External pressures on accounting study programs: An institutional approach of stakeholder expectations

Research Question: What are the requirements and expectations of each class of external stakeholders? Is there any convergence between the identified expectations? Motivation: There is a large variety of stakeholder expectations that universities are confronted with in their permanent search for social legitimacy, acknowledgement and survival. In the case of accounting study programs, their strong relationships with practitioners and professional associations, as emphasized in previous research in accounting education in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, add to the expectations that need to be met. Idea: This paper explores external stakeholder expectations of accounting study programs provided by Romanian universities, in order to identify the elements to which these expectations converge. Data: Data was collected only from public documents (laws and regulations, reports, studies, press releases, websites of relevant bodies etc.). Tools: A review of relevant public documents has been performed. Findings: As expected, all stakeholders require quality. Still, they ascribe different meanings to quality, evaluate quality in different manners, and hence exert various pressures. More, we observed that all types of isomorphism: coercive, mimetic, normative, as well as competitive are involved in assuring quality and meeting expectations. Contribution: The study contributes to literature with a complex approach, employing stakeholder and institutional theory, in the context of the extensive environment of higher education. In terms of practice, by taking stock of stakeholder requirements and expectations, the study calls the attention of decision makers to stakeholder pressures and the need to adjust accounting study programs accordingly.

Communicating corporate LGBTQ advocacy: A computational comparison of the global CSR discourse

Corporations are increasingly engaging in political and social issues through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, in contentious areas such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) advocacy. This article systematically, comparatively, and computationally examines this intersection, and contributes to the literature by 1) examining the global LGBTQ CSR discourse constructed by Fortune Global 500 companies (136,820 words) with semantic network analysis and structural topic modeling, 2) surveying non-profit organizations’ guidelines and comparing corporate values with them, and 3) exploring how stakeholder expectations and institutional factors influence CSR communication. Results indicate 6 corporate topics and 9 non-profit topics, which were explicated by referencing organizations’ original writing. It is further shown that stakeholder expectations and institutional factors not only affect whether organizations report LGBTQ efforts, but also affect what topics these companies highlight in their CSR communication. Companies in democratic countries with substantial stakeholder expectations emphasize areas that need high investment and exceed legal obligations.