The how and why of integrated reporting in a public health care organization: The stakeholders' perspective

Despite the widespread calls for in‐depth case studies on adoption of the International Integrated Reporting Council Framework, in practice, it appears to be underexplored, above all in the public sector. Our aim is to explore how and why a public health care organization (PHO) has chosen to adopt the practice of integrated reporting, and we then delve into whether the PHO's perception of the document's value coincides with that of the stakeholders, who are its recipients. Often, society's perception of value can differ considerably from an organization's. Thus, for our research purposes, a case study was examined, adopting a qualitative approach and action research methodology. Our findings demonstrate the centrality of the value created for patients and of the “normative” scenario that takes place during the implementation of an integrated report in a PHO. Moreover, the concept of legitimacy was found to be virtually synonymous with institutionalization.     

Which eligible households get grants? Demographic correlates of receipt in South Africa

Since Apartheid, the South African government transformed and expanded the social grants system to improve the well-being of its vulnerable populations. Despite increased efforts, a sub-section of the grant-eligible population is not reached. Too little is known about the factors that contribute to grant receipt, especially for the household as a whole. This article examines the household and community characteristics associated with grant receipt among poor households in KwaZulu-Natal. We add to previous work by assessing grant receipt at the household level, examining receipt of the two major grants and analysing correlates in a multivariate framework. While associations with grant receipt are complex and varied, we find higher grant receipt (especially the Child Support Grant) among more disadvantaged households. We also find that characteristics across multiple domains are needed to best distinguish household grant receipt. We discuss theoretical implications for models of grant receipt and practical implications for improving grant access.     

Do food standards affect the quality of EU imports?

This paper investigates the relationship between the diffusion of EU standards and product quality upgrading using highly disaggregated import data to the EU in the food industry. Results show that, on average, the diffusion of EU voluntary standards boosts the rate of quality upgrading. However, the results are heterogeneous when moving from primary to processed foods, and from ISO to non-ISO standards.     

Opening a policy window for organisational change and full-cost accounting: The creation of BC Hydro's water use planning program

British Columbia's Water Use Planning (WUP) program is a multi-stakeholder process that revises the operating plans of BC Hydro's hydroelectric facilities in order to consider water values beyond hydropower. Using a model of policy change, this paper analyses the circumstances that enabled the emergence of WUP and prompted BC Hydro to change its decision-making processes to better consider environmental and social concerns.External factors, including dam operations' ecological impacts, an imprecise regulatory environment, and worsening relationships with regulators, highlighted the need for a change in operating BC Hydro facilities. Factors internal to BC Hydro included the development of a business case, concerns regarding the utility's reputation and public expectations. While different approaches were explored for solving BC Hydro's problems, a policy window for change opened within a shifting context provided by the election of a more progressive government, the growth of the environmental movement, and new approaches to taking complex multi-stakeholder, multiple resource decisions. Following a successful pilot process and government direction to expand WUP, factors that enabled its institutionalisation included financial resources to compensate for the foregone power, the presence of visionary individuals, the background preparation that facilitated a successful pilot WUP, and the urgent need of a solution.     

Re-Evaluating the Offshoring Decision: A Behavioural Approach to the Role of Performance Discrepancy

Firms are in a continuous process of critically re-evaluating their offshoring strategies due to performance discrepancies. While prior research has focused on the implementation of organizational responses to performance shortfalls, we examine the offline search process, a key antecedent of organizational change, during which firms simultaneously explore alternative solutions when facing either a positive or a negative discrepancy between performance and aspirations. We adopt the Behavioural Theory of the Firm (BTOF) to investigate how the search process is affected by the size and nature (as being positive or negative) of the discrepancy as well as how it is moderated by cognitive biases. By examining 441 offshoring initiatives, we study firms' search processes in a novel context that refers either to ‘local’ solutions that are close to the current activity (i.e., expansion in the same host country) or ‘distant’ solutions that are far from the current one (i.e., relocation to a third country or to the home country). Our results provide new insights into organizational search, namely that performance shortfalls lead to distant search unless this choice is moderated by a location-specific anchor bias relating to the strategic importance of host location, while positive discrepancies trigger local search with decision-makers more inclined to consider expansion in the current host country.