Legitimacy theory as an explicator of longitudinal and cross-sectional variability in social and environmental disclosure is explored using a content analysis based method. Annual corporate reports are examined for ten UK FTSE 100 companies in five sectors over the year 1974 to 2000 by extracting word count data into the three categories of employee welfare, community and environmental disclosure. Eight hypotheses are generated, some of which are adapted from previous studies, to ''test for'' legitimacy theory. Three hypotheses test for intersectoral difference by disclosure category, three test for intrasectoral agreement by category and two test for correlation between environmental disclosure over time and environmental group membership in the UK.The ability of the study to yield certainty of explanation upon demonstration of hypotheses is constrained by the epistemogically ''semi-hard'' or ''indicative-only'' quality of the data. Data analysis is carried out and conclusions are drawn within these constraints.Evidence for a legitimacy-based explanation of disclosure variability is found where the categories are sufficiently resolved and circumscribed to discriminate by sector. In this study, community and environmental disclosure demonstrate this and thus provide evidence for a legitimacy-based explanation of social disclosure whilst employee welfare disclosure is found to be a less useful category for this purpose.

Στο πλαίσιο της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας πραγματοποιήθηκε μια θεωρητική διερεύνηση του θέματος της κοινωνικής λογιστικής και διαμέσου αυτής της κοινωνικής εταιρικής ευθύνης. Η διερεύνηση αυτή είχε ως υπόβαθρο δευτερογενή στοιχεία τα οποία αφορούν έρευνες για το αντικείμενο της κοινωνικής λογιστικής και την επιχειρηματική ηθική εν γένει. Κύριος σκοπός της εργασίας είναι να αναδείξει την σπουδαιότητα και την επικαιρότητα του θέματος,αντλώντας χρήσιμο πληροφοριακό υλικό απο το εξωτερικό καθώς στην Ελλάδα το αντικείμενο της κοινωνικής λογιστικής βρίσκεται ακόμη σε εμβρυικό στάδιο ανάπτυξης. Αυτό θα γίνει με την θεωρητική οριοθέτηση του θέματος καθώς και με μια προσπάθεια απόδειξης της χρησιμότητας της ηθικής των επιχειρήσεων ως μια στρατηγική επιλογή τους. Γίνεται μια λεπτομερής αναφορά στο θέμα της κοινωνικής λογιστικής, ώστε να υπάρξει μια σαφή εικόνα για το τι πραγματεύεται. Παρουσιάζεται η διαδικασία που ακολουθείται καθώς επίσης και το σχέδιο της κοινωνικής λογιστικής, τα οφέλη που επιφέρει στις εταιρείες οι οποίες υιοθετούν αυτή την πρακτική και γίνεται αναλυτική προσέγγιση του θέματος της εταιρικής κοινωνικής ευθύνης. Ακολούθως παρουσιάζεται το θεσμικό πλαίσιο που διέπει τα προαναφερθέντα αντικείμενα μελέτης. Στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας ήταν να διερευνηθεί ο βαθμός κοινωνικής επίδοσης των υπό μελέτη Ελληνικών εταιρειών καθώς επίσης και οι παράγοντες που προσδιορίζουν αυτή την κοινωνική επίδοση όπως επίσησ και το επίπεδο των πληροφοριών που δημοσιέυονται στους κοινωνικούς απολογισμούς των εταιρειών. σχετικά με τον πρώτο στόχο και διαμέσου της έρευνας που πραγματοποιήθηκε είναι προφανές ότι υπάρχει μια ολοένα αυξανόμενη συνειδητοποίηση από πλευράς μεγάλων εταιρειών του ρόλου τους ως "εταιρικών πολιτών" και της κοινωνικής ευθύνης τους. Αναφορικά με τον δεύτερο στόχο οι μεταβλητές που σχετίζονται θετικά με την κοινωνική επίδοση των υπό ανάλυση εταιρειών είναι αυτές που υπάγονται στην κατηγορία του πληροφοριακού κόστους, με την μεταβλητή Capital Market να παρουσιάζει την υψηλότερη σημαντικότητα (επίπεδο σημαντικότητας 5%). Στην κατηγορία του κόστους ιδιοκτησίας την μεγαλύτερη συσχέτιση σε επίπεδο σημαντικότητας 5% παρουσιάζει η μεταβλητή Leverage. οι υπόλοιπες μεταβλητές εμφανίζουν θετική συσχέτιση με την εξαρτημένη μεταβλητή κοινωνική επίδοση αλλά όχι σε ικανοποιητικό επίπεδο σημαντικότητας. Η μεταβλητή ελέγχου Fixed Asset Age παρουσιάζει αρνητική συσχέτιση με το επίπεδο κοινωνικής επίδοσης που διαμορφώνουν οι εταιρείες. Άξίζει τέλος να σημειωθεί ότι υπάρχει ένας ολοένα και αυξανόμενος ρυθμός παροχής "κοινωνικών πληροφοριών" από μέρους των Ελληνικών επιχειρήσεων καθώς οι περισσότερες εκδίδουν πλέον κοινωνικό απολογισμό και επιπροσθέτως περιλαμβάνουν κοινωνικές και περιβαλλοντικές επιδόσεις στις ιστοσελίδες τους στο διαδίκτυο. / In this dissertation there has been produced a theoretical approach of social accounting and corporate social responsibility. This examination will be based on secondary data from research on business ethics and social accounting. The main purpose of this dissertation is to indicate the significance and timeliness of this topic, drawing on examples from abroad though the issue of social accounting is in a initial stage in Greece. This will be achieved with the theoreical delineation of the topic and an attempt to prove the usefulness of business ethics as a strategic choise for contemporary companies. Particular reference is made to the theoretical framework of the issue of social accounting in order to present its tretment. Furthermore will be exhibited the procedure of social accounting, the benefits that incur to the firms whose adopt this practice. Moreover there presented the statutory framework of corporate social responsibility and social accounting. The main purpose of this dissertation was the examination of the level of social performance that greek firms maintain and the factors that determine the former as well as the level of information publiced in firms social disclosures. With regard to the first objective and through detailed research it is obviously that there exist an increasing consciousness from large sized firms as corporate citizens and their corporate social responsibility. With regard to the second objective, variables that relates positively with social performance are these whom include in information cost category, with capital market variable signing the highest significance (at level 5%). In proprietary cost category the highest correlation comes from the variable Leverage (at significance level 5%). The other variables reveal positive correlation with social performance but not in a satisfactory level of significance. The control variable Fixed Asset Age reveal negative correlation with social performance. Finally it must be highlighted that there exists an increasing rate of social information revealed from Greek companies while most of them create social disclosures and moreover they iclude social and environmental performance in their web-pages.

Many factors can discourage survivors of sexual assault from reporting their assaults. Even those survivors who disclose, their reporting experiences may not leave them feeling empowered or that they have received adequate support to begin the healing process after disclosure. Using a mixed methods approach, we examined the relationship between religious and spiritual coping strategies, the experience of social disclosure, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). We further used qualitative data examining the ways that participants used religious/spiritual coping strategies in response to the trauma of sexual assault. In total, 94 female or non-binary participants were enrolled. The CFA showed good model fit for all latent factors except positive religious coping and positive social responses. The SEM path analysis found a significant relationship between the latent factor Distract and PTSD symptoms. No other variables were significant in the SEM model, likely due to the small sample size. Qualitative data themes were identified such as respondent-supported healing, responses promoting shutting down/isolation, and responses affecting self-blame for social disclosure and positive and negative religious coping. Finally, this study substantiates the importance of research assessing the needs and experiences of sexual assault survivors, as this is a population that is particularly vulnerable, and struggles to get adequate support and resources. An increase in understanding about the experiences, needs, and coping strategies of sexual assault survivors will help both informal and formal interventions become more effective.

This thesis builds on the literature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. The following three chapters study the potential impacts of disclosing voluntarily negative information in a company’s own CSR communication within the contexts of pharmaceutical, textile and chocolate companies, respectively. Incorporating survey and experimental methodologies, these studies aim to help identify effective solutions for ethical issues by revealing the appropriate contexts in which companies can discuss them transparently and, thus, be rewarded for responding and acting in good faith and due diligence. Our results suggest that companies might benefit from voluntary disclosure of ethical issues if they also intend to disclose their specific actions for eliminating such infractions. Additionally, we highlight the role of public awareness in how negative information by the relevant stakeholders is evaluated. These studies reinforce the concept that acknowledging ethical issues would lead to higher levels of ethical behavior in business. / La siguiente tesis se basa en la literatura sobre comunicación de responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) de empresa. Se analizan los posibles efectos de divulgación voluntaria de información negativa en la comunicación (RSC) en contextos de empresas farmacéuticas, textiles y de chocolate. Estos estudios tienen como objetivo ayudar a identificar soluciones efectivas a cuestiones éticas al revelar los contextos donde las empresas puedan debatir de manera transparente, y ser recompensadas por responder y actuar de buena fe y con diligencia. Los resultados sugieren que las empresas pueden beneficiarse de la divulgación voluntaria de aspectos éticos negativos si también divulgan sus acciones específicas para la eliminación de tales infracciones. Además, se destaca el papel de la sensibilización del público sobre como la información negativa se evalúa por las partes interesadas. Estos estudios refuerzan la idea de que reconocer problemas éticos conduce a niveles más altos de comportamiento ético en el mundo empresarial.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one important response to the increasing amounts of criticism levelled at corporations. A number of studies have focused on CSR in a range of industries; however, some contentious industries, e.g. the gambling industry, remain unexplored. Mobilizing CSR in a novel setting not only enhances the knowledge of CSR and gambling, but also provides an overview of this industry itself. This thesis attempts to investigate three questions: to what extent does the gambling industry disclose CSR-related data, how is CSR understood in this industry and why does the gambling industry engage in CSR? This thesis provides a general overview of the international gambling industry and an in-depth investigation of Macao's gambling industry. The research design of the thesis employs mixed methods: content analysis and semi-structured interviews. The principal research is based on 49 interviews. This thesis advances three main arguments. First, it will be argued that there are relatively low volumes of Corporate Social Disclosure (CSD) and Responsible Gambling (RG) disclosure in the international gambling industry, which can be viewed as a legitimising strategy. Second, in Macao's gambling industry, it is argued that organisations in this industry tend to place a greater emphasis on positive social impacts, while obscuring such negative impacts as gambling addiction and health-related issues. Third, this thesis holds that organisations in Macao's gambling industry engage symbolically, rather than substantively, with CSR and RG in order to manage stakeholders' perceptions in an attempt to gain different sources of legitimacy and in turn to enhance its economic interests. In conclusion, the gambling industry does not entirely conform to the institutional environment, which poses a challenge to the organisational legitimacy literature. This thesis introduces a necessary caution into the discussions about the extent of CSD, CSR, and RG in this industry more generally.

The objective of this paper is to develop an analysis that shows the divergent perspectives arising from the differences between the treatment established under the concept of Social Responsibility and the concept of Social Audit in the measurement, recognition and disclosure of social and environmental elements in business practices.Thus, the main differences that arise from the application of both approaches, noting the need for the firm should report on their social responsibility in such a way that is broader and more transparent to the society where they operateand interact in financial, social and environmental terms.Hence, this article reviews the work of Kreps to be a comprehensive overview of the usefulness of their methodology asa control mechanism of social responsibility of companies.For this purpose, this paper shows the study of Theodore J. Kreps that was the first academic research that applied the social audit methodology. Hence, this article develops a review of the Kreps’ research was developed to be a comprehen- sive overview of the usefulness of his approach as a mechanism for control of firm’s Social Responsibility.The results show that the contribution of Kreps is to propose a methodology that represents a structured communica- tion process by independent agents that are outside the area of influence of business. This means a contribution to the literature because the model proposed by Kreps, unlike traditional Social Responsibility reports (made internal from the inner sphere of companies), is developing from the external environment, promoting collaboration with other firmsand economic agents sharing resources and thus providing social benefits for the entire community. / Este trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo principal realizar un análisis que muestre las divergentes perspectivas originadas por las diferencias existentes entre el tratamiento establecido bajo el concepto de responsabilidad social y el concepto de auditoría social en la medición, reconocimiento y publicación de los elementos sociales y medioambientales en las prácticas empresariales.De este modo, se identificarán las principales diferencias que se originan de la aplicación de ambos abordajes, señalando la necesidad de la empresa de informar sobre su responsabilidad social de forma más amplia y transparente para la socie- dad donde actúa e interacciona, en términos financieros, sociales y medioambientales.Para tal efecto, vamos a efectuar un análisis del estudio desarrollado por Theodore J. Kreps, que fue la primera investigación académica donde se aplicó efectivamente una metodología de auditoría social. De ahí que el presente artículo realiza una revisión del trabajo de Kreps para tenerse una visión integral de la utilidad de su metodología como un mecanismo de control de la responsabilidad social de las empresas.Los resultados muestran que la contribución de Kreps se hace por proponer una metodología que representa un proceso de informe estructurado por agentes independientes que están fuera del área de influencia de las empresas. Esto signi- fica un aporte a la literatura porque el modelo propuesto por Kreps, diferentemente de los tradicionales informes de responsabilidad social (elaborados desde el ámbito interno de las empresas), se desarrolla a partir del entorno externo, promoviendo interrelaciones con otras empresas y agentes que comparten recursos y ofrecen beneficios sociales paratoda la comunidad. / Este artigo tem como principal objetivo efetuar uma análise que evidencia as perspectivas divergentes decorrentes dasdiferenças entre o tratamento instituído no âmbito do conceito de Responsabilidade Social e o conceito de Auditoria Social na mensuração, reconhecimento e divulgação dos aspectos sociais e ambientais nas atividades empresariais.Neste sentido, serão identificadas as principais diferenças que surgem a partir da aplicação de ambas as abordagens, apontando para a necessidade de a empresa informar sobre a sua responsabilidade social, em termos financeiros, social e ambiental, de forma mais ampla e transparente para a sociedade onde desenvolve suas atividades.Nessa perspectiva, realizaremos uma análise do estudo de Theodore J. Kreps, que foi a primeira pesquisa acadêmica onde, efetivamente, foi aplicada uma metodologia de auditoria social. Assim, este artigo apresenta uma revisão da obra de Kreps, visando obter uma abordagem abrangente sobre a utilidade de sua metodologia como mecanismo de controle da responsabilidade social das empresas.Os resultados mostram que a contribuição de Kreps residiu em propor uma metodologia que representa um processo de comunicação estruturado por agentes independentes, fora da área de influência das empresas.Isto significa uma contribuição para a literatura, pois o modelo proposto por Kreps, ao contrário dos tradicionais rela- tórios de responsabilidade social (elaborados no contexto interno das empresas), é desenvolvido a partir do ambiente externo, promovendo relações com outras empresas e agentes que compartilham recursos e propiciam benefícios sociaispara a comunidade como um todo.

Thesis (M. Com. (Accountancy)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This research evaluated the role of external pressure on the sustainability of South African banks. Although much research on corporate sustainability disclosure has been done, this research is important since little of the previous research in South African has given a closer examination to sustainability external pressure implication of external pressure on banking sector sustainability disclosure. In addition, this research separated banks’ sustainability disclosure into social and environmental aspects to know which aspect in the banks are more influenced by external pressure. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to examine the relationship between external pressures on social disclosure and to examine the role of external pressure on environmental disclosure in select South African banks. Although the entire commercial banks in South African made up the population of study, the sample was reduced by the availability of external pressure variables (government pressure, political pressure, social pressure, regulatory pressure, customer pressure, and two control variables – reputation and profit objectives) in the sustainability reports within the six years of study (2010 – 2015). Research data were collected from secondary data which were available from the annual integrated reports of banks. Data were analysed by means of the panel data multiple regression analysis. The analysis of data on research question 1 showed that three independent variables (Government pressure, profit objective and customer pressure) showed a significant positive relationship with social disclosure. Government pressure showed a significant relationship at a value of P=0.006 which is less than the 0.05 alpha level set for this research. This therefore means that within the sample of banks where data were collected, government pressure have a significant positive relationship with social disclosure in these banks. Also, the analysis showed that profit objective and customer pressure are positively and significantly related to social disclosure at a value of P=0.05 which is equal to the alpha of this research. This also means that within the sample of banks where data vi were collected, profit objective and customer pressure have a significant positive relationship with social disclosure in these banks. On the contrary, four out of the seven independent variables (regulatory pressure, political pressure, social pressure and reputation) showed no significant relationship. The second research question in this study was to find whether a relationship exists between external pressure and environmental disclosure. However, all the independent variables showed a non-significant relationship with environmental disclosure. In conclusion, the research made some recommendations which include that future researchers should expand the number of banks by including other financial institutions, the comparison of sustainability disclosure in banks before and after the King III report, more improved teaching and research on banking sector sustainability disclosure in higher institutions, communication of research result such as on banking industry sustainability to practitioners and to government agencies. Other recommendations include the need to conduct a regional study to include other African countries on banking sector sustainability and to conduct a survey study on external pressure on banking sector environmental activity and disclosure