An examination of social and environmental reporting strategies

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

Volumn 14, Issue 5, 2001, Pages 587-617

  Cormier, Denis ^a   Gordon, Irene M ^b  

^a UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL   (Canada)

^b SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Costs; Disclosure; Environment

Indexed keywords

EID: 84986082924     PISSN: 09513574     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/EUM0000000006264     Document Type: Review

References (84)

1. Atiase, R. (1985), “Predisclosure information, firm capitalization, and security price behavior around earnings announcements”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 21-36.
2. Atkinson, S.E. and Halvorsen, R. (1986), “The relative efficiency of public and private firms in a regulated environment: the case of US electric utilities”, Journal of Public Economics, Vol.29 No. 3, pp. 281-94.
3. Barth, M.E., McNichols, M.F. and Wilson, G.P. (1995), “Factors influencing firms’ disclosures about environmental liabilities” Working Paper, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
4. BC Hydro (1985 through 1996), Annual Reports, BC Hydro International, Vancouver.
5. Belkaoui, A. (1976), “The impact of the disclosures of the environmental effects of organizational behavior on the market”, Financial Management, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 26-31.
6. Blacconiere, W.G. and Patten, D.M. (1994), “Environmental disclosures, regulatory costs, and changes in firm value”, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 357-77.
7. Bonoma, T.V. (1985), “Case research in marketing: opportunities, problems, and a process”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 199-208.
8. Botosan, C.A. (1997), “Disclosure level and the cost of equity capital”, Accounting Review, Vol. 72 No. 3, pp. 323-50.
9. British Columbia Public Utilities Commission (1989), Public Inquiry in the Matter of Complaints Against British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, British Columbia Public Utilities Commission, Vancouver, 40 pp.
10. Brown, N. and Deegan, C. (1998), “The public disclosure of environmental performance information – a dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory”, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 21-41.
11. Buhr, N. (1998), “Environmental performance, legislation and annual report disclosure: the case of acid rain and Falconbridge”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 163-90.
12. Buzby, S.L. and Falk, H. (1978), “A survey of the interest in social responsibility information by mutual funds”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 4 No. 3/4, pp. 191-201.
13. Cormier, D. and Magnan, M. (1997), “Investors’ assessment of implicit environmental liabilities: an empirical investigation”, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp.215-41.
14. Cormier, D. and Magnan, M. (1999), “Corporate environmental disclosure strategies: determinants, costs and benefits”, Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Vol. 14 No.4, pp. 429-51.
15. De Alessi, L. (1974), “An economic analysis of government ownership and regulation: theory and evidence from the electric power industry”, Public Choice, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 1-42.
16. De Alessi, L. (1977), “Ownership and peak-load pricing in the electric power industry”, Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 7-26.
17. Deegan, C. and Gordon, B. (1996), “A study of the environmental disclosure practices of Australian corporations”, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 187-99.
18. Deegan, C. and Rankin, M. (1996), “Do Australian companies objectively report environmental news? An analysis of environmental disclosures by firms successfully prosecuted by the Environmental Protection Agency”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol.9 No. 2, pp. 50-67.
19. Diamond, D.W. (1985), “Optimal release of information by firms”, Journal of Finance, Vol. 40 No.4, pp. 1071-94.
20. DiLorenzo, T.J. and Robinson, R. (1982), “Managerial objectives subject to political market constraints: electric utilities in the US”, Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 113-25.
21. Dowling, J. and Pfeffer, J. (1975), “Organizational legitimacy: social values and organizational behavior”, Pacific Sociological Review, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 122-36.
22. Dye, R. (1985), “Disclosure of nonproprietary information”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol.23 No. 1, pp. 123-45.
23. Fare, R., Grosskopf, S. and Logan, J. (1985), “The relative performance of publicly-owned and privately-owned electric utilities”, Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 89-106.
24. Fekrat, M., Inclan, C. and Petroni, D. (1996), “Corporate environmental disclosures: competitive hypothesis using 1991 annual report data”, The International Journal of Accounting, Vol.31 No. 2, pp. 175-95.
25. Financial Post DataGroup (1996), Survey of Industrials, Financial Post Company, Toronto.
26. Financial Post Information Services (1986), Survey of Industrials, Maclean-Hunter of Canada, Toronto.
27. Financial Post DataGroup (2000), “TransAlta Corporation”, Historical Reports, Financial Post DataGroup, Toronto, ON.
28. Frankel, R.M., McNichols, M. and Wilson, G.P. (1995), “Discretionary disclosure and external financing”, Accounting Review, Vol. 70 No. 1, pp. 135-50.
29. Freedman, M. and Jaggi, B. (1986), “An analysis of the impact of corporate pollution disclosures included in annual financial statements on investors’ decisions”, Advances in Public Interest Accounting, Vol. 1, pp. 193-212.
30. Freedman, M. and Stagliano, A.J. (1991), “Differences in social-cost disclosures: a market test of investor reactions”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp.68-82.
31. Fuhs, G. (2000), “Dams targeted for removal in effort to restore rivers”, Water, Environment and Technology, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 22-3.
32. Gamble, G.O., Hsu, K., Kite, D. and Radtke, R.R. (1995), “Environmental disclosures in annual reports and 10Ks: an examination”, Accounting Horizons, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 34-54.
33. Gibbins, M., Richardson, A. and Waterhouse, J. (1990), “The management of corporate financial disclosures: opportunism, ritualism, policies and processes”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 121-43.
34. Gordon, I.M. and Boland, L.A. (1998), “The accounting-economics interface: where the market fails”, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 25 No. 6/7/8, pp. 1233-43.
35. Gordon, I.M. and Cormier, D. (1996), “Les mesures de performance utilisees dans les dossiers de privatisation: une analyse critiques”, Accountancy and Bedrijfskunde, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp.26-36.
36. Gray, R., Kouhy, R. and Lavers, S. (1995), “Corporate social and environmental reporting: a review of the literature and a longitudinal study of UK disclosure”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 47-77.
37. Grossman, S. (1981), “The informational role of warranties and private disclosure about product quality”, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 461-83.
38. Guthrie, J. and Parker, L.D. (1989), “Corporate social reporting: a rebuttal of legitimacy theory”, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 19 No. 76, pp. 343-52.
39. Hogner, R.H. (1982), “Corporate social reporting: eight decades of development at US Steel”, Research in Corporate Performance and Policy, Vol. 4, pp. 243-50.
40. Hydro-Québec (1985 through 1996), Annual Reports, Hydro-Québec, Quebec.
41. Ilinitch, A.Y., Soderstrom, N.S. and Thomas, T.E. (1998), “Measuring corporate environmental performance”, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 383-408.
42. Ingram, R.W. and Frazier, K.B. (1980), “Environmental performance and corporate disclosure”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 614-22.
43. Jhaveri, N. (1988), “The three gorges debacle”, The Ecologist, Vol. 18 No. 2/3, pp. 56-63.
44. Lang, M. and Lundholm, R. (1993), “Cross-sectional determinants of analyst ratings of corporate disclosures”, Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 246-71.
45. Li, Y., Richardson, G.D. and Thornton, D.B. (1997), “Corporate disclosure of environmental liability information: theory and evidence”, Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 435-74.
46. Little, P., Muoghaly, M.I. and Robinson, H.D. (1995), “Hazardous waste lawsuits, financial disclosure, and investors’ interests”, Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 383-98.
47. Mann, P. (1970), “Publicly-owned electric utility profits and resource allocation”, Land Economics, Vol. 46 No. 4, pp. 478-84.
48. Mathews, M.R. (1997), “Towards a mega-theory of accounting”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 273-89.
49. Meyer, R.A. (1975), “Publicly owned versus privately owned utilities: a policy choice”, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 57 No. 4, pp. 391-9.
50. Milgrom, P.R. (1981), “Good news and bad news: representation theorems and applications”, Bell Journal of Economics, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 380-91.
51. Moore, T.G. (1970), “The effectiveness of regulation of electric utility prices”, Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 36 No. 36, pp. 365-75.
52. Neu, D., Warsame, H. and Pedwell, K. (1998), “Managing public impressions: environmental disclosures in annual reports”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp.265-82.
53. Neuberg, L.G. (1977), “Two issues in the municipal ownership of electric power distribution systems”, The Bell Journal of Economics, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 303-23.
54. OECD (1995), Environmental Performance Reviews: Canada, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris.
55. Parker, L.D. (1986), “Polemical themes in social accounting: a scenario for standard setting”, Advances in Public Interest Accounting, Vol. 1, pp. 67-93.
56. Patten, D.M. (1991), “Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure”, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 297-308.
57. Patten, D.M. (1992), “Intra-industry environmental disclosures in response to the Alaskan oil spill: a note on legitimacy theory”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 471-5.
58. Peltzman, S. (1971), “Pricing in public and private enterprises: electric utilities in the United States”, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 109-47.
59. Pescatrice, D.R. and Trapani, III, J.M. (1980), “The performance and objectives of public and private utilities operating in the United States”, Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 259-76.
60. Raphals, P. (1992), “The hidden cost of Canada's cheap power”, New Scientist, Vol. 133 No. 18, pp.50-5.
61. Reisner, M. (2000), “Unleash the rivers: dams are responsible for some of the worst environmental tragedies in history, Time, Special Edition, Vol. 155 No. 17, pp. 66-71.
62. Rezaee, Z., Szendi, J.Z. and Aggarwal, R. (1995), “Corporate governance and accountability for environmental concerns”, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 10 No. 8, pp. 27-33.
63. Roberts, C.B. (1992), “Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: an application of stakeholder theory”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 595-612.
64. Rockness, J. (1985), “An assessment of the relationship between US corporate environmental performance and disclosure”, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp.339-54.
65. Rousseau, J.J. (1975), “The social contract”, reprinted in Seidler, L.J. and Seidler, L.L. (Eds), Social Accounting: Theory, Issues and Cases, Melville Publishing, Los Angeles CA, pp.43-9.
66. Savage, A., Rowlands, J. and Cataldo, A.J. (1999), “Environmental disclosure in annual reports: a legitimacy theory framework”, unpublished paper from Oakland University, 47 pages.
67. Scott, T. (1994), “Incentives and disincentives for financial disclosure: voluntary disclosure of defined benefit pension plan information by French firms”, The Accounting Review, Vol. 69 No. 1, pp. 26-43.
68. Shepherd, W.G. (1966), “Utility growth and profits under regulation”, in Shepherd, W.G. and Gies, T.G. (Eds), Utility Regulation: New Directions in Theory and Practice, Random House, New York, NY, pp. 3-57.
69. Shocker, A.D. and Sethi, S.P. (1974), “An approach to incorporating social preferences in developing corporate action strategies”, in Sethi, S.P. (Ed.), The Unstable Ground: Corporate Social Policy in a Dynamic Society, Melville Publishing, Los Angeles, CA, pp. 67-80.
70. Tilt, C.A. (1994), “The influence of external pressure groups on corporate social disclosure: some empirical evidence”, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp.47-77.
71. Tinker, A.M., Neimark, M. and Lehman, C. (1991), “Falling down the hole in the middle of the road: political quietism in corporate social reporting’’, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 28-54.
72. TransAlta Corporation (1985 through 1996), Annual Reports, TransAlta Corporation, Alberta.
73. Ulrich, R. (1999) Empty Nests: Indians, Dams, and the Columbia River, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR.
74. Van Maanen, J. (1982), “Introduction”, in van Maanen, J., Dabbs, J.M. Jr and Faulkner, R.R. (Eds), Varieties of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 11-29.
75. Verecchia, R. (1983), “Discretionary disclosure”, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 5 No.3, pp. 179-94.
76. Vining, A.R. and Boardman, A.E. (1992), “Ownership versus competition: efficiency in public enterprise”, Public Choice, Vol. 73 No. 2, pp. 205-39.
77. Volkman, J.M. (1992, “Making room in the ark: The Endangered Species Act and the Columbia River Basin”, Environment, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 18-20 and 37-43.
78. Walden, W.D. and Schwartz, B.N. (1997), “Environmental disclosures and public policy pressure”, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 125-54.
79. Watts, R.L. and Zimmerman, J.L. (1978), “Towards a positive theory of the determination of accounting standards”, Accounting Review, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 112-34.
80. White, G.F. (1988), “The environmental effects of the High Dam at Aswan”, Environment, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 4-11; 34-40.
81. Wilmshurst, T.D. and Frost, G.R. (2000), “Corporate environmental reporting: a test of legitimacy theory”, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 10-26.
82. Wiseman, J. (1982), “An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 53-63.
83. Yin, R.K. (1994), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
84. Yunker, J.A. (1975), “Economic performance of public and private enterprise: the case of US electric utilities”, Journal of Economics and Business, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 60-7.