The three studies in this dissertation explore the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). CSR consists of social, ethical, and environmental performance dimensions that have not traditionally appeared in mandated financial reports and largely reflect societal expectations for corporate behavior beyond legal and regulatory constraints. CSR is reflected in both corporate actions (performance outcomes) and voluntary reporting (disclosure), and the two are not necessarily equivalent due to managerial discretion in disclosure. Although the mechanisms remain unclear, the general consensus is that there is a positive relationship between CSR and CFP. In considering the drivers and goals of CSR, two themes emerge and are used to inform these papers: a stakeholder view of organizational relationships and the need to signal legitimacy in the face of changing social norms. A stakeholder view asserts that a wide range of groups across society are important to the long-term success and health of the organization. Legitimacy theory provides the explanation of why the stakeholder view is important to organizational success and can produce significant strategic advantages. The first study utilizes archival data in an exploration of how to model the relationship between Corporate Social Performance (CSP) and CFP. Using independent evaluations of organizational CSP from KLD STATS, I explore the CSP-CFP relationship at four different levels (overall CSP, component CSP, directional component CSP, and issue-based component CSP). I consider the effect of CSP on a range of outcome measures of CFP performance, at different levels of aggregated performance measures and linkage to stakeholder groups. Finally, I explore the pattern of significant CSP components on individual CFP outcome measures to iv determine if there is evidence for changing associations based on relevant stakeholder groups, in answer to concerns raised by prior research (Wood and Jones 1995; Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes 2003). I find that (a) stock market measures are extremely insensitive to CSP; (b) the appropriate measurement level of CSP varies with the degree to which the CFP measure is aggregated and attributable to a more focused group of stakeholders; and (c) significant CSP aspects and associated CFP outcomes do vary in patterns and sensitivity. The second study examines the role voluntary social disclosure plays in economic performance through an attribute I term resilience. Resilience influences stakeholder resource allocation decisions in the face of unexpected poor performance attributable to an exogenous shock and is associated with perceived organizational legitimacy. To test this model, an experiment is conducted in which participants are asked to assess the perceived legitimacy of an organization based on information characteristics of voluntary CSR disclosure and then to make reallocation decisions in the face of poor performance caused by an industry crisis not involving the underlying organization. I find that high quality disclosure (driven by reporting accuracy) is significantly associated with greater perceived legitimacy. In turn, the legitimacy construct is significantly associated with resilience following an exogenous shock. The final study considers organizational choices in CSR disclosure to preserve credibility in the face of a crisis threatening the legitimacy of the institutional framework. Using qualitative data surrounding the turbulent 2001 – 2002 period encompassing the Enron and WorldCom scandals and the fall of Andersen, I examine organizational voluntary disclosure decisions to ascertain how they sought to preserve their own informational credibility and legitimacy in the face of a threat that did not directly involve their actions. I find that organizations responded v throughout this period by increasing signals of both transparency (greater CSR disclosure) and credibility (greater use of external sources of assurance of that disclosure). I also find that thirdparty assurance was not widely used, and remained at a steady, minimal percentage over time. Overwhelmingly, organizations turned to the implementation of an independent, external reporting framework (e.g., the Global Reporting Initiative’s widespread guidelines) that provided consistency and comparability in their reporting, made use of standardized measurements and definitions, and required specific items and measures.

The study is based on a hypothetical deductive approach. The study applies a quantitative method. The material covers 3926 firm years between 2007–2019. The data studied is obtained from the ASSET4 database. Analysis of data has taken place in the statistics program IBM SPSS. The study is based in corporate governance where the balance between shareholders and stakeholders forms the basis together with the countries' legal origins, i.e. how the legal traditions of different countries affect firms' reporting. To analyze this, two parts are used, a period of voluntary reporting of ESG(2007-2016) and a period covering the regulatory framework implemented in the European Union where mandatory reporting (2017-2019) of non-financial information such as environment and social aspects were introduced for larger firms in 2017. Based on this, a comparison is made whether higher ESG reporting is achieved in the voluntary or mandatory environment.  The study finds evidence that higher ESG reporting is achieved in the mandatory reporting and that the countries' legal differences decrease during the mandatory reporting period. The results show that firms of Scandinavian legal origin have lower ESG reporting and that a concentrated ownership structure leads to a lower ESG reporting.

No description available.

Background. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, are newly emerging pathogens of public health importance. Currently no nationally representative or mandatory surveillance or reporting system exists to examine trends of these important pathogens. Objective. The purpose of the current study was to estimate trends in overall microbial burden and carbapenem resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae and to understand the extent to which hospitals which report to voluntary surveillance systems represent all hospitals in the United States. Design. We conducted a descriptive study to compare the hospitals participating in voluntary reporting systems of the University HealthSystem Consortium and the National Healthcare Safety Network with the Healthcare Utilization Project’s Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a nationally representative sample of hospital discharges. Methods. Descriptive analyses examined hospital characteristics (region, bed size, hospital control, teaching status, case mix index) and patient characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, admission source, admission type, discharge status, primary payer) of participant hospitals versus all US hospitals. ICD-9-CM codes identified discharges coded for E. coli and K. pneumoniae diagnoses; linear regression was used to evaluate trends in overall microbial burden of E. coli and K. pneumoniae in all US Hospitals and US Academic Centers. Trends in E. coli and K. pneumoniae resistance to carbapenem were also evaluated in hospitals participating in voluntary surveillance systems (n=13). Results. Between 2002 and 2007, slight increasing trends in burden of both E. coli and K. pneumoniae were observed (E. coli: slope = 0.0537; K. pneumoniae slope = 0.0168). Hospitals participating in voluntary surveillance systems are larger and care for fewer elderly patients than all US hospitals. Conclusions. These results suggest that hospitals that participate in voluntary surveillance systems like the National Healthcare Safety Network and the University HealthSystem Consortium may underrepresent trends in smaller hospitals, as well as those that treat elderly patients. Increasing overall burden of infection due to these isolates only reinforces the importance carbapenem resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae. This important public health threat may warrant the creation of a national, mandatory reporting system for these and other antimicrobial resistant organisms.

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att analysera och förklara utvecklingen av den frivilliga och lagstadgade hållbarhetsredovisningen mellan år 2015 och 2018. Anledningen till detta är att frågor som rör miljön och klimatet blivit allt viktigare i dagens samhälle. Konsekvensen av detta har dels blivit att nya lagstiftningar har instiftats, dels att diverse olika organisationer tagit fram en mängd olika direktiv och ramverk som är frivilliga att följa. För att undersöka denna problematik har empiri tagits fram genom en innehållsanalys där års- och hållbarhetsrapporter har analyserats. Innehållsanalysen har utförts på sju olika företag inom tre branscher. Dessa branscher är dagligvaruhandeln, skogs- och pappersindustrin samt bygg- och anläggningsindustrin.  I analysen har empirin tolkats med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram innehållande följande teorier: legitimitetsteorin, intressentteorin och multi-level governance. Resultatet har visat att den frivilliga rapporteringen blivit allt viktigare för samtliga företag i uppsatsen, detta på grund av att intressenter och investerare idag har högre krav på företagen i dessa frågor. Slutsatsen i arbetet är därav att hållbarhetsredovisning och framförallt den frivilliga delen har utvecklats från att tidigare vara mer ytlig till att idag karaktäriseras av ett mer omfattande arbete. Under analysens första år fanns tendenser till att företag endast kort beskrev sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Detta har utvecklats under analysens sista år då hållbarhetsrapporterna istället innehåller en mer djupgående och omfattande beskrivning. Det innebär att både förarbete och resultat av hållbarhetsarbetet beskrivs. / The purpose of this paper has been to analyze and explain the development of the voluntary and mandatory sustainability reporting between 2015 and 2018. The reason behind is that issues relating to the environment and the climate have become increasingly important in today's society. The consequence has been that legislation has been instituted, but also that organizations have produced a variety of directives that are voluntary to follow. In order to investigate this problem, empirical data has been developed through a content analysis where annual and sustainability reports have been analyzed. The content analysis has been implemented on seven different companies within three industries. These industries are the grocery trade, the forest and paper industry and the construction industry.  The analysis has been interpreted by a theoretical framework containing the theory of legitimacy, stakeholder theory and multi-level governance. The result has shown that the voluntary reporting has become increasingly important for all companies in the paper. The reason behind is that stakeholders today have higher demands on the companies. The conclusion is therefore that the sustainability report and, above all, the voluntary part have evolved from earlier being more superficial to today being characterized by a more extensive work. During the first year of the analysis, companies tended to only briefly describe their sustainability work. This has been developed during the last year of the analysis as it now contains a more comprehensive description. This means that both preliminary work and results of the sustainability work are described.

Integrerad rapportering (IR) sprider sig inom redovisningsvärlden och modellen ska enligt förespråkarna skänka en transparent bild över hur företagen sammanlänkar finansiell och icke-finansiell information. Genom intressent- och legitimitetsteoretiska postulat syftar studien till att visa vilka faktorer (storlek, skuldsättningsgrad, ägarkoncentration och bransch) som kan påverka valet att tillämpa IR-principer. Vidare undersöks om mängden integrerad information verkligen skiljer sig mellan företag som tillämpar IR och övriga. Fokus ligger på social- och miljöinformation som finns integrerad med övriga upplysningar.  Empirin har genererats genom en i huvudsak kvantitativ innehållsanalys av 67 årsredovisningar från företag noterade på Nasdaq OMX Large Cap. Regressionsanalyser och Mann-Whitney test har använts för att analysera den insamlade empirin.  De statistiska testerna visar att storlek och branschtillhörighet har signifikanta samband med mängden integrerad miljö- och social information i årsredovisningarna. Ägarkoncentration och skuldsättningsgrad visade dock inget samband vilket talar för att finansiella intressenter inte pressar företag mot IR-principer. Signifikanta skillnader kunde konstateras mellan årsredovisningarna som uppgavs vara integrerade i förhållande till övriga. Denna upptäckt kan tolkas som att IR-tillämpande företag även har en starkare hängivenhet till hållbarhetsfrågor.  Studien bidrar med en bild över hur IR-principer förekommer på svensk börs samt hur detta ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv skiljer sig från övriga årsredovisningar. Vidare indikerar studien att paralleller kan dras mellan IR och frivillig rapportering i övrigt då företagens storlek och branschtillhörighet påverkat årsredovisningens utformning.  Som fortsatt forskning föreslås studier kring IR ur ett användarperspektiv då utbudet av detta idag är skralt och samtidigt kritiskt för fortsatt utveckling av IR. / Integrated reporting (IR) is spreading in the accounting world and according to proponents the model should give a transparent picture of how the companies are linking financial and non-financial disclosures. Through postulates from stakeholder- and legitimacy theory this study aims to demonstrate which factors (size, debt ratio, ownership concentration and industry) that may affect the choice of applying IR principles. Furthermore, the study also examines whether the amount of integrated information really differs between companies who allege to apply IR and others. Focus lays on social- and environmental information.  The empirical data is essentially generated by a quantitative content analysis of 67 annual reports from companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Large Cap. Regression analysis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze the collected empirical data.  The statistical tests show that size and industry has significant effect on the amount of integrated information within the annual reports. Debt ratio and ownership concentration however, showed no relationship which leads to the conclusion that financial stakeholders is not pressuring the companies towards IR principles. Significant differences between the annual reports claimed to be integrated and other annual reports where observed. This finding could be interpreted as companies that apply IR also have a stronger devotion to sustainability issues.  Future research is suggested to be conducted from a user perspective. The supply of this type of studies is poor but crucial for continued development of IR.

This diploma thesis describes the process of reporting of occurrence in the Czech Republic. The first part focuses on the description of the current reporting process and requirements. The second part describes the possibilities for improving the reporting process for organization.