This article explores how corporate governance processes and structures are being used in large Australian companies to develop, lead and implement corporate responsibility strategies. It presents an empirical analysis of the governance of sustainability in fifty large listed companies based on each company’s disclosures in annual and sustainability reports. We find that significant progress is being made by large listed Australian companies towards integrating sustainability into core business operations. There is evidence of leadership structures being put in place to ensure that board and senior management are involved in sustainability strategy development and are then incentivised to monitor and ensure implementation of that strategy through financial rewards. There is evidence of a willingness to engage and communicate clearly the results of these strategies to interested stakeholders. Overall, there appears to be a developing acceptance amongst large corporations that efforts towards improved corporate sustainability are not only expected but are of value to the business. We suggest that this is evidence of a managerial shift away from an orthodox shareholder primacy understanding of the corporation towards a more enlightened shareholder value approach, often encompassing a stakeholder-orientated view of business strategy. However, strong underlying tensions remain due to the insistent market emphasis on shareholder value.

/pdf/the-governance-of-corporate-sustainability-empirical-2cg960qlv8.pdf

The Governance of Corporate Sustainability: Empirical Insights into the Development, Leadership and Implementation of Responsible Business Strategy

Manuscript Type

Empirical



Research Question/Issue

This study seeks to capture the influence of national institutions and industry characteristics on CSR reporting. To explore national institutions, the paper compares CSR reporting in France and Australia characterized respectively as state-led market economies (SLMEs) and liberal market economies (LMEs). Comparisons are also made between high-risk and low-risk industries. The interaction between the two main variables is also analyzed.



Research Findings/Insights

Using corporate published data from a sample of 220 Australian and French companies in 2009, the research finds that CSR reporting is stronger and CSR practices more transparent in France compared to Australia. CSR reporting is also stronger in high-risk industries than in low-risk industries. It also found that industry characteristics override the influence of national institutions in high-risk industries. However, these conclusions vary depending on the sub-categories of CSR reporting and the implicit versus explicit form of this type of communication.



Theoretical/Academic Implications

This study develops a new model of CSR reporting using 99 items. It provides empirical support for the institutional perspective for understanding differences in reporting whilst demonstrating the interaction between industry risk characteristics and national institutions.



Practitioner/Policy Implications

The study offers insights to policy makers interested in promoting CSR accountability and transparency. It especially raises the importance of regulation to develop corporate reporting practices. It also provides insights to managers to identify relevant CSR practices within their country/industries and the different communication strategies that they can adopt in responding to institutional pressures.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/corg926.pdf?abstractid=2144608&mirid=4

A Multi-level Perspective of CSR Reporting: The Implications of National Institutions and Industry Risk Characteristics

A New Scale to Measure Executive Servant Leadership: Development, Analysis, and Implications for Research

This article introduces a new scale to measure executive servant leadership, situating the need for this scale within the context of ethical leadership and its impacts on followers, organizations and the greater society. The literature on servant leadership is reviewed and servant leadership is compared to other concepts that share dimensions of ethical leadership (e.g., transformational, authentic, and spiritual leadership). Next, the Executive Servant Leadership Scale (ESLS) is introduced, and its contributions and limitations discussed. We conclude with an agenda for future research, describing ways the measure can be used to test hypotheses about organizational moral climate, ethical organizational culture, corporate responsibility, and institutional theory.

/pdf/a-new-scale-to-measure-executive-servant-leadership-37vj4eksfu.pdf

Over the last years, many approaches have emerged that attempt to measure the contribution of firms to sustainable development, i.e. corporate sustainability. Our review of existing methodologies for the assessment of corporate sustainability reveals two major shortcomings. First, value creation as a core condition for sustainability as well as for further contributions to economic sustainability is often ignored in these assessments, suggesting that financial and non-financial organizational processes are separable. Second, existing approaches fail to differentiate between the actual contribution of a firm to sustainability on the one hand, and governance-related features aimed at attaining this contribution on the other. We argue that the implementation of sustainability-oriented organizational structures and managerial instruments alone does not necessarily quarantee sustainability performance. Therefore, besides the dimension of current sustainability performance, we introduce the notion of sustainability governance as a second distinct dimension of corporate sustainability assessment.

Two dimensions of corporate sustainability assessment: towards a comprehensive framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to benchmark how 25 companies in five industries are addressing corporate citizenship through their governance, structures and systems. The paper aims to look at patterns of leadership practice developing in firms in this regard and what might be shaping them. It also seeks to consider current practices in light of movement toward next‐generation corporate citizenship.Design/methodology/approach – The study surveyed a representative sample of Fortune 500 companies. To benchmark how companies are embedding citizenship into their governance, structure, and systems, two scorecards were devised measuring practices pertaining to: Corporate Board Governance; and Operational Management of Corporate Citizenship. Criteria chosen represent Board and management policies, behaviors, and/or public commitments.Findings – It was found that, while corporate Boards are assuming more responsibility for oversight of conduct and taking account of specific social and environmental issues...

Leading corporate citizenship: governance, structure, systems

Purpose – Thepurposeofthispaperistobenchmarkhow25companiesinﬁveindustriesareaddressingcorporate citizenship through their governance, structures and systems. The paper aims to look atpatterns of leadership practice developing in ﬁrms in this regard and what might be shaping them. It alsoseeks to consider current practices in light of movement toward next-generation corporate citizenship.Design/methodology/approach – The study surveyed a representative sample of Fortune 500companies. To benchmark how companies are embedding citizenship into their governance, structure,and systems, two scorecards were devised measuring practices pertaining to: Corporate BoardGovernance; and Operational Management of Corporate Citizenship. Criteria chosen represent Boardand management policies, behaviors, and/or public commitments.Findings – It was found that, while corporate Boards are assuming more responsibility for oversight ofconduct and taking account of speciﬁc social and environmental issues, citizenship is not yet fullyembedded into Boards or the operating structures and systems of most ﬁrms.Research limitations/implications – Companies appear to be moving through developmental stagesas they integrate citizenship into their governance and operations, with several developmental patternsemerging.Whilethereseemtobespeciﬁcpatternsofdevelopmentthatlinktotheindustry,issuesfaced,and culture of ﬁrms, it is difﬁcult to generalize speciﬁc inﬂuences within industry from the relatively smallsample. Further benchmarking is needed to better understand these issues and which ideas representbest practices going forward.Practical implications – A next generation approach to corporate citizenship requires more than topdown advocacy – this needs to be backed up by Board oversight and engagement and by layeredmanagement structures, systems, processes, and policies that make citizenship part of everyemployee’s remit, across the company’s value chain.Originality/value – The paper provides a unique set of frameworks to assess company performance inrelation to governing and managing corporate citizenship. It provides much needed data fromcompanies across a number of industries to prompt further discussion on next generation corporatecitizenship, where responsible business practices are woven into the corporate DNA.Keywords Organizational behaviour, Boards, LeadershipPaper type Research paper

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Leading corporate citizenship: governance, structure, systems

Leading corporate citizenship: governance, structure, systems