Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / The need for future orientated thinking and decision-making and a more sustainable view on business by companies’ worldwide is becoming ever more important. The need for organisations to communicate this to all stakeholders is just as important. Traditionally companies reported and disclosed only backward looking financial information, but nowadays the use of the GRI G3 guidelines; Kings III’s integrated reporting guidelines have moved the emphasis to strategy, risk and a sustainable performance. But the question remains, who and what are actually doing this? Which companies are actually reporting and disclosing strategic items, and those that are, what are they reporting well on and which are they not reporting well on. The purpose of this study is to measure the levels of strategic reporting disclosure, across the JSE, based on information collected at industry level asking the same questions. The study focussed on five industries covering twenty-four organisations between them. The conclusion is that the Energy sector discloses strategic information at a better level than its industry benchmark rivals with Sasol leading the way, and from a disclosure element point of view the GRI G3 guidelines are leading the disclosure score above that of the business model and strategic architecture elements measured against.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Traditionally organizations have reported largely on financial information. The Global Reporting Initiative and the King III Code of Corporate Governance have become important guidelines in assisting organizations on how to report and consequently integrated reporting is quickly gaining popularity. As the potential effects of climate change and other environmental and social impacts of businesses become more apparent, stakeholders are placing pressure on these organizations to be more transparent in how they are dealing with these impacts. Strategy cannot be separated from sustainability (SAICA, 2009: 7); therefore there is increasing pressure on organizations to disclose their strategies. Not all companies disclose information relating to strategy and sustainability to the same extent. There are a range of factors that influence strategy disclosure. This study updates the 2010 study (Meyer, 2011) evaluating the extent of strategy disclosure in the energy and natural resources sector of five companies (BP, Eskom, Mondi, Sappi and Sasol) using a three-point evaluation scale. In addition the following analyses were done:  A benchmarking exercise comparing the strategy disclosure and sustainability reporting of the five companies analysed against two industry leaders (Repsol and Enagas).  Development of the drivers of strategy disclosure from the literature which were compared to the results from the three-point evaluation scale.  The analysis was repeated using a six-point evaluation scale, as this more clearly determined the extent of strategy disclosure, which was then compared to the drivers of strategy disclosure. The results, obtained from the six-point evaluation scale, supported the drivers of strategy disclosure and concluded that product type, the competitive environment and risk are some of the main determinants of strategy disclosure in this study based on the companies evaluated. It was also concluded that, based on the three-point and the six-point evaluation scale, the average level of disclosure for the energy and natural resources sector is good, and had improved from 2010. Furthermore, it was also observed that strategy is not disclosed to the same extent as sustainability information. Baseline One had more of a focus on sustainability information, whereas Baselines Two and Three focussed more on strategy. The level of disclosure in Baseline One was more than that of Baselines Two and Three.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The thesis conveys three discrete, yet interconnected, studies embracing issues revolving around the exploration of integrated reporting adoption and embeddedness using an institutional theory lens. Integrated reporting can be described as ‘a holistic and integrated representation of the company’s performance in terms of both its finance and its sustainability’ (King III, 2009, p. 54). The first study explores the mimetic, normative and regulative institutional factors, at both an organisational field (meso) and country (macro) levels, affecting the adoption of integrated reporting. Moreover, it provides a portrayal for the adoption of the new practice among corporations. The study uses a relatively large sample driven from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report list and tests it empirically using panel data from 2002- 2010. The second study develops a measure to capture sustainability embeddedness in corporate reports and uses the measure to explore and describe sustainability embeddedness in the integrated reports. Additionally, indicators on sustainability embeddedness in the de facto GRI guidelines are highlighted in comparison to the measure developed. Finally, the third study explores the determinants of sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports using a decoupling lens. More specifically, the study examines the effects of integrated reporting age (as a proxy for early and late adoption), the level of reporting of GRI sustainability guidelines (GRI application level), report assurance and corporate governance on sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports. The study finds that the application of integrated reporting emerged in 2001 amongst only a few corporations in Europe and South America, and was spread among all continents by 2010. While mimetic and normative factors at a meso level were significantly related to integrated reporting adoption, regulative and normative factors at a macro level were found to be of limited association with integrated reporting adoption. Interestingly, corporate size, a firm characteristic control variable, was found to be negatively associated with IR adoption. Exploring sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports in the second study reveals that on average integrated reporters covered 54.4% of the indicators on sustainability embeddedness on the constructed index. Integrated reporters were found to show that sustainability is embedded in some aspects as stakeholder dialogue, executive members’ commitment to sustainability and developing measures to report on various environmental impacts. Conversely, integrated reporters conducting business as usual and prioritised financial aspects in others aspects as remuneration, promotion and appraisal, employee sustainability engagement and investor dialogue regarding sustainability. The results also show that there are great discrepancies in the levels of sustainability embeddedness coverage between integrated reporters. Sustainability embeddedness scores were found to decline, especially in the most recent years of adoption. Regression results in the third study did not find evidence that early adopters of integrated reporting had significantly higher sustainability embeddedness than later adopters. Additionally, corporate governance mechanisms were also unable to explain sustainability embeddedness scores, with the exception of the positive association between corporate two-tier boards and sustainability embeddedness. Embedding sustainability was found to be mainly associated with GRI application level. There was limited evidence to suggest that integrated reporters providing assurance for their reports had higher sustainability embeddedness scores. The studies, taken together, contribute to the body of literature on CSR adoption in general and the adoption of integrated reporting and its practices in particular. The studies also provide contribution and implications by testing institutional theory in a new context.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce, 2017 / The success of integrated reporting depends on whether or not corporate South Africa communicates with its stakeholders to gauge their perceptions, allowing for their interests and expectations to drive the content of the reports. This study explores the consistencies between the emphasis placed on certain integrated reporting themes by companies within the financial services sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the perceived importance of these themes by stakeholders. By analysing the differences in emphasis between companies and respondents, this paper will prove that a perception gap has developed because of a lack of understanding by companies about what information users value. In addition, by experimenting with the sophistication characteristic of respondents, this study will demonstrate that sophistication has an effect on the type of disclosures which users value and the method by which they wish it to be conveyed / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Masters in Commerce. March 2016 / The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a systematic difference in the textual characteristics of information in the chairman’s statement of profitable and unprofitable companies on the JSE main board. This would indicate the existence of impression management in management commentary. The difference of profitable and unprofitable companies was analysed in relation to six pre-determined textual characteristics. The primary conclusion drawn is that impression management does exist in the chairman’s statements of companies listed on the main board of the JSE. Another finding of the study was that ‘extremely unprofitable’ companies are less likely to employ impression management. The findings of this research indicate that users of annual reports should be alert to the existence of reporting bias introduced by management in its commentary. Users of the annual report should carefully consider the usefulness of management commentary in their decision making, discounting these disclosures for the use of impression management techniques employed in corporate reporting strategies. Studies on impression management techniques in narrative disclosures within the annual report have not been piloted in South Africa before. This is the first study of linguistic variation employed in management commentary within the South African context. The study was exploratory in nature and did not set out to identify the causes of impression management being employed within the South African context. Future research may explore this further and may also be extended to determine whether impression management is present in other sections of the annual report and even the integrated report. Key words: Chairman’s statement, impression management, management commentary, reporting bias / MT2017

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborgs universitet, 2003. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-206).

Bibliography : leaves 181-190. / x, 190 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Examines the corporate social disclosure practices of the 200 largest public companies in Australia by examining their annual reports and other company publications. The study identified that many companies make social disclosure in media other than their annual report and that much social disclosure was prepared with specific readers in mind. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Commerce, 1999?

Bibliography : leaves 181-190. / x, 190 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Examines the corporate social disclosure practices of the 200 largest public companies in Australia by examining their annual reports and other company publications. The study identified that many companies make social disclosure in media other than their annual report and that much social disclosure was prepared with specific readers in mind. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Commerce, 1999?