Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China

© 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations underpinning recent evolving corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) among enterprises in China through the lenses of senior managers. Design/methodology/approach: Using the interpretiv...

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Main Authors: Yu, S., Rowe, Anna
Format: Journal Article
Published: © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55569
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author Yu, S.
Rowe, Anna
author_facet Yu, S.
Rowe, Anna
author_sort Yu, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations underpinning recent evolving corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) among enterprises in China through the lenses of senior managers. Design/methodology/approach: Using the interpretive tenets of engagement research, semi-structured in-depth interviews were adopted to explore the perceptions of senior managers from 21 large companies in various industries. The aim is to make sense of the emerging CSER phenomenon occurring in the field through engagement, observation and penetrating interviews. Findings: The findings identify the main enablers driving CSER in China as: regulations and government influence; management awareness; benefits to company image; peer pressure/reporting by peers and public pressure on controversial companies. Guided by a system-based theoretical framework in terms of motivations for CSER, this study offers insights into the effectiveness of using widely adopted Western-based theoretical approaches in a Chinese context where companies operate against a different socio-economic, political, regulatory and cultural backdrop. Research limitations/implications: The deep-rooted face (Mianzi) culture has the potential to influence managers to portray a positive image about their companies and themselves. Originality/value: This engagement-based study is one of the few initiatives exploring managerial perceptions of CSER in China that adds to the scant literature pertaining to rich “emic” data in accounting, encompassing cultural influence by applying systems-oriented theoretical framework. The stimulus for CSER identified are useful for regulators and organizations to better comprehend how to set effective policies that promote CSER and fit the distinctive institutional characteristics of China.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-555692017-09-13T16:10:06Z Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China Yu, S. Rowe, Anna © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations underpinning recent evolving corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) among enterprises in China through the lenses of senior managers. Design/methodology/approach: Using the interpretive tenets of engagement research, semi-structured in-depth interviews were adopted to explore the perceptions of senior managers from 21 large companies in various industries. The aim is to make sense of the emerging CSER phenomenon occurring in the field through engagement, observation and penetrating interviews. Findings: The findings identify the main enablers driving CSER in China as: regulations and government influence; management awareness; benefits to company image; peer pressure/reporting by peers and public pressure on controversial companies. Guided by a system-based theoretical framework in terms of motivations for CSER, this study offers insights into the effectiveness of using widely adopted Western-based theoretical approaches in a Chinese context where companies operate against a different socio-economic, political, regulatory and cultural backdrop. Research limitations/implications: The deep-rooted face (Mianzi) culture has the potential to influence managers to portray a positive image about their companies and themselves. Originality/value: This engagement-based study is one of the few initiatives exploring managerial perceptions of CSER in China that adds to the scant literature pertaining to rich “emic” data in accounting, encompassing cultural influence by applying systems-oriented theoretical framework. The stimulus for CSER identified are useful for regulators and organizations to better comprehend how to set effective policies that promote CSER and fit the distinctive institutional characteristics of China. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55569 10.1108/SAMPJ-09-2016-0064 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited restricted
spellingShingle Yu, S.
Rowe, Anna
Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title_full Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title_fullStr Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title_full_unstemmed Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title_short Emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in China
title_sort emerging phenomenon of corporate social and environmental reporting in china
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55569