Publications Database

Welcome to the new Schulich Peer-Reviewed Publication Database!

The database is currently in beta-testing and will be updated with more features as time goes on. In the meantime, stakeholders are free to explore our faculty’s numerous works. The left-hand panel affords the ability to search by the following:

  • Faculty Member’s Name;
  • Area of Expertise;
  • Whether the Publication is Open-Access (free for public download);
  • Journal Name; and
  • Date Range.

At present, the database covers publications from 2012 to 2020, but will extend further back in the future. In addition to listing publications, the database includes two types of impact metrics: Altmetrics and Plum. The database will be updated annually with most recent publications from our faculty.

If you have any questions or input, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

Search Results

Timo Busch, Michael L. Barnett, Roger Leonard Burritt, Benjamin W. Cashore, R. Edward Freeman, Irene Henriques, Bryan W. Husted, Rajat Panwar, Jonatan Pinkse, Stefan Schaltegger, Jeff York (2024). "Moving Beyond “the” Business Case: How to Make Corporate Sustainability Work", Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 776–787.

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Abstract One of the most investigated research topics in the corporate sustainability literature is “the” business case. Long lionized for linking the profit motive to corporate environmental initiatives, the business case for sustainability is now vehemently criticized. These critics generally argue for a return to the state and stronger regulatory frameworks. Others counter that because the private sector's capabilities are uniquely suited to realizing effective sustainability innovations and outcomes, we must not abandon but further develop our business case understanding. In this view, firms' voluntary efforts are key for innovative solutions to sustainability problems. This article overviews and unites these seemingly disparate positions. We move the field forward by placing in context criticisms and also opportunities for more meaningful positive impacts from corporate sustainability. Specifically, we argue that an effective business case orientation requires shifting to a broader “all stakeholders win” approach. This entails impact orientation, collaborative approaches, and economic restraint.

Vasundhara Saravade, Olaf Weber (2024). "Catalyzing the Growth of Green Bonds: A Closer Look at the Drivers and Barriers of the Canadian Green Bond Market", Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 15(3), 605–627.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the Canadian financial sector’s reaction to opportunities and risks created by the green bond market in a low-carbon and climate-resilient (LCR) economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a concurrent mixed methodological approach that undertakes an online survey and semistructured interviews with critical green bond market stakeholders.

Findings

The most significant market driver in Canada is the reputational benefit for stakeholders, i.e. its ability to meet the high demand for sustainable finance and the marketing potential of its green credentials. The major market barriers are transactional costs, i.e. additional tracking required for reporting purposes, lack of market liquidity and identification of environmental impact or additionality. Canadian green bonds are also more likely to be evaluated on their green impact than their global market peers.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of this study include its focus on Canada, which may exclude or not apply to drivers and barriers in other green bond markets.

Practical implications

The paper helps create an accounting-based conceptual framework for key motivations and barriers that affect financial decision-making regarding green bonds.

Social implications

The authors identify economic and policy-related barriers and drivers for green bonds, addressing the financing gap for the LCR economy.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to identify and compare Canadian green bond market drivers and barriers and to examine relevant stakeholder- and policy-related approaches that can be targeted to scale this market effectively.

A. Crane and D. Matten (2021). "COVID-19 and the Future of CSR Research", Journal of Management Studies, 58(1), 280-284.

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Abstract Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) flourished pre-COVD-19 and could reasonably claim to be one of the most widely read and cited sub-fields of management. However, the pandemic has clearly challenged a number of existing CSR assumptions, concepts, and practices. We aim to identify four key areas where CSR research has been challenged by COVID-19 – stakeholders, societal risk, supply chain responsibility, and the political economy of CSR – and propose how future CSR research should be realigned to tackle them.

Everett, J., Neu, D., Rahaman, A.A. and Saxton, G. (2020). "Speaking Truth to Power: Twitter Reactions to the Panama Papers", Journal of Business Ethics, 162(2), 473-485.

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Abstract The current study examines the micro-linguistic details of Twitter responses to the whistleblower-initiated publication of the Panama Papers. The leaked documents contained the micro-details of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and wealth accumulation schemes used by business elites, politicians, and government bureaucrats. The public release of the documents on April 4, 2016 resulted in a groundswell of Twitter and other social media activity throughout the world, including 161,036 Spanish- language tweets in the subsequent 5-month period. The findings illustrate that the responses were polyvocal, consisting a collection of overlapping speech genres with varied thematic topics and linguistic styles, as well as differing degrees of calls for action and varying amounts of illocutionary force. The analysis also illustrates that, while the illocutionary force of tweets is somewhat associated with the adoption of a prosaic and vernacular ethical stance as well as with demands for action, these types of voicing behaviors were not present in the majority of the tweets. These results suggest that, while social media platforms are a popular site for collective forms of voicing activities, it is less certain that these collective stakeholder voices necessarily result in forceful accountability demands that spill out of the communication medium and thus serve as an impulse for positive social change.

Nguyen, Phuong-Anh, Ambrus Kecskés, and Sattar Mansi (2020). "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Create Shareholder Value? The Importance of Long-term Investors", Journal of Banking and Finance, 112.

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Abstract We study the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on shareholder value. We argue that long-term investors can ensure that managers choose the amount of CSR that maximizes shareholder value. We find that long-term investors do increase the value to shareholders of CSR activities, not through higher cash flow but rather through lower cash flow risk. Following prior work, we use indexing by investors and state laws on stakeholder orientation for identification. Our findings suggest that CSR activities can create shareholder value as long as managers are properly monitored by long-term investors.

Crane, A., Graham, C. and Himick, D. (2015). "Financializing Stakeholder Claims", Journal of Management Studies, 52(7), 878–906.

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Abstract This paper examines the role of accounting in assigning financial values to stakeholder claims. Stakeholder theorists have called for metrics managers can use to coordinate stakeholder claims. We argue that accounting already serves as the dominant example of such a tool, and that its role in measuring and representing stakeholder claims, and how those representations are used by stakeholders and managers, is not well understood. We suggest that accounting financializes stakeholder claims along three inductivelydeveloped dimensions, namely time, security, and priority. We analyse the case of pension accounting at General Electric to theorize concerning how these dimensions shape stakeholder claims and are used by stakeholders and managers to trade-off claims, demarcate claimants into groups, and reconstruct claims during negotiations.

Crane, A., Matten, D., Palazzo, G. and Spence, L.J. (2014). "Contesting the Value of ‘Creating Shared Value’", California Management Review, 56(2), 130-153.

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Abstract This article critiques Porter and Kramer's concept of creating shared value. The strengths of the idea are highlighted in terms of its popularity among practitioner and academic audiences, its connecting of strategy and social goals, and its systematizing of some previously underdeveloped, disconnected areas of research and practice. However, the concept suffers from some serious shortcomings, namely: it is unoriginal; it ignores the tensions inherent to responsible business activity; it is naïve about business compliance; and it is based on a shallow conception of the corporation's role in society. [Michael Porter and Mark Kramer were invited to respond to this article. Their commentary follows along with a reply by Crane and his co-authors.]

Mahoney, L., Manetti, G. and Thorne, L. (2014). "Motivations for Issuing Standalone CSR Reports: A Survey of Canadian Firms", Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 27(4), 686-714.

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Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the companies’ motivations to issue or not issue voluntary standalone corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports in the Canadian context. Design/methodology/approach – The authors realized a questionnaire survey that asked Canadian companies why they do or do not issue standalone CSR reports, what their motivations and costs are, and the extent to which they comply with GRI guidelines. Findings – The results show that larger firms issue standalone CSR reports. As larger firms have more political visibility and are subject to greater external scrutiny than smaller firms (Watts and Zimmerman, 1986), the findings indicate that firms primarily issue standalone CSR reports in response to external scrutiny by stakeholders, which is consistent with a stakeholder perspective. The survey also identifies that ancillary motivations for Canadian firms for issuing standalone CSR reports are consistent with legitimacy and signalling perspectives. Research limitations/implications – The authors acknowledge that the generalizability of the findings is limited due to the sample being situated within a single national context. The inferences drawn from such a sample in Canada may not be applicable to other countries with different national institutional contexts. In addition, the small size of the sample may limit the generalizability of the findings. The authors also did not specifically consider the quality of the CSR reports in the study. Finally, the work may be affected by the inherent weaknesses associated with survey research, including the inherent bias of the individuals responding to the survey. Originality/value – The research adds to the growing body of research on voluntary CSR disclosures, with particular reference to the Canadian context.

Cho, C.H., Michelon, G., Patten, D.M. and Roberts, R.W. (2014). "CSR Report Assurance in the United States: An Empirical Investigation of Determinants and Effects", Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 5(2), 130-148.

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Abstract Purpose: This study aims at providing a proof of the factors associated with sustainability assurance demand by French companies. Design/methodology/approach: This research used panel data methodology. Findings: The study results demonstrate that institutional ownership and the presence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee within the management board have an effect on the demand for sustainability assurance. The results also reveal that three types of stakeholders (employees, environment and customers) positively affect the demand of voluntary sustainability assurance. Originality/value: The paper provides a preliminary proof on the effects of the governance of corporation and pressure of some groups of stakeholders on the voluntary demand of sustainability assurance in France.

Cooper, D.J., Ezzamel, M. and Qu, S. (2005). "Popularizing a Management Accounting Idea: The Case of the Balanced Scorecard", Contemporary Accounting Research, 34(2), 991-1025.

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Abstract We explore how the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), as a management accounting technique, was developed and marketed as a general management practice. Drawing on actor network theory (ANT), we analyse interviews with key actors associated with the BSC, insights gained from attending BSC training workshops, and other documentary evidence to construct a history of the BSC. Our historical analysis offers theoretical tools to understand how the various features of the accounting technique were translated and transformed, that is shaped and solidified. This translation entailed processes of modification, labelling, framing, and specification of abstract categories and cause-effect relations. We also examine the networks and associations that both shape the form of the BSC and mobilize the interests of various constituencies around it to produce what can be regarded as a global management technology. Finally, we highlight the strategies and actions used to maintain control of this technique through its continuous reinvention, and, by doing so, we emphasize the idea of strategic agency.