Sustainability Reporting

Dragomir, Voicu-Dan (2011) Sustainability Reporting. : A Case for Corporate Accountability. PhD.

Text Thesis-Dragomir-2011.pdf.pdf - Publishers version Restricted to RUG campus Download (2MB)

Abstract

Thesis Bucharest University 2011. ISBN 9786065054868 The multi-dimensional character of corporate governance has never stopped being a puzzle for its relevant audiences: the managers, the regulators, the academia, but mostly for those gathered under the comprehensive notion of ‘stakeholders’. The last few decades have witnessed an increasingly pronounced shift from the agency concerns to what is now understood as business ethics; i.e. managers and boards of directors are to be less preoccupied with satisfying the short-sighted shareholder and more involved in providing a sustainable horizon for their business. The headline issues of renewable energy, alternative fuels, and atmospheric pollution, on one hand, and poverty, non-discrimination and community needs, on the other hand, make this endeavour even more challenging. In the field of corporate governance, there are several topics of interest for the applied researcher. Firstly, the regulatory environment is the main independent variable to be taken into consideration; firms and their management act according to the hard and soft rules emanating from different sources: supra-national standard-setters, local governments, market regulators, and stakeholder conventions (e.g. union settlements). These regulatory pressures and the necessity to balance a number of conflicting interests are an inexhaustible source of academic research, mostly oriented towards deciphering the impact of public policy on managerial actions. Secondly, the very running of the business generates a series of effects, both of an economic and a social nature. The financial performance of an enterprise, from an accounting as well as a market standpoint, is the formalized indicator of the degree to which corporate objectives are met. However, economic activities produce social effects far beyond the cash flow; classical theory used to classify these outflows as corporate externalities, but modern researchers are in strong disagreement with this outlook. All economic ‘leaks’, such as emissions and spills, social turbulence, or community outrage, are no longer trivial sideeffects. A comprehensive theory of corporate governance, such as stakeholder theory, has the daunting task of addressing these issues in a consistent manner, with regard to how managers can internalize negative outcomes, enhance social dialogue and preserve corporate reputation. The present doctoral thesis is crystallized around the stakeholder aspects of corporate governance, in an attempt to provide a conceptual framework and empirical evidence on the most controversial facet of corporate ethical involvement: environmental disclosure and performance.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	corporate social responsibility, environmental protection, sustainability, company law, European regulation, Corporate governance, environmental protection, 658 General management
Language:	English
Publisher:	ASE Publishing House
Place of Publication:	Bucureşti, Romania
Date of graduation:	1 January 2011
Status:	Published
Uncontrolled Keywords:	corporate social responsibility, environmental protection, sustainability, company law, European regulation, Corporate governance, environmental protection, 658 General management
Date Deposited:	02 Jun 2020 10:44
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2020 10:44
URI:	https://ebooks.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/157

Actions (login required)

View Item