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How do sustainability reports from the Nordic and the Mediterranean European countries compare

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Abstract

This study investigates the sustainability reporting practices of companies based in the Nordic and the Mediterranean European countries for the period 2013–2015. Its purpose is to analyse to what extent, if any, are there differences in these practices. It seeks to capture the influence of national institutions and firm specific characteristics in sustainability reporting. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors which influence disclosure, namely country, industry affiliation, type of property, listing status and size. In accordance with the theoretical frame used, that of the varieties of capitalism approach, findings suggest that in general companies from Mediterranean European countries present higher levels of engagement with the Global Reporting Initiative.

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Notes

  1. In models with intercepts, when analysing results pertaining to a categorical independent variable the number of coefficients displayed is one less than the number of categories of the variable (Norušis, 2012, p. 73). One of the categories is the reference category and has a coefficient of 0 (ibid.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Manuel Castelo Branco, Catarina Delgado & Carla Marques

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  1. Manuel Castelo Branco
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  2. Catarina Delgado
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  3. Carla Marques
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Correspondence to Manuel Castelo Branco.

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Branco, M.C., Delgado, C. & Marques, C. How do sustainability reports from the Nordic and the Mediterranean European countries compare. Rev Manag Sci 12, 917–936 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-017-0233-4

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