• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.191-201
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• 2021

The objective of this research is to investigate how the board of directors' characteristics influence sustainability disclosures with the mediating effect of corporate governance. The independent variables are the characteristics of the board of directors, which consist of the presence of women on the boards, presence of directors aged over 50 years old, education level, education field, board tenure, and compensation. The dependent variable is sustainability disclosures, which is measured by the GRI standard disclosure, whereas the mediator variable is the CG score. Research samples are 460 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Path Analysis is used to examine the correlation between the board of directors' characteristics, CG score, and GRI standard disclosure. The research findings show that senior boards, the education field, and compensation motivation have an effect on sustainability disclosures, whereas corporate governance is a mediator of the effect of the education field of boards on sustainability disclosures. This finding should help shareholders to choose individuals with suitable characteristics to serve on the board of directors, and, as a result, shareholders should anticipate a profitable result to be generated, while the business of the company is conducted in a sustainable way.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.1097-1104
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• 2020

This research seeks to provide evidence about how political connections, proxied by government ownership and the existence of politically connected board members, affect the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in Indonesian listed companies. This research uses the legitimacy theory as a basis for explaining management's motivation for disclosing its CSR. The sample consists of 131 firm-year observations from 38 non-financial public companies that published sustainability reports from 2013 to 2017. We measured the CSR disclosures using a disclosure checklist on the sustainability reports. We subsequently processed the data using a random effect (RE) linear regression. The result shows that CSR disclosures were greater in government-owned companies but lower in companies that have politically connected board members. The results support the legitimacy theory that the government intends to demonstrate legitimate national economic and political conditions by showing that government-owned companies are sustainable. However, CSR disclosures seem to have a substitutive relationship with the existence of politically connected board members, since those political connections may protect the company from public pressure and/or the risk of litigation, reducing the need for CSR disclosures. This research provides evidence that different types of political connections may have different impacts on corporate disclosures.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.39-53
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• 2020

With the recent increase in the demand for corporate trust based on transparency in accounting, such as management disclosures and autonomous management disclosures for Social Innovative Enterprises, the duties of Social Innovative Enterprises on accounting and tax affairs have become important. This study looked at the effects of NCS accounting, audit and tax functions on the sustainability of Social Innovative Enterprises, which have not been studied. In particular, issues such as management disclosures and adequacy of financial statements depend on how ethically the accounting officer performs the work. Accordingly, we looked at the intermediation of accounting ethics held by the person in charge of accounting in relation to the sustainability of the NCS accounting, audit and taxation functions. The research subjects surveyed 500 people in charge of accounting at 50 social innovation companies, including social enterprises established in special cities and metropolitan cities such as Seoul and Busan, as well as social cooperatives. A path analysis was conducted with 372 valid questionnaires. As a result of the analysis, NCS accounting, audit and tax functions have a significant impact on both economic value and social value and environmental value, which are the sustainability elements of Social Innovative Enterprises. It was also found that NCS accounting, audit and tax affairs had a significant impact on accounting ethics, and accounting ethics had a significant impact on social and environmental values, excluding economic values. In addition, accounting ethics were found to have a mediated effect between NCS accounting, audit and taxation functions and the sustainability elements of Social Innovative Enterprises. In particular, the relationship between NCS accounting, audit and tax affairs and social value was found to be completely mediated.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.10
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• pp.137-145
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• 2022

This study aims to test the information content of sustainability reports issued by the most significant telecommunications companies operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Stc, Zain, and Mobily), and their compatibility with the national sustainability standards issued by the Ministry of Commerce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in light of the Kingdom's vision 2030, and its impact on the stock exchange indices of these companies. The event study methodology was used to study the impact of publishing sustainability reports on stock prices and the trading volume of these companies' shares in the Saudi stock market during the period from (October 2020 to March 2021). The results indicate a significant impact of the information contained in the sustainability reports on stock prices and trading volume in the stock market, and the importance of directing the company's management towards more disclosure of information about sustainability in its environmental, social, and economic aspects instead of focusing only on information related to the financial performance and economic activity of the company. This encourages the listed companies to disclose the sustainability of the financial reports and standardize the form in which these disclosures are prepared.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.365-376
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• 2020

This study explores whether the implementation of sustainability disclosure can trigger or stimulate the change in the roles of management accountants in adopting organizations in Vietnam as business partners. To do so, it explores the roles of management accountants in integrated reporting (IR) adopting organizations and sustainability reporting (SR) adopting organizations based on the use of the pragmatic constructivism (PC) theoretical framework. In addition, qualitative semi-structured interviews were used to provide an in-depth investigation of management accountants' work in both IR and SR adopting organizations. The empirical findings suggest that the adoption of the IR framework has triggered changes in management accountant roles toward the new business partner roles to support the decision-making process within their organizations. On the other hand, management accountants from SR adopting organizations still work as traditional "bean-counter" roles. Our paper concludes by indicating several propositions based on our empirical findings that can be tested by future researchers from the domain by collecting relevant data. Our study can be seen as a response to the recent call for a more in-depth examination of the practice of sustainability disclosure from the practitioners' perspectives in adopting organizations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.55-70
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• 2024

The loss of biodiversity poses a significant threat not only to business sustainability and investment risk but also to societal well-being. Nature serves as a crucial driver for long-term business viability and economic prosperity. The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), established in September 2023, mandates that companies assess and disclose their impacts on nature. Despite this, many businesses lack a full understanding of their reliance on and impact upon natural capital and ecosystem services, leading to insufficient disclosures. This study evaluates the applicability of TNFD's assessment methodologies and indicators within a domestic context, highlighting the condition of nature and ecosystem services, and exploring potential synergies with national biodiversity policies. Our analysis suggests that TNFD necessitates a unique approach to the spatial and temporal data and methodologies traditionally employed in environmental impact assessments. This includes assessing the reciprocal influences of corporate activities on natural capital and ecosystem services via the LEAP framework. Moreover, in industries where the choice of specific indicators depends on unique sectoral traits, developing a standardized strategy for data and assessment indicators-adapted to local conditions-is crucial due to the variability in the availability of assessment tools and data. The proactive engagement of the private sector in ecosystem restoration projects is particularly promising for contributing towards national biodiversity objectives. Although TNFD is in its nascent phase, its global adoption by numerous companies signifies its potential impact. Successful implementation of TNFD is anticipated to deepen businesses' and financial institutions' understanding of natural capital and ecosystem services, thereby reinforcing their commitment to sustainable development.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.287-316
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• 2023

As global energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as social issues, there is a growing demand for companies to move away from profit-centric business models and embrace sustainable management that balances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG activities of companies vary across industries, and industry-specific weights are applied in ESG evaluations. Therefore, it is important to develop strategic management approaches that reflect the characteristics of each industry and the importance of each ESG factor. Additionally, with the stance of strengthened focus on ESG disclosures, specific guidelines are needed to identify and report on sustainable management activities of domestic companies. To understand corporate sustainability strategies, analyzing ESG reports and news articles by industry can help identify strategic characteristics in specific industries. However, each company has its own unique strategies and report structures, making it difficult to grasp detailed trends or action items. In our study, we analyzed ESG reports (2019-2021) and news articles (2019-2022) of six companies in the 'Finance,' 'Manufacturing,' and 'IT' sectors to examine the sustainability strategies of leading domestic ESG companies. Text mining techniques such as keyword frequency analysis and topic modeling were applied to identify industry-specific, ESG element-specific management strategies and issues. The analysis revealed that in the 'Finance' sector, customer-centric management strategies and efforts to promote an inclusive culture within and outside the company were prominent. Strategies addressing climate change, such as carbon neutrality and expanding green finance, were also emphasized. In the 'Manufacturing' sector, the focus was on creating sustainable communities through occupational health and safety issues, sustainable supply chain management, low-carbon technology development, and eco-friendly investments to achieve carbon neutrality. In the 'IT' sector, there was a tendency to focus on technological innovation and digital responsibility to enhance social value through technology. Furthermore, the key issues identified in the ESG factors were as follows: under the 'Environmental' element, issues such as greenhouse gas and carbon emission management, industry-specific eco-friendly activities, and green partnerships were identified. Under the 'Social' element, key issues included social contribution activities through stakeholder engagement, supporting the growth and coexistence of members and partner companies, and enhancing customer value through stable service provision. Under the 'Governance' element, key issues were identified as strengthening board independence through the appointment of outside directors, risk management and communication for sustainable growth, and establishing transparent governance structures. The exploration of the relationship between ESG disclosures in reports and ESG issues in news articles revealed that the sustainability strategies disclosed in reports were aligned with the issues related to ESG disclosed in news articles. However, there was a tendency to strengthen ESG activities for prevention and improvement after negative media coverage that could have a negative impact on corporate image. Additionally, environmental issues were mentioned more frequently in news articles compared to ESG reports, with environmental-related keywords being emphasized in the 'Finance' sector in the reports. Thus, ESG reports and news articles shared some similarities in content due to the sharing of information sources. However, the impact of media coverage influenced the emphasis on specific sustainability strategies, and the extent of mentioning environmental issues varied across documents. Based on our study, the following contributions were derived. From a practical perspective, companies need to consider their characteristics and establish sustainability strategies that align with their capabilities and situations. From an academic perspective, unlike previous studies on ESG strategies, we present a subdivided methodology through analysis considering the industry-specific characteristics of companies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.539-549
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• 2021

This study aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditures and both financial and non-financial performance of Jordanian commercial banks during the period 2008-2018. To measure the variables of interest, secondary data published on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) website were processed to become preliminary data suitable for the nature of the study. The study sample amounted to 13 commercial banks, which represent all Jordanian commercial banks listed on ASE.. The study found that there is a positive, statistically significant relationship between CSR expenditures and financial performance, as the study showed that the return on equity (ROE) has a positive and significant relationship with CSR expenditure, while the return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q model have a statistically significant negative relationship with CSR expenditure, while the market stock price (MSP) had a positive, but not statistically significant. The study also found that there is a positive, statistically significant relationship between CSR expenditures and non-financial performance, which was represented by total deposits and total training expenditures in Jordanian commercial banks. Accordingly, the study recommends encouraging banks to prepare sustainability reports and CSR reports, which are considered comprehensive, and not only with disclosures within the annual reports.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

Purpose - A growing demand for sustainability reporting has placed pressure on firms with non-financial information that affects firm valuation, growth, and development. In particular, a number of researchers have investigated various topics in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), non-financial information. Prior studies suggest that CSR may affect corporate outcomes like corporate reporting, financial performance, and disclosures. However, the results from prior studies are not clear whether CSR affects corporate outcomes. This is partially due to the measurement issues with CSR. In this study, we examine whether CSR affects the quality of corporate reporting, one of the popular measures in corporate outcomes. We find an evidence that CSR positively affects the quality of corporate reporting. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study, we collected a unique dataset of CSR from MSCI. Total 169 firms listed in the Korean Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2014 were collected and analysed with the detailed CSR reports. Using a correlation test, we found a weak association between CSR and the quality of corporate reporting. However, the regression tests provided a strong relationship between CSR and the quality of corporate reporting after controlling for other variables that may affect the quality of corporate reporting. Additionally, we calculated the t-statistics based on heteroskedaticity-consistent standard errors (White, 1980). Results - Before we run the regression test, we sort the measures of the two dependent variables into each rating of CSR (from AAA to CCC). The results indicate that the quality of corporate reporting measured by discretionary accruals and performance-matched discretionary accruals monotonically decrease as the CSR ratings increase. This supports our hypothesis. In the regression tests, the coefficient on MJDA (PMDA) is -0.183 (-0.173) and significant at the 5% level. We can interpret the results as CSR affecting the quality of corporate reporting in positive ways. Other coefficients on control variables are consistent with prior studies. For example, the coefficients on both LOSS and LEV are positive and significant at conventional level, meaning that firms with financial difficulty may harm their quality of corporate reporting. Conclusion - We found an evidence that CSR is positively associated with the quality of corporate reporting. This study contributes to the literature in various ways. First, this study extends the line of CSR research by providing additional evidence in the setting of ethical behaviors by managements. This is consistent with the hypothesis and supports the results of prior studies. Second, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first study using the MSCI CSR ratings. In contrast with prior studies using different measures of CSR, the MSCI CSR ratings allow us to provide in-depth analysis. Third, the additional measure of dependent variable (PMDA) allows us to improve the robustness of our results. Overall, the results provided this study to extend the findings in prior studies by providing incremental evidence.