我国上市公司社会责任报告的统计分析

长期以来,我国社会责任信息披披露散见于上市公司年报与大众媒体中,未见独立的上市公司社会责任报告。受此条件限制,国内对上市公司社会责任信息披露的研究样本一般来源于上市公司年报,少数单独研究社会责任报告的文章则样本容量太少,上述研究不可避免存在一些局限。2006年,宝钢公司发布我国第一份上市公司可持续发展报告报告,2006年3月国家电网发布我国第一份公司社会责任报告,此后有将近二十几家公司发布了独立的社会责任报告。进入2007、2008年,越来越多的上市公司开始发布独立的社会责任报告。这一趋势为我国社会责任信息披露提供了新的研究样本和视角。本文试图分析我国社会责任报告披露的制度背景,以2005-2007年我国上市公司社会责任报告作为研究样本,对社会责任报告披露的行业、时间、驱动因素、形式、结构、内容、质量等方面进行统计分析,总结我国社会责任报告披露的相关规律,最后提出相关政策建议。     

公司社会责任信息披露与经济动机研究——来自中国上市公司社会责任报告的经验证据

以往对中国上市公司社会责任信息披露的研究均以年报为样本,本文首次以中国A股上市公司2008~2010年1226份社会责任报告为样本,研究发现,上市公司确实存在通过提高社会责任信息披露水平来获得消费者认同和创造产品竞争优势,以达到提升公司价值的经济动机。消费者口碑敏感型行业上市公司社会责任信息披露水平比其他公司平均高出11.6%。但是,本文并没有发现上市公司再融资动机影响社会责任信息披露水平的经验证据。本文研究结论为监管部门基于公司经济动机视角完善相关法规、提高上市公司社会责任信息披露水平提供了经验证据。     

社会责任信息披露的清晰性、第三方鉴证与个体投资者的投资决策——一项实验证据

本文采用实验方法,研究了公司社会责任报告中的社会责任信息披露清晰性和独立第三方鉴证对个体投资者投资决策的影响,以及这两个因素是如何影响个体投资者投资决策的。研究发现,较清晰的社会责任信息披露和社会责任报告的独立第三方鉴证,均会使投资者对公司的社会责任履行情况和股票价值做出较高评价,并提高对公司投资的可能性。社会责任信息披露的清晰性及其鉴证影响个体投资者投资决策的路径是:它们首先影响个体投资者对公司社会责任履行情况的评价,进而影响个体投资者对公司股票价值的评估,并最终影响到个体投资者的投资可能性。本文的研究结论对公司管理层的社会责任信息披露以及政府监管部门完善社会责任信息披露规范具有重要意义。     

企业社会责任信息披露问题的研究——基于南京上市公司的分析

本文通过对南京上市公司对外披露的社会责任报告进行调查,分析了企业社会责任信息披露的现状,提出了一些建议和对策,以期企业更好的履行社会责任。     

海外企业社会责任披露制度及借鉴

与传统信息披露制度要求公司披露财务方面的信息不同，社会责任信息披露要求公司从经济、环境和社会业绩三个方面揭示公司政策和经营活动对社会的影响。联合国以及经合组织在其制定的有关跨国公司的行为准则中均要求企业披露其社会责任方面的信息。美国、欧盟等也有关于企业社会责任信息披露方面的专门立法。我国在企业社会责任信息披露方面尚处于摸索阶段，需借鉴国外的经验以完善我国的企业社会责任信息披露制度。     

上市公司社会责任信息披露影响因素研究

本文以在深圳证券交易所上市的公司为样本，对上市公司社会责任信息披露程度及其影响因素进行了实证研究。研究发现，我国上市公司社会责任信息披露的总体状况较差，公司绩效、行业属性及规模是影响我国上市公司社会责任信息披露的重要因素，而独立董事比例及董事长与总经理是否二职合一两个公司治理结构变量均末表现出对社会责任信息披露的显著影响．     

社会责任信息披露质量与融资约束——基于产权异质性的角度

2006年以来,监管部门陆续制定和出台了一系列与企业社会责任信息披露有关的政策和法规,要求上市公司披露企业社会责任报告。本文站在产权异质性的视角,全面分析了在不同的产权性质下,社会责任信息披露质量对融资约束的影响差异,进一步推动了社会责任信息披露与公司融资方面的研究,丰富了社会责任信息披露质量的研究。     

社会责任报告降低了企业权益资本成本吗?——来自中国资本市场的经验证据

本文以上市公司披露社会责任报告的动机为出发点,以权益资本成本为落脚点,探讨社会责任报告对企业权益资本成本的影响及作用机制。研究表明,公司披露社会责任报告有助于降低企业的权益资本成本,并且社会责任报告披露对权益资本成本的影响存在"首次披露"效应;但是对于同样披露了社会责任报告的公司而言,社会责任报告质量的高低对权益资本成本的影响并不显著,机构投资者持股比例对于社会责任报告与权益资本成本的关系也无显著影响。这说明我国投资者已经开始关注社会责任报告信息披露,投资者普遍认为发布社会责任报告传递的是一个有利的信号,但是由于我国企业社会责任报告的质量普遍较低,这些报告给投资者传递的信号并没能降低他们对企业风险的评估。     

我国企业社会责任信息披露问题的探讨

企业披露社会责任信息是企业对所承担的社会责任情况的反映,本文通过对一些上市公司的调查对我国企业的社会责任信息披露现状进行分析,并对企业社会责任信息披露的内容、模式及构建企业社会责任信息披露机制提出了建议。     

创业板上市公司社会责任信息披露的实证研究

本文以自愿披露2010年社会责任信息的12家创业板公司为样本,对这些公司的社会责任信息披露程度及其驱动因素进行了实证研究.研究结果表明,我国创业板上市公司社会责任信息披露的总体状况不佳,上市时间、企业规模和安全性与公司社会责任信息的披露水平呈不显著的正相关性;而公司的成长性与盈利性与披露水平呈负相关性,有可能成为阻碍创业板公司社会责任信息披露的负面因素     

Mandatory CSR disclosure and analyst forecast properties: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Based on a quasi-natural experiment that mandates a subset of listed firms to issue standalone corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, we examine whether mandatory CSR disclosure improves analysts’ information environment. We focus on two properties of analysts’ earnings forecasts: forecast error and forecast dispersion. We find that the mandatory issuance of standalone CSR reports is related to less forecast error and less dispersed forecasts, and the effect varies with the firm-level information environment and province-level marketization. Additional tests show that the improvement in forecast properties is mainly driven by CSR reports that i) are of high quality and ii) contain more long-term-oriented information than other CSR reports. Our findings provide evidence that mandatory CSR disclosure plays an important informational role for financial analysts.     

Corporate social responsibility committees and the use of corporate social responsibility assurance services

This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees associate with the external assurance of CSR reports. Specifically, we consider the presence and effectiveness of CSR committees. Using a sample of Australian firms over the period 2004–2016, we show the mere presence of a CSR committee is not related to the external assurance of CSR. However, CSR committee effectiveness is positively related. In addition, firms with higher CSR committee effectiveness are more likely to seek external assurance provided by the Big4 accountancy firms and acquire financial audit and CSR assurance services from the same provider. Taken together, CSR committee effectiveness plays an active role in CSR assurance services. Our results are particularly relevant to those with interests in understanding the demand and choice of external CSR assurance services, as well as the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on these services.     

Corporate social responsibility assurance and reporting quality: Evidence from restatements

Previous research has shown that obtaining independent assurance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has capital market benefits and that these benefits are amplified when accountants provide the assurance. Yet, little is known about whether and the manner in which CSR assurance improves the quality of CSR reporting, and whether accounting providers improve reporting quality to a greater extent than non-accounting providers. This study uses the unique setting of CSR restatements to examine these issues. We present theoretical and empirical evidence supporting a competitive advantage of using accounting firms as assurance providers as they not only identify inaccuracies in previous reports earlier than non-accounting providers, but also prevent future reporting inaccuracies. CSR assurance, from either type of provider, also leads to improved reporting definitions, scopes, and methodologies that require restatements for comparability. Results also indicate that CSR reporting frameworks (e.g., GRI) are not a substitute for obtaining CSR assurance as the latter has incremental benefits over GRI usage in terms of identifying errors and reporting improvements. These results have implications for public policy makers considering the merits of mandating CSR assurance and for organizations assessing the relative benefits and costs of preparing GRI-based CSR reports, obtaining CSR assurance, and choosing between accounting vs. non-accounting CSR assurance providers.     

Corporate social responsibility reporting: A comprehensive picture?

This study develops a content analysis framework that provides information on the comprehensiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, an important aspect of social and environmental accountability. Comprehensive reporting, as defined here, requires three types of information for each disclosed CSR item: (i) vision and goals, (ii) management approach, and (iii) performance indicators. The feasibility of the framework to assess the comprehensiveness of CSR reporting is demonstrated using the 2005 annual reports of a sample of publicly traded Belgian companies. The content analysis reveals a low level of comprehensive reporting. This finding complements those of prior studies on the completeness of CSR reporting and, therefore, feeds the debate regarding the extent to which CSR reporting can be considered a mechanism for discharging social and environmental accountability.     

Empowering social responsibility of Islamic organizations through Waqf

Engaging in social responsibility practices is currently being viewed as essential to Islamic organizations. The potential of using waqf as a source of funding for such practices has not been vastly explored. The aim of this study is to provide evidence of the current corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) and to examine the viability of using waqf for the purpose of CSR.Content analyses of the annual and sustainability reports of twenty-four (24) IFIs in Malaysia for a four (4) year period from 2010 to 2013 were undertaken to provide insights on their current CSR practices. The CSR disclosure items were categorized into vital and recommended items, where the vital elements denote key activities that are essential and are to be undertaken while the recommended items refer to discretionary activities that may be carried out. Semi-structured interviews with three (3) Waqf experts were also carried out to draw their opinions about waqf.The results of the study revealed that for the vital items, the IFIs in Malaysia were focusing their CSR practices on the workplace while for the recommended items the focus was on community issues. Corporate waqf is viewed as a viable alternative that organizations can use to help address social issues of the community. However, there are critical issues that needed to be dealt with to transformed waqf practices in the country.     

Determinants of corporate social disclosure: Empirical evidence from Bangladesh

We explore the potential firm and industry characteristics that determine the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practises by Bangladeshi listed firms. We use a CSR disclosure checklist to measure the extent of CSR disclosure in the annual reports and a multiple regression analysis to examine the determinants of CSR disclosure. Our study finds that CSR disclosure has positive and significant relationships with export-oriented sector, firm size and types of industries. We also find a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and family ownership. The overall findings of our study provide empirical evidence which suggests that a number of firm and industry characteristics are important determinants of the extent of CSR disclosures in a developing country like Bangladesh. Our findings can help the policy makers to adopt necessary regulatory reform to improve the CSR practises and enhance organisational legitimacy.     

Do foreign institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from listed firms in China

This paper investigates the effect of qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the context of listed firms in China. We find that QFIIs offer an incisive channel for improving socially responsible practices. In addition, we find that firms with QFIIs are more likely to comply with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, and that their sustainability reports tend to be longer. We also find that this positive effect is more pronounced in firms with low initial CSR scores than those with high CSR scores at the time when QFIIs enter the sample. Our empirical evidence further confirms that this positive impact is driven by QFIIs from countries with high social awareness, or QFIIs from geographically distant countries, consistent with their motives, and is linked to the ownership of QFIIs, especially when the QFII is among the top ten of the largest shareholders. Finally, our extended analysis reveals that the increase in CSR performance associated with the presence of QFIIs results in greater firm performance and easier access to finance.     

Mandatory CSR disclosure,monitoring and investment efficiency: evidence from China

This study investigates the effect of mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on firms’ investment efficiency in China. Using the CSR regulation that mandates a group of listed firms to disclose stand‐alone CSR reports after 2008 as a natural experiment, we find that firms subject to the mandatory CSR regulation have decreased investment inefficiency subsequent to the mandate, especially in cases of overinvestment. This effect is more pronounced for firms with a control‐ownership wedge, state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), and firms having lower institutional ownership. Further analyses find that the reduction of overinvestment is much more significant in industries with high pollution and that the reduction in investment is not due to the CSR spending siphoning off capital used in other projects. We argue that mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure improves monitoring over firms in China, especially when firms are characterised as having severe agency problems.     

国外公司社会责任报告主要模式述评

面对全球公司社会责任报告日益增多但又缺乏统一标准的情况，一些国际非政府组织开始着手建立统一的社会责任报告标准，形成了三种主要的报告模式：“全球报告行动”的G3报告框架、“国际社会责任”的SAS000标准，以及“社会和伦理责任协会”的AA1000系列。这三种模式在推动社会责任报告的共同目标下，既相互独立、各有侧重又相互联系、互为补充，同时也为认识我国公司社会责任报告的必要性、统一性和目的性提供了有益的启示。