Human Capital Reporting Practices of German and American Companies

  1. Michaela Bednárová 1
  2. Roman Klimko 2
  3. Patrik Klimko 2
  1. 1 University of Huelva. Spain
  2. 2 University of Economics in Bratislava. Slovakia
Journal:
The International Journal of Digital Accounting Research

ISSN: 1577-8517

Year of publication: 2017

Volume: 17

Issue: 23

Pages: 67-91

Type: Article

More publications in: The International Journal of Digital Accounting Research

Abstract

Communication of social dimensions of the company plays a key role in the sustainable development of organizations. The aim of this empirical study is to analyze the extent to which German and American companies report on human capital indicators via their websites and the factors that can influence them. A content analysis of the annual sustainability reports of 60 companies listed in the DAX 30 and in the Fortune 500 (top 30 companies) was conducted. Our findings show that Europe`s leading position in sustainability reporting is undeniable, and on the other hand, online disclosure on human capital in the USA is still scarce and in its early stages. The factors influencing it are: sector in which the company operates and country where the company is headquartered. They also show that indicators such as number of employees, gender diversity of employees, and gender diversity of top employees are widely reported, while other indicators such as absenteeism, accidents and diseases at workplace, job stability and seniority are not used to a high extent.

Bibliographic References

  • AERTS W.; CORMIER, D.; MAGNAN, M. (2006): Intra-industry imitation in corporate environmental reporting: An international perspective, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 25, No. 3: 299-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpu bpol.2006.03.004
  • ALVARADO-HERRERA, A.; BIGNE, E.; ALDAS-MANZANO, J.; CURAS-PEREZ, R. (2017): A Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Following the Sustainable Development Paradigm, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 140, No. 2: 243-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2654-9
  • AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS (1994): Improving business reporting: a customer focus, New York.
  • AMRAN, A.; DEVI, S.S. (2008): The impact of government and foreign affiliate influence on corporate social reporting: The case of Malaysia, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4: 386-404. https://doi.org/10.1108/ 02686900810864327
  • ARVIDSSON, S. (2010): Communication of corporate social responsibility: A study of the views of management teams in large companies, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 96, No. 3: 339-354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0469-2
  • AZIM, M.I.; AHMED, S.; ISLAM, M. (2009): Corporate social reporting practice: evidence from listed companies in Bangladesh, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, Vol. 10, No. 2: 130-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10599230902885556
  • BALLOU, B.; HEITGER, D.; LANDES, C. (2006): The Future of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Rapidly Growing Assurance Opportunity, http://referensi.dosen.narotama.ac.id/files/2012/01/The-Future-of-Corporate-Sustainability.pdf
  • BARTELS, W.; IANSEN-ROGERS, J.; KUSZEWSKI, J. (2008): Count me in-The readers’ take on sustainability reporting, Amstelveen, KPMG.
  • BAZLEY, M.; BROWN, P.; IZAN, H.Y. (1985): An analysis of lease disclosures by Australian companies, Abacus, Vol. 21, No. 1: 44-63. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1467-6281.1985.tb00111.x
  • CAMPBELL, D.J. (2000): Legitimacy theory or managerial reality construction? Corporate social disclosure in Marks and Spencer Plc annual corporate reports, 1969-1997, Accounting Forum, Vol. 24, No. 1: 80-100. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/1467-6303.00030
  • CHO, C.H.; PHILLIPS, J.R.; HAGEMAN, A.M; PATTEN, D.M. (2009): Media richness, user trust, and perception of corporate social responsibility: An experimental investigation of visual web site disclosures, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 22, No. 6: 933-952. https://doi.org/10.1108/ 09513570910980481
  • CLACHER, I.; HAGENDORFF, J. (2012): Do Announcements about Corporate Social Responsibility Create or Destroy Shareholder Wealth? Evidence from the UK, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 106, No. 3: 253-266. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10551-011-1004-9
  • CORMIER, D.; LEDOUX, M.J.; MAGNAN, M. (2009): The use of Web sites as a disclosure platform for corporate performance, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Vol. 10, No. 1: 1-24. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.accinf.2008.04.002
  • CORMIER, D.; MAGNAN, M. (2007): The revisited contribution of environmental reporting to investors’ valuation of a firm’s earnings: An international perspective, Ecological Economics, Vol. 32, No. 3-4: 613-626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.07.030
  • CROSSLAND, C. (2007), “National institutions and managerial discretion: A taxonomy of 24 countries”, paper presented at the annual meeting of Academy of Management, August, Philadeplphia, PA.
  • DAVISON, J. (2007): Photographs and accountability: cracking the codes of an NGO, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1: 133-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570710731236
  • DEPOERS, F. (2000): A cost-benefit study of voluntary disclosure: Some empirical evidence from French listed companies, European Accounting Review, Vol. 9: 245-263.
  • EBNSC (2000): European Campaign on CSR 2000-2005, A New Age for Partnership Between Business, Governments and Civil Society, http://www.ebnsc.org
  • ECCLES, R.; ARMBRESTER, K. (2011): Integrated reporting in the cloud. Sustainability: bringing life to your business, IESE insight, Issue 8.
  • ECCLES, R.; KRZUS, M. (2010): One report. Integrated reporting for a sustainable strategy, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
  • EUROPEAN COUNCIL (2000): Presidency conclusions, Lisbon European Council, http://wwwue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/00100-r1.en0.htm
  • FIFKA, M.; DRABLE, M. (2012): Focus and standardization of sustainability reporting-a comparative study of the United Kingdom and Finland, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 21, No. 7: 455-474. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/bse.1730
  • FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (2001): Improving business reporting: insights into enhancing voluntary disclosures. Stanford.
  • FRÍAS-ACEITUNO, J.V.; CONCEICAO-MARQUES, M.; LÁZARO-RODRÍGUEZ, A. (2013): Sustainability Disclosure: Does it adapt to society’s expectations? Revista de Contabilidad, Vol. 16, No. 2: 147-158.
  • FRYNAS, J.G. (2010): Corporate social responsibility and societal governance: lessons from transparency in the oil and gas sector, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 93: 163-179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0559-1
  • GALLEGO, I.; GARCÍA, I.; RODRÍGUEZ, L. (2009): Universities’ web sites: disclosure practices and the revelation of financial information, The International Journal of Digital Accounting Research, Vol. 9, pp. 153-192. https://doi.org/ 10.4192/1577-8517-v9_6
  • GEORGALLIS, P. (2016): The Link Between Social Movements and Corporate Social Initiatives: Toward a Multi-level Theory, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 142, No. 4: 735-751. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3111-0
  • GICS (2017): Global Industry Classification Standard, https://www.msci.com/gic
  • GOLOBA, U.; BARTLETT, J. (2006): Communicating about corporate social responsibility: A comparative study of CSR reporting in Australia and Slovenia, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811106001433
  • GRAY, R.H.; BEBBINGTON, K.J. (2000): Accounting for the environment, 2nd ed. Sage, London.
  • GRAY, R.; KOUHY, R.; LAVERS, S. (1995): Corporate social and environmental disclosure, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2: 44-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513579510146996
  • GRI (2010): GRI Sustainability Reporting Statistics, https://www.globalreporting. org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Reporting-Stats-2010.pdf
  • HANIFFA, R.M.; COOKE, T.E. (2005): The impact of culture and governance on corporate social reporting, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 24, No. 5: 391-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2005.06.001
  • HARTMAN, L.P., RUBIN, R.S.; DHANDA, K.K. (2007): The communication of corporate social responsibility: United States and European Union multinational corporations, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 74, No. 4: 373-389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9513-2
  • HOFFMAN, A.J. (1999): Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the US chemical industry, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 42, No. 4: 351-371. https://doi.org/10.2307/257008
  • IR (2011): Discussion paper, “Towards integrated reporting’, Communicating value in the 21st century”, http://www.theiirc.org/discussion-paper/
  • JOHNSTON, P. (2001): Corporate Responsibility in Employment Standards in a Global Knowledge Economy. In Zadek, S., Hojensgard, N. and Raynard, P. (eds.), Perspectives on the New Economy of Corporate Citizenship (43-47), The Copenhagen Centre.
  • JONES, K.; ALABASTER, T.; WALTON, J. (1998): Virtual environments for environmental Reporting, Greener Management International, Vol. 21: 121-37.
  • KIM, S. (2017): The Process Model of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communication: CSR Communication and its Relationship with Consumers’ CSR Knowledge, Trust, and Corporate Reputation Perception, Journal of Business Ethics, 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3433-6.
  • KOLK, A. (2007): Sustainability, accountability and corporate governance: exploring multinationals’ reporting practices, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 17, No.1: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.511
  • KORETO, R.J. (1997): When the bottom line is online, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 183, No. 3: 63-5.
  • KPMG (2011): International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2011, http://www.kpmg.com/global/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/press-releases/pages/corporate-responsibility-reporting.aspx
  • LARRÁN, M.; GINER, B. (2002): The use of the internet for corporate reporting by Spanish companies, The International Journal of Digital Accounting Research, Vol. 2, No. 1: 53-82. https://doi.org/10.4192/1577-8517-v2_3
  • LEE, W.E.; HAGEMAN, A.E. (2016): Talk the Talk or Walk the Walk? An Examination of Sustainability Accounting Implementation, Journal of Business Ethics, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3282-8
  • LIGTERINGEN, E.; ZADEK, S. (2004): The future of corporate responsibility standards, Accounting Forum, Vol. 4: 6-17.
  • LONGO, M.; MURA, M.; BONOLI, A. (2005): Corporate social responsibility and corporate performance: The case of Italian SMEs, Corporate Governance, Vol. 5, No.4: 28-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700510616578
  • MARIMON, F.; ALONSO-ALMEIDA, M.; RIDRÍGUEZ, M. (2012): The worldwide diffusion of the global reporting initiative: what is the point? Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 33: 132-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012. 04.017
  • OGRIZEK, M. (2002): The effect of corporate social responsibility on the branding of financial services, Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 3: 215-228. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.fsm.4770053
  • ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (2006): Intellectual assets and value creation: Implications for corporate reporting, December, 11.
  • OUTTES-WANDERLEY, L.; SOARES, L.; LUCIAN, R.; FARACHE, F.; DE SOUSA FILHO MILTON, J. (2008): CSR information disclosure on the web: a context-based approach analyzing the influence of country of origin and industry sector, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 82: 369-378. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10551-008-9892-z
  • RAO, K.; TILT, C. (2016): Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Diversity, Gender, Strategy and Decision Making, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 138, No. 2: 327-347. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10551-015-2613-5
  • RATANAJONGKOL, S.; DAVEY, H.; LOW, M. (2006): Corporate social reporting in Thailand: The news is all good and increasing, Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1: 67-83. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/11766090610659751
  • ROCA, L.C.; SEARCY, C. (2012): An analysis of indicators disclosed in corporate sustainability reports, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 20, No. 1: 103-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.08.002
  • RODRÍGUEZ-ARIZA, L.; FRÍAS-ACEITUNO, J.V.; GARCÍA-RUBIO, R. (2014): The board of directors and the sustainability report, Revista de Contabilidad, Vol. 17, No. 1: 5-16.
  • ROWE, M. (2006): Reputation relationships and risk: a CSR primer for ethics officers, Business and Society Review, Vol. 111, No. 4: 441-455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8594.2006.00281.x
  • SHEEHY, B. (2015): Defining CSR: Problems and Solutions, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 131, No. 3: 625-648. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2281-x
  • SKOLOUDIS, A.; EVANGELINOS, K.I. (2009): Sustainability reporting in Greece: Are we there yet? Environmental Quality Management, Vol. 19, No. 1: 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.20235
  • STEVENSON, W.B.; STECKLER, E.L. (2015): Rhetorical Strategies for Claims of Corporate Sustainability, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 2015, No. 59: 148-167. https://doi.org/10.9774/gleaf.4700.2015.se.00010
  • WADDOCK, S. (2008): Building a new institutional infrastructure for corporate responsibility, Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 22, No. 3: 87-108. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2008.34587997
  • WAGENHOFER, A. (1990): The demand for disclosure and actual disclosure by firms, paper presented at the 13th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association, Budapest.
  • WARREN, S. (2002): Show me how it feels to work here: using photography to research organizational aesthetics, Ephemera, Vol. 2, No. 3: 224-45.
  • WEBER, O. (2008): The relation between the GRI indicators and the financial performance of firms, Progress in Industrial Ecology, Vol. 5, No. 3: 236-254. https://doi.org/10.1504/pie.2008.019127
  • WELFORD, R. (2005): Corporate social responsibility in Europe, North America and Asia, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 2005, No. 17: 33-52. https://doi.org/10.9774/gleaf.4700.2005.sp.00007
  • YOUNG, S.; MARAIS, M. (2012): A Multi-level Perspective of CSR Reporting: The Implications of National Institutions and Industry Risk Characteristics, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Vol. 20, No. 5: 432-450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2012.00926.x