to support SBSR, especially for the global process of CSR downstreaming using a bottom-up perspective. Research limitations/implications Alongside the development of tailored, efficient tools to implement, manage, control and account for such social responsibilities, several authors have described organizational implications, managerial adaptations and practical features of such tools. As a technical paper, the aim of this research is to shed light on the new technology that has been adopted to solve a gap in both the literature and the real economy, and it answers to the specific call for SBSR tools. Practical implications CSR4UTOOL is based on a decision tree structure presenting several questions and indicators given by a profound benchmark of the most internationally well-known accountability standards. It translates accounting and non-accounting data as well as qualitative and quantitative data to a powerful source of information for entrepreneurs regarding their ethical and moral managerial conduct. A report on the performance of the company will be generated at the end of each session. Social implications This study has a practical social implication as it may concretely help entrepreneurs to self-assess their SBSR. IT technologies may represent a useful way to overcome the specific constraints on SMEs that when they are on track, they may also be more aware of the existent power of formalization in their social and environmental management practices. This kind of tool may help small entrepreneurs to be more aware of the fact that formalization may represent a strategic asset rather than a guarantee of morality. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating how data collection over SBSR may be engineered and tailored using web application and ICT, even in a context of small businesses. This paper further responds to a call from Spence (2016) and Johnson et al. (2016) for interdisciplinary approaches to investigating sustainability in SMEs, the validation and application of existent theories on CSR within the context of SMEs, through foregrounding use of innovative software and web applications.

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“…The assumption that there is a positive relationship between the size of an organization and the level of sustainability disclosure has been analyzed and confirmed by multiple studies in recent decades [9,14,[16][17][18]24,[28][29][30]. Several arguments exist in support of this positive correlation.…”

Section: Size and Organizational Visibilitymentioning

confidence: 84%

Determinants of Sustainability Reporting in the Present Institutional Context: The Case of Port Managing Bodies

2021

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Research on the practice of sustainability reporting that is specifically focused on the approach applied by port authorities (or port managing bodies—PMBs) and based on surveys as a data collection method, is very limited. Most research consists of single-case studies, only partly covers the different dimensions related to the implementation of sustainability reporting, or is based on content analysis. This paper offers a multidimensional approach of the concept of sustainability reporting based on a global survey yielding 97 complete and valid answers of PMBs. A binomial logistic regression has been conducted to identify those organizational characteristics, whether or not under the control of the PMB, that have the largest explanatory power when it comes to the adoption of the practice of sustainability reporting. The research results present new variables compared to the findings of previous studies, such as proximity to a city, the history of data gathering, and the presence of environmental/social certifications. Furthermore, this paper also investigates how these organizational characteristics are interlinked with external, contextual forces by making use of Institutional Theory. By combining organizational characteristics with information on the institutional environment in which the PMB operates, a more complete image is obtained. The results of this analysis show that myriad different institutional pressures are in play when it comes to having influence over the decision making of PMBs with regard to the adoption of sustainability reporting. Furthermore, several prominent associations between one of the isomorphisms and certain organizational characteristics can be observed.

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How SMEs disclose their sustainability performance. Which variables influence the choice of reporting guidelines?

Cited by 24 publications

References 103 publications

CSR in Non-Large Public Interest Entities: Corporate Talk vs. Actions

CSR in Non-Large Public Interest Entities: Corporate Talk vs. Actions

Small business social responsibility: the CSR4UTOOL web application

Determinants of Sustainability Reporting in the Present Institutional Context: The Case of Port Managing Bodies

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