IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v26y2017i2p337-353.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate environmental sustainability reporting in the context of national cultures: A quantile regression approach

Author

Listed:
  • Gallego-Álvarez, Prof. Isabel
  • Ortas, Prof. Eduardo

Abstract

This work, based on previous evidence within international business management research, aims to test the influence of communities’ culture features on corporate environmental sustainability reporting (CESR) practices. To overcome some limitations of conventional statistical approaches applied by previous research, a quantile regression (QR) model is implemented which allows setting a framework to test the working hypotheses in different scenarios that cover divergent firms’ commitment levels to stakeholder engagement and CESR practices development. Our central results addresses that different national culture dimensions present a non-monotonic influence on CESR practices. This result, which is analyzed through the Stakeholder Theory proposals, can be explained because corporate sustainability behaviors are highly sensitive to stakeholders’ pressures and demands which are ultimately conditioned by the cultural environment. Some interesting recommendations for companies’ strategic management and governmental policy-making processes are reported.

Suggested Citation

  • Gallego-Álvarez, Prof. Isabel & Ortas, Prof. Eduardo, 2017. "Corporate environmental sustainability reporting in the context of national cultures: A quantile regression approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 337-353.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:26:y:2017:i:2:p:337-353
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.09.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593116301317
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.09.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yu-Shu Peng & Shing-Shiuan Lin, 2009. "National Culture, Economic Development, Population Growth and Environmental Performance: The Mediating Role of Education," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 203-219, December.
    2. Lee, Bong Soo & Li, Ming-Yuan Leon, 2012. "Diversification and risk-adjusted performance: A quantile regression approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 2157-2173.
    3. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    4. Koenker, Roger W & Bassett, Gilbert, Jr, 1978. "Regression Quantiles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 33-50, January.
    5. George T. Tsakumis, 2007. "The influence of culture on accountants’ application of financial reporting rules," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 43(1), pages 27-48, March.
    6. Tarun Khanna & Krishna G. Palepu & Suraj Srinivasan, 2004. "Disclosure Practices of Foreign Companies Interacting with U.S. Markets," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 475-508, May.
    7. Wallace, R. S. Olusegun & Naser, Kamal, 1995. "Firm-specific determinants of the comprehensiveness of mandatory disclosure in the corporate annual reports of firms listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 311-368.
    8. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Leung, Sidney, 2004. "Board leadership, outside directors' expertise and voluntary corporate disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 351-379.
    9. Sławomir Magala, 2009. "The Management of Meaning in Organizations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-23669-1, December.
    10. Richard Heede, 2014. "Tracing anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions to fossil fuel and cement producers, 1854–2010," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 229-241, January.
    11. van der Laan Smith, Joyce & Adhikari, Ajay & Tondkar, Rasoul H. & Andrews, Robert L., 2010. "The impact of corporate social disclosure on investment behavior: A cross-national study," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 177-192, March.
    12. René Orij, 2010. "Corporate social disclosures in the context of national cultures and stakeholder theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(7), pages 868-889, September.
    13. van der Laan Smith, Joyce & Adhikari, Ajay & Tondkar, Rasoul H., 2005. "Exploring differences in social disclosures internationally: A stakeholder perspective," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 123-151.
    14. Jennifer Chen & Robin Roberts, 2010. "Toward a More Coherent Understanding of the Organization–Society Relationship: A Theoretical Consideration for Social and Environmental Accounting Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(4), pages 651-665, December.
    15. Bert Scholtens & Lammertjan Dam, 2007. "Cultural Values and International Differences in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 273-284, October.
    16. Yvon Pesqueux & Isabella Vasconcelos, 2012. "Responsabilidade Social Corporativa E Desenvolvimento Sustentavel : Olhares Habermasianos," Post-Print hal-00687025, HAL.
    17. Denis Cormier & Michel Magnan & Barbara Van Velthoven, 2005. "Environmental disclosure quality in large German companies: Economic incentives, public pressures or institutional conditions?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 3-39.
    18. Roger Koenker & Kevin F. Hallock, 2001. "Quantile Regression," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 143-156, Fall.
    19. Foo Ho & Hui-Ming Wang & Scott Vitell, 2012. "A Global Analysis of Corporate Social Performance: The Effects of Cultural and Geographic Environments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 423-433, June.
    20. David A Waldman & Mary Sully de Luque & Nathan Washburn & Robert J House & Bolanle Adetoun & Angel Barrasa & Mariya Bobina & Muzaffer Bodur & Yi-Jung Chen & Sukhendu Debbarma & Peter Dorfman & Rosemar, 2006. "Cultural and leadership predictors of corporate social responsibility values of top management: a GLOBE study of 15 countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 823-837, November.
    21. Lang, M & Lundholm, R, 1993. "Cross-Sectional Determinants Of Analyst Ratings Of Corporate Disclosures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 246-271.
    22. Trotman, Ken T. & Bradley, Graham W., 1981. "Associations between social responsibility disclosure and characteristics of companies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 355-362, October.
    23. Ali Fekrat, M. & Inclan, Carla & Petroni, David, 1996. "Corporate environmental disclosures: Competitive disclosure hypothesis using 1991 annual report data," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 175-195.
    24. Susumu Ueno & Uma Sekaran, 1992. "The Influence of Culture on Budget Control Practices in the USA and Japan: An Empirical Study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(4), pages 659-674, December.
    25. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    26. Carol Adams & Nongnooch Kuasirikun, 2000. "A comparative analysis of corporate reporting on ethical issues by UK and German chemical and pharmaceutical companies," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 53-79.
    27. Freedman, Martin & Jaggi, Bikki, 2005. "Global warming, commitment to the Kyoto protocol, and accounting disclosures by the largest global public firms from polluting industries," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 215-232.
    28. Dima Jamali, 2008. "A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fresh Perspective into Theory and Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 213-231, September.
    29. Gamble, George O. & Hsu, Kathy & Jackson, Cynthia & Tollerson, Cynthia D., 1996. "Environmental disclosures in annual reports: An international perspective," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 293-331.
    30. Newson, Marc & Deegan, Craig, 2002. "Global expectations and their association with corporate social disclosure practices in Australia, Singapore, and South Korea," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 183-213.
    31. Randall S Schuler & Nikolai Rogovsky, 1998. "Understanding Compensation Practice Variations Across Firms: The Impact of National Culture," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(1), pages 159-177, March.
    32. Vasconcelos, Isabella Freitas Gouveia de & Alves, Mario Aquino & Pesqueux, Yvon, 2012. "Responsabilidade social corporativa e desenvolvimento sustentável: olhares habermasianos," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 52(2), March.
    33. Ute Stephan & Lorraine M Uhlaner, 2010. "Performance-based vs socially supportive culture: A cross-national study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1347-1364, October.
    34. Alex Coad & Rekha Rao, 2006. "Innovation and market value: a quantile regression analysis," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 15(13), pages 1-10.
    35. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    36. Karen L Newman & Stanley D Nollen, 1996. "Culture and Congruence: The Fit Between Management Practices and national Culture," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(4), pages 753-779, December.
    37. Williams, S. Mitchell, 1999. "Voluntary environmental and social accounting disclosure practices in the Asia-Pacific region: an international empirical test of political economy theory," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 209-238, June.
    38. David E. Hawkins, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-62581-5, December.
    39. Hoon Park & Clifford Russell & Junsoo Lee, 2007. "National culture and environmental sustainability: A cross-national analysis," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 31(1), pages 104-121, March.
    40. Sudhir H Kale & John W Barnes, 1992. "Understanding the Domain of Cross-National Buyer-Seller Interactions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(1), pages 101-132, March.
    41. Jasjit Singh & Lee Fleming, 2010. "Lone Inventors as Sources of Breakthroughs: Myth or Reality?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(1), pages 41-56, January.
    42. Stephan Vachon, 2010. "International operations and sustainable development: Should national culture matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(6), pages 350-361, November/.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mitzi Cubilla‐Montilla & Ana‐Belén Nieto‐Librero & Ma Purificación Galindo‐Villardón & Ma Purificación Vicente Galindo & Isabel‐María Garcia‐Sanchez, 2019. "Are cultural values sufficient to improve stakeholder engagement human and labour rights issues?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 938-955, July.
    2. Eduardo Ortas & Isabel Gallego‐Alvarez & Igor Álvarez Etxeberria, 2015. "Financial Factors Influencing the Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management Disclosure: A Quantile Regression Approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(6), pages 362-380, November.
    3. Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez & María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez, 2020. "How cultural dimensions, legal systems, and industry affect environmental reporting? Empirical evidence from an international perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 2037-2057, July.
    4. Mitzi Isabel Cubilla‐Montilla & Purificación Galindo‐Villardón & Ana Belén Nieto‐Librero & María Purificación Vicente Galindo & Isabel María García‐Sánchez, 2020. "What companies do not disclose about their environmental policy and what institutional pressures may do to respect," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1181-1197, May.
    5. Giuseppe Sannino & Manuela Lucchese & Giovanni Zampone & Rosa Lombardi, 2020. "Cultural dimensions, Global Reporting Initiatives commitment, and corporate social responsibility issues: New evidence from Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1653-1663, July.
    6. Matthias S. Fifka, 2013. "Corporate Responsibility Reporting and its Determinants in Comparative Perspective – a Review of the Empirical Literature and a Meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-35, January.
    7. Sadiye Oktay & Serdar Bozkurt & Kübra Yazıcı, 2021. "The Relationship Between Carbon Disclosure Project Scores and Global 500 Companies: A Perspective From National Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    8. Siddique, Md Abubakar & Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Rashid, Afzalur & Hammami, Helmi, 2021. "Carbon disclosure, carbon performance and financial performance: International evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Isabel Gallego‐Alvarez & Eduardo Ortas & José Luis Vicente‐Villardón & Igor Álvarez Etxeberria, 2017. "Institutional Constraints, Stakeholder Pressure and Corporate Environmental Reporting Policies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 807-825, September.
    10. Le Luo & Qingliang Tang & Juan Peng, 2018. "The direct and moderating effects of power distance on carbon transparency: An international investigation of cultural value and corporate social responsibility," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1546-1557, December.
    11. Adhikari, Ajay & Emerson, David & Gouldman, Andrea & Tondkar, Rasoul, 2015. "An examination of corporate social disclosures of multinational corporations: A cross-national investigation," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 100-106.
    12. Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & Frías Aceituno, José V. & García Rubio, Raquel, 2014. "El consejo de administración y las memorias de sostenibilidad," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-16.
    13. Beck, A. Cornelia & Campbell, David & Shrives, Philip J., 2010. "Content analysis in environmental reporting research: Enrichment and rehearsal of the method in a British–German context," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 207-222.
    14. Yanqi Sun & Pui San Ip & Michael Jones & Jenny Jing Wang & Yi An, 2021. "Determinants of Animal Welfare Disclosure Practices: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    15. Ijaz Ur Rehman & Faisal Shahzad & Khawaja Fawad Latif & Noman Nawab & Abdul Rashid & Shabir Hyder, 2021. "Does corporate social responsibility mediate the influence of national culture on investment inefficiency? Firm‐level evidence from Asia Pacific," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 3484-3503, July.
    16. Fabienne Fortanier & Ans Kolk & Jonatan Pinkse, 2011. "Harmonization in CSR Reporting," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 665-696, October.
    17. van der Laan Smith, Joyce & Gouldman, Andrea L. & Tondkar, Rasoul H., 2014. "Does the adoption of IFRS affect corporate social disclosure in annual reports?," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 402-412.
    18. Ntim, Collins G., 2016. "Corporate governance, corporate health accounting, and firm value: The case of HIV/AIDS disclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 155-216.
    19. Jannik Gerwanski & Othar Kordsachia & Patrick Velte, 2019. "Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 750-770, July.
    20. Miska, Christof & Szőcs, Ilona & Schiffinger, Michael, 2018. "Culture’s effects on corporate sustainability practices: A multi-domain and multi-level view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 263-279.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:26:y:2017:i:2:p:337-353. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.