Corporate social responsibility and risk disclosure: similarities and differences between Brazilian and Ibero-European firms

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Risk disclosure; Institutional Theory.

Abstract

In this study we evaluated corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and risk disclosure (RD) in a sample of Brazilian and Ibero-European firms in light of Institutional Theory. The sample included 130 public firms traded in Brazil (n=77), Spain (n=42) and Portugal (n=11). Information on CSR was retrieved from CSRHub®. RD levels were estimated by document analysis of the risk section of annual reports covering the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. The collected data were submitted to descriptive statistics, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and testing for differences between means. Overall, mean CSR performance was lower and mean RD levels were higher in Brazilian firms than in Ibero-European firms. The latter (especially Spanish firms) made less financial risk disclosure. The results of the testing for differences between means support our hypotheses, showing that CSR performance and RD are determined by the institutional environment of each country. The study makes a novel contribution of relevance to both academic and corporate audiences by broadening and enriching the discussion on both CSR and RD from an institutional perspective.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Daniel Paulo Leite da Silva, Universidade Federal do Ceará

Graduando em Ciências Contábeis pela
Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)

Francisco Batista dos Santos Neto, Universidade Federal do Ceará

Graduando em Ciências Contábeis pela
Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)

Anna Beatriz Grangeiro Ribeiro Maia, Universidade de Fortaleza

Doutoranda em Administração e Controladoria pela
Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Professora da Universidade de Fortaleza (UNIFOR)

Alessandra Carvalho de Vasconcelos, Universidade Federal do Ceará

Doutora em Engenharia de Produção pela
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Professora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração e Controladoria (PPAC) da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)

References

ABREU, M. C. S.; MEIRELES, F. R. D. S.; CUNHA, L. T. Diferentes percepções sobre a responsabilidade social corporativa de empresas líderes no Brasil e na Índia. Internext, v. 10, n. 1, p. 18-29, 2015.
ALI, W.; FRYNAS, J. G.; MAHMOOD, Z. Determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: a literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, v. 24, n. 4, p. 273-294, 2017. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1410
ALMENDRA, R. S.; VASCONCELOS, A. C.; SILVA, R. B.; DE LUCA, M. M. M. Internacionalização, risco sistemático e disclosure de riscos em empresas listadas na BM&FBovespa. Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, v. 37, n. 3, p. 73-91, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v37i3.38090
ALLINI, A. et al. Determinants of financial instruments risk disclosure: an empirical analysis in the banking sector. Corporate Ownership and Control, v. 17, n. 2, p. 20-31, 2020.
AMRAN, A.; BIN, A. M. R.; HASSAN, B. C. H. M. Risk reporting: an exploratory study on risk management disclosure in Malaysian annual reports. Managerial Auditing Journal, v. 24, n. 1, p. 39-57, 2008. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/02686900910919893
ANTOLÍN-LÓPEZ, R.; DELGADO-CEBALLOS, J.; MONTIEL, I. Deconstructing corporate sustainability: a comparison of different stakeholder metrics. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 136, p. 5-17, 2016. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.111
ARMINEN, H. et al. Corporate social performance: inter-industry and international differences. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 177, p. 426-437, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.250
BASKIN, J. Corporate responsibility in emerging markets. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, v. 24, p. 29-47, 2006. Doi: https://doi.org/10.9774/gleaf.4700.2006.wi.00006
BEATTIE, V.; MCINNES, B.; FEARNLEY, S. A methodology for analysing and evaluating narratives in annual reports: a comprehensive descriptive profile and metrics for disclosure quality attributes. Accounting Forum, v. 28, n. 3, p. 205-236, 2004. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2004.07.001
BEN-AMAR, W.; BELGACEM, I. Do socially responsible firms provide more readable disclosures in annual reports? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, v. 25, n. 5, p. 1009-1018, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1517
BENLEMLIH, M. et al. Environmental and social disclosures and firm risk. Journal of Business Ethics, v. 152, n. 3, p. 613-626, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3285-5
BRIMBLE, M.; HODGSON, A. Assessing the risk relevance of accounting variables in diverse economic conditions. Managerial Finance, v. 33, n. 8, p. 553-573, 2007. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1884051
BUSCH, T.; FRIEDE, G. The robustness of the corporate social and financial performance relation: a second-order meta-analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, v. 25, p. 583-608, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1480
BUSHMAN, R. M.; SMITH, A. J. Transparency, financial accounting information, and corporate governance. Economic Policy Review, v. 9, n. 1, p. 65-87, 2003.
CARROLL, A. B. A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review, v. 4, n. 4, p. 497-505, 1979. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1979.4498296
CHEN, R. C. Y.; HUNG, S.; LEE, C. Corporate social responsibility and firm idiosyncratic risk in different market states. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, v. 25, n. 4, p. 642-658, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1483
DANTAS, J. A.; ZENDERSKY, H. C.; NIYAMA, J. K. A dualidade entre os benefícios do disclosure e a relutância das organizações em aumentar o grau de evidenciação. Revista Economia & Gestão, v. 5, n. 11, p. 56-76, 2005.
DIMAGGIO, P.; POWELL, W. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, v. 48, n. 2, p. 147-160, 1983. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101
DIMAGGIO, P.; POWELL, W. The new instutitionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
DOBLER, M.; LAJILI, K.; ZEGHAL, D. Risk disclosures and cultural values: a research note. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, v. 7, n. 18, p. 53-61, 2016.
ELSHANDIDY, T.; FRASER, I.; HUSSAINEY, K. What drives mandatory and voluntary risk reporting variations across Germany, UK and US? The British Accounting Review, v. 47, n. 4, p. 376-394, 2015. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2014.06.001
ELSHANDIDY, T.; NERI, L. Corporate governance, risk disclosure practices, and market liquidity: comparative evidence from the UK and Italy. Corporate Governance: An International Review, v. 23, n. 4, p. 331-356, 2015. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12095
FREEMAN, R. E. Strategic management: a stakeholder approach. Massachusetts: Sage, 1984.
GRAVES, S. B.; WADDOCK, S. A. Institutional owners and corporate social performance. Academy of Management Journal, v. 37, n. 4, p. 1034-1046, 1994. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/256611
GRECCO, M. C. P. et al. The voluntary disclosure of sustainable information: a comparative analysis of Spanish and Brazilian companies. Revista de Contabilidade e Organizações, v. 7, n. 17, p. 45-55, 2013. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11606%2Frco.v7i17.56690
HASSAN, O. A. G. et al. Voluntary disclosure and risk in an emerging market. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, v. 1, n. 1, p. 33-52, 2011. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/20421161111107840
HEALY, P. M.; PALEPU, K. G. Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: a review of the empirical disclosure literature. Journal of Accounting and Economics, v. 31, n. 1-3, p. 405-440, 2001. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-4101(01)00018-0
HENKEL, J. The risk‐return paradox for strategic management: disentangling true and spurious effects. Strategic Management Journal, v. 21, n. 3, p. 287-303, 2009. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.734
INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. King report on corporate governance in South Africa. Johannesburg: Institute of Directors in Southern Africa. 2005.
JO, H.; HARJOTO, M. A. The causal effect of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, v. 106, n. 1, p. 53-72, 2012. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12051
KANG, W. I. K.; FORNES, G. Where are they going? Case of British and Japanese human resource management. Journal of Asia Business Studies, v. 11, n. 3, p. 296-322, 2017. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-07-2015-0111
KNORRINGA, P.; NADVI, K. Rising power clusters and the challenges of local and global standards. Journal of Business Ethics, v. 133, n. 1, p. 55-72, 2016. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2374-6
KORONTAI, J. N.; FONSECA, M. W. DA. Governança corporativa dos bancos e sua relação com indicadores de desempenho e risco. Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, v. 39, n. 3, p. 151-168, 2020. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v39i3.47403
KOSTOVA, T. Transnational transfer of strategic organizational practices: a contextual perspective. The Academy of Management Review, v. 356, n. 24, p. 308-324, 1999. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.1893938
LINSLEY, P. M.; SHRIVES, P. J. Risk reporting: a study of risk disclosures in the annual reports of UK companies. British Accounting Review, v. 38, n. 4, p. 387-404, 2006. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2006.05.002
MATTEN, D.; MOON, J. “Implicit” and “explicit” CSR: a conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, v. 33, n. 2, p. 404-424, 2008. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193458
MEYER, J. W.; ROWAN, B. Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, v. 83, n. 2, p. 340-363, 1977. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/226550
MIIHKINEN, A. What drives quality of firm risk disclosure? The impact of a national disclosure standard and reporting incentives under IFRS. International Journal of Accounting, v. 47, n. 4, p. 437-468, 2012. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intacc.2012.10.005
NTIM, C. G.; LINDOP, S.; THOMAS, D. A. Corporate governance and risk reporting in South Africa: a study of corporate risk disclosures in the pre- and post-2007/2008 global financial crisis periods. International Review of Financial Analysis, v. 30, p. 363-383, 2013. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2013.07.001
OLIVEIRA, M. C. et al. Disclosure social de empresas brasileiras e britânicas à luz da teoria institucional. Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, v. 5, n. 1, p. 2-26, 2012.
PAMPLONA, E.; FIIRST, C.; HAAG, S.; SILVA, M. Z. Nível e determinantes de evidenciação de riscos em empresas brasileiras do setor de energia elétrica listadas na bolsa B3. Contexto - Revista do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Controladoria e Contabilidade da UFRGS, v. 20, n. 45, p. 19-33, 2020.
SCOTT, W. R. The adolescence of institutional theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, v. 32, n. 4, p. 493-511, 1987.
SERRA, S.; LEMOS, K. A influência da governança corporativa e do auditor na divulgação sobre riscos. Revista Evidenciação Contábil & Finanças, v. 8, n. 3, p. 106-124, 2020. Doi: https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2318-1001.2020v8n3.47009
SOARES, R. A.; PINHEIRO, A. B.; ABREU, M. C. S.; MARINO, P. B. L. P. Efeito do sistema financeiro na evidenciação socioambiental de empresas em países emergentes e desenvolvidos. Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, v. 37, n. 2, p. 21-35, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v37i2.34035
VAN STADEN, C. J.; HOOKS, J. A comprehensive comparison of corporate environmental reporting and responsiveness. British Accounting Review, v. 39, n. 3, p. 197-210, 2007. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2007.05.004
VISSER, W. Corporate social responsibility in developing countries. The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, p. 1-28, 2008. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199211593.003.0021
WESTERMANN, S.; NIBLOCK, S. J.; KORTT, M. A. Corporate social responsibility and the performance of Australian REITs: a rolling regression approach. Journal of Asset Management, v. 19, n. 4, p. 222-234, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41260-018-0079-6
ZAMAN, R. et al. Role of media and independent directors in corporate transparency and disclosure: evidence from an emerging economy. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, v. 18, n. 5, p. 858-885, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-01-2018-0042
Published
2022-10-11
How to Cite
Leite da Silva, D. P., Batista dos Santos Neto, F., Grangeiro Ribeiro Maia, A. B., & Carvalho de Vasconcelos, A. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and risk disclosure: similarities and differences between Brazilian and Ibero-European firms. Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, 41(3), 115-137. https://doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v41i3.57323
Section
Original Articles