The effects of personal and organisational attributes on ethical attitudes of professional accountants: evidence from Ghana

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of personal attributes (greed and desire for personal gains, behaviour of peers and superiors, personal values, family influences and pressures, religious background, ego strength, etc.), organisational attributes (company policies, codes of conduct and visionary leadership, etc). and the moderating role of ethical codes of conduct on the ethical attitudes of professional accountants. Design/methodology/approach The study uses data from a survey of 340 professional accountants in Ghana, using the ordinary least square regression analysis to test hypothesized relationships. Findings The results suggest that personal attributes collectively have positive and significant influence on ethical attitudes. Similarly, organisational attributes collectively have positive and significant influence on ethical attitudes. Moreover, ethical codes of conduct moderate the positive relationship between personal and organisational attributes and ethical attitudes of accountants. Originality/value In the light of the social contingent theory, the findings imply that personal and organisational attributes, when interacted with professional code of conduct strengthens ethical attitudes of accountants. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper to have examined the moderating effect of professional code of conduct on ethical attitudes of accountants from a developing country context.

Does corporate social responsibility affect dividend policy? Empirical evidence in the French context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on dividend policy in the French context. In addition, the authors seek to determine if the individual components of CSR influence dividend policy. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data methodology for a sample of French non-financial firms between 2008 and 2018. Generalized least squares method is used to estimate the models. Findings Using panel data methodology for a sample of 825 observations for the period 2008–2018, this study finds a positive impact of CSR practices on dividend policy. The authors also find that individual components of CSR positively influence dividend policy. To check the robustness of the results, this study further runs a sensitivity tests, including an alternative measure of dividend policy, all of which confirm the findings. Practical implications This study has examined the impact of CSR on dividend policy in France and may have implications for regulatory, investors, analysts and academics. First, the involvement in CSR best practices encourages companies to pay more dividends to investors. Therefore, investors are more motivated to invest in socially responsible firms than socially irresponsible firms. Second, given the association of CSR with the quality of accounting information and financial markets, regulators should step up recommendations relating to the different societal dimensions of CSR. Originality/value While little previous work has focused on the causal link between CSR and dividend policy, this research is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to have looked at the impact of CSR on dividend policy in France.

Stakeholder engagement practices and impression management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the substantiveness of stakeholder engagement by examining voluntary disclosures tied to the engagement process. The objective is to draw a portrait of stakeholder engagement practices and determine whether they genuinely contribute to informing stakeholders or whether they are simply intended to manage stakeholders’ impressions. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed an exploratory content analysis on 113 sustainability reports published in 2018 in the Global Reporting Initiative database. The authors investigated disclosures tied to consulted stakeholders, communication modes and material issues resulting from the engagement process. The authors then assessed the substantiveness of these disclosures to determine the extent of the impression management tactics deployed in the stakeholder engagement disclosures made by Canadian companies. Findings Data analysis showed that more than a third of Canadian firms tend to make generic disclosures on their stakeholders’ engagement. As well, almost half the engagement modes disclosed are unidirectional and fewer than 33% of Canadian companies disclose on relevant sustainability issues. Furthermore, only 26% of the sample seek assurance on the information disclosed. Overall, the authors note an important trend in impression management used in sustainability reporting and underscore a potentially significant sectoral effect in the tactics used. Originality/value These data provide new insight into stakeholder engagement processes and highlight the strategies used by Canadian companies to manage their stakeholders’ impressions rather than their expectations. The study also contributes to a better understanding of the underexplored stakeholder engagement process and provides regulatory organisations with deepened insights to better frame stakeholder engagement disclosures.

An integrated framework of UN and AACSB principles for responsible management education

Purpose Given the increasing relevance of Responsible Management Education (RME) to social and human welfare around the world, this paper aims to present an integrated framework that captures the essence of the principles of RME as defined by the United Nations (UN) and further set forth and embedded in the core principles of the accrediting body of business schools, namely, the American Association of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB). Such a framework serves as a rigorous platform for business schools and key stakeholders to integrate and implement core RME principles to deliver long-term sustainable benefits to the communities in which they operate Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper. The authors first define key terms of RME used in the UN and AACSB guidelines to provide a universal language for business schools to communicate with their stakeholders and to monitor RME initiatives. Next, the authors identify and map RME Principles and Standards common to both organizations that business schools can apply and integrate into their educational practices to create societal impact. Finally, they categorize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN into four core purposes and articulate the benefits of clear and consistent messaging that aligns with the vision and mission of the institution Findings The integrated framework presented here makes a unique contribution to business schools that are in the early stages of RME implementation in the following ways: It simplifies the complexity and challenges of integrating the complex RME principles outlined by the UN and the spirit of the RME principles embedded in the accreditation guidelines of AACSB; the four unique themes that emerged from our research provide business schools with a clear pathway to assess their RME progress; and the framework addresses how RME can deliver exceptional value to various stakeholders of business schools. Research limitations/implications There are many opportunities for future researchers to expand on our work particularly, in the areas of RME-driven curriculum development and experiential learning, embedding ethics within high-impact RME practices and developing rigorous metrics to define and measure societal impact. Future researchers may also wish to expand and refine the definitions of key terms and explore the role of societal interaction as an indicator of meaningful institutional engagement with the business community. Practical implications Business educators can use this framework that maps AACBS core RME themes to the RME guidelines of the UN to assess, establish and enhance their strategies to implement and improve RME-driven business education. Originality/value This integrated framework makes a unique contribution to business schools by simplifying the complexity and challenges of implementing RME principles outlined by the UN and that of AACSB. By integrating the principles outlined by both the accrediting body of business schools with the ideals of the U.N in a simple and elegant framework, business schools can embrace and embark on implementing one or more of the four core RME themes identified in this paper. Implementation of these principles within a core RME theme has the potential to create a strong and unique global leadership position for a business school and its graduates.

The problem of CSR: an exploration of relationship between CSR initiatives and excess work ethic

Purpose The purpose of this study is to bring to light the downside of the positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerning employee work practices. The focus is on the aspects of excess work ethic (EWE) that are hypothesized as the result of increased organizational identification (OI) due to CSR engagement. This excessive involvement by employees in their work results in neglect of their personal lives. Design/methodology/approach The sample has been taken from employees of various organizational sectors in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the hypothesized relationships among the variables in the conceptual framework. Findings The findings of the study reveal that CSR perception of employees negates the excessive work ethic but the introduction of a higher level of OI due to work meaningfulness indirectly positively affects EWE with pro-environmental orientation (PEO) as a moderator. Originality/value The relationship between CSR and variables such as work engagement has been explored in the recent literature but the heightened level of OI indulging the employees into overwork is rarely been explored. Also, the use of PEO as a mediator adds to the knowledge on the subject.

Does CEO power moderate the link between corporate social responsibility and bank earnings management

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (EM) in US commercial banks and examines whether the chief executive officer (CEO) power can moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach For a sample of American commercial banks covering 2009–2018, several equations and regressions are used to measure the main proxies for bank EM. The authors use the fixed effects model and generalized method of moment to investigate the CSR–EM relationship. Findings The authors find a significant positive relation between CSR and EM. Moreover, the authors find that CEO power moderates the CSR–EM relationship. This study also suggests a bidirectional relationship between CSR and EM. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper have important policy implications for policymakers, regulators and investors in their attempts to constrain EM practices and enhance the quality of financial reporting in US commercial banks. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship between CSR practices and firm EM by particularly focusing on banking. This study offers new insights into whether the association between CSR practices and EM is moderated by the CEO power. To the best of the knowledge, the relationship between CSR and EM is not studied yet with the moderating role of CEO power.

A posthumanist research agenda on sustainable and responsible management education after the pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how posthumanism can contribute towards reframing responsible management education (RME) after the pandemic. Ethics has been a growing concern in management education for some time now, but the need to acknowledge the limitations and side effects of the global economy and the interdependences between biological and societal systems has come to the forefront in dramatic fashion during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Posthumanism proposes moving beyond traditional dichotomies such as nature-culture and social-material to introduce a relational epistemology in which attention is focused on local sociomaterial entanglements. This also introduces a new moral posture that is not based on formal principles but on a strong commitment to assembling the world and a capacity to cultivate response-abilities. As far as responsible management is concerned, it means moving the focus from managers to managing practices. Findings The contribution casts an original and critical eye on the reframing of RME and encourages a movement towards a “decolonisation” of educational methodologies. Posthumanist research acknowledges that pedagogical practices are the loci power relations and inclusion or exclusion come into play and are inscribed in the materiality of education, in the sense of objects as well as human bodies. Then, by applying on the author's experience as teacher, the paper provides inputs for developing a posthumanist research agenda for RME after the pandemic. Originality/value The contribution uses posthuman lens to explore RME and develops an original research agenda starting from the author’s teaching practices.

The sustainability reporting-firm performance nexus: evidence from a threshold model

Purpose This study aims to provide a convincing argument behind the mixed findings on the association between sustainability reporting and firm performance by investigating the possibility of a non-linear relationship through a threshold model. Design/methodology/approach This study used (Hansen’s 1999) threshold framework to investigate the relationship between firm performance and sustainability reporting using a sample of 210 Bombay Stock Exchange-listed firms spanning over 10 years from March 2010 to March 2019. This framework helps to test the threshold effect’s presence, estimate the threshold value and check the authenticity of the estimated threshold value. Findings Sustainability reporting has a differential threshold impact on the different indicators of firm performance. On the one hand, the authors’ results illustrate that the firms’ operating performance is positively impacted if and only if the sustainability reporting crosses a certain threshold. On the other hand, sustainability reporting positively impacts firms’ market performance only up to a cut-off point. Practical implications Managers should strive to balance sustainability reporting to reap its desired benefits on firm performance. Originality/value This study explores the possible non-linearity in the association between firm performance and sustainability reporting and explains the relationship’s inconclusive results. Further, this study explores the field in the novel emerging economy with unique institutional settings that mandate spending on sustainability activities.

What’s in a King? Unveiling the pragmatic micro-perceived value attributes of a fulfilling corporate governance code for responsible sustainable development

Purpose A recent contribution entitled Global Responsibility and the King Reports was made to the literature that represents a significant advancement in the understanding of how standards of good governance are practised. The corpus revealed key insights about macro-institutional governance regimes, yet, extraordinarily little about meso-organisational and even less so, micro-individual corporate governance practice. This study aims to shed light on the micro-individual level of corporate governance practice which has remained obscured by drawing pragmatic insights from the landmark South African King Code experience that may be applied to other governance jurisdictions for global organisational responsibility. Design/methodology/approach To unearth micro-individual corporate governance code practices, a phenomenological exploration of corporate governance practitioners’ (CGPs) perceptions was conducted. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with senior board members of securities-exchange listed companies were conducted with 10 directors of leading multinational South African corporations listed on Africa’s largest formal financial market; the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Recursive analysis of the qualitative data revealed key attributes that render a corporate governance code “fulfilling” as a consequence of being perceived as subjectively valuable by practitioners who are the ultimate end-users of the King Codes for advancing good corporate governance practice in each of their respective companies. Findings Two categories of fulfilling micro-perceived value attributes (MPVAs) of corporate governance codes emerged, namely, internal and external MPVAs. The three internal MPVAs are, namely, (I1) Meaningful innovation, (I2) Ethical pragmatism and (I3) Cultural transformation. The three external MPVAs are, namely, (E1) Governance legitimacy, (E2) Societal licencing and (E3) Risk mitigation. From these six attributes, two testable corporate governance code development propositions are advanced, namely, (P1) a corporate governance code with a higher constitution of MPVAs will fulfil CGPs more than one with less. (P2) A more fulfilling corporate governance code will enjoy higher adoption, application and/or compliance rates. Originality/value Illumining the subjective experiential perceptions that constitute the fulfilment of a corporate governance code deepens the pragmatic understanding of the “demand-side” or consumption of such codes in practice. Knowing these fulfilling MPVAs may also result in the development of codes that enjoy wider adoption and compliance rates thereby enhancing global corporate responsibility pragmatism through enhanced good governance. This study sheds light on the nexus where normative corporate governance principles and the enactment thereof meet at the coalface of organisational activity with an emphasis on those attributes that render them valuable to practitioners.