Making a difference : sustainability reporting, accountability and organisational change.
Abstract:Purpose - The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of corporate processes for developing a sustainability report, the hurdles faced by organisations and the way in which organisational change towards improved accountability occurs and can lead to changes in sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach - This research involves engagement through an action research approach involving the observation of corporate meetings, the provision of feedback on those meetings by the researchers and review of internet and hard copy sustainability reporting. Findings - The study identified a number of impediments to the development of a sustainability reporting framework and its integration into planning and decision making, as well as forces for change. These were analysed using the organisational literature, particularly Kurt Lewin's integrated model of planned change. Differences were observed between the state-owned organisation and prior studies of shareholder owned companies in their motivations for achieving sustainability and greater accountability. Practical implications - From the organisation's perspective, the study provided immediate feedback which enhanced reporting practices and the incorporation of sustainability issues into decision making. The study has the potential to improve practice in other organisations through the identification of impediments to and forces for change not considered in prior theorising. Originality/value - The action research approach contributes to knowledge and theorising in a way which could not have been achieved through interviews alone. It assisted change within the organisation in: adopting a sustainability reporting framework; integrating sustainability issues into planning and decision making; and, further embedding sustainability and accountability values. The findings in the state owned organisation contrast recent findings for shareholder-owned companies.
暂无分享，去 创建一个
[1] E. Piggot-Irvine,et al. Incorporating action research in school senior management training , 1996 .
[2] Enid Mumford,et al. Advice for an action researcher , 2001, Inf. Technol. People.
[3] Carol A. Adams,et al. The changing portrayal of the employment of women in British banks' and retail companies' , 1998 .
[4] R. Greenwood,et al. Understanding Radical Organizational Change: Bringing Together the Old and the New Institutionalism , 1996 .
[5] Bill Cooke,et al. Writing the Left out of Management Theory: The Historiography of the Management of Change , 1999 .
[6] H. Bradbury,et al. Handbook of action research , 2006 .
[7] Richard Laughlin,et al. Environmental Disturbances and Organizational Transitions and Transformations: Some Alternative Models , 1991 .
[8] Edgar H. Schein,et al. Models and Tools for Stability and Change in Human Systems , 2002 .
[9] J. Ford,et al. The Role Of Conversations in Producing Intentional Change in Organizations , 1995 .
[10] Michael D. Myers,et al. Trying to improve communication and collaboration with information technology: An action research project which failed , 1999, Inf. Technol. People.
[11] R. Greenwood,et al. Understanding strategic change: The contribution of archetypes , 1993 .
[12] J. Meyer,et al. Qualitative research in health care: Using qualitative methods in health related action research , 2000 .
[13] B. Burnes. Kurt Lewin and complexity theories: back to the future? , 2004 .
[14] Colin Robson,et al. Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers , 1993 .
[15] Edgar H. Schein. Kurt Lewin in the clasroom, in the field, and in change theory : notes toward a model of managed learning , 1995 .
[16] D. Coghlan,et al. Action research for operations management , 2002 .
[17] Jane Harris,et al. Achieving Organizational Collaboration in the Nonprofit Sector: An Action Research Approach , 2002 .
[18] P. McNicholas,et al. Decolonisation through Critical Career Research and Action: Maori Women and Accountancy , 2005 .
[19] P. McNicholas,et al. Answering the emancipatory call: an emerging research approach ‘on the margins’ of accounting , 2005 .
[20] W. Scott,et al. Institutions and Organizations. , 1995 .
[21] B. Burnes. Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal , 2004 .
[22] E. Schein. Process consultation revisited : building the helping relationship , 1999 .
[23] Jeffrey Unerman,et al. Increased stakeholder dialogue and the internet: towards greater corporate accountability or reinforcing capitalist hegemony? , 2004 .
[24] H. Bradbury,et al. Handbook of action research : participative inquiry and practice , 2001 .
[25] Dag Näslund. Logistics needs qualitative research – especially action research , 2002 .
[26] Brendan O’Dwyer. Managerial perceptions of corporate social disclosure: An Irish story , 2002 .
[27] S. Gallhofer,et al. Maintaining the empire: Maori women’s experiences in the accountancy profession , 2004 .
[28] A. Earl‐Slater. The superiority of action research , 2002 .
[29] Chris Hendry,et al. Understanding and Creating Whole Organizational Change Through Learning Theory , 1996 .
[30] P. Reason. Integrating Action and Reflection Through Co-Operative Inquiry , 1999 .
[31] Judy McKay,et al. The dual imperatives of action research , 2001, Inf. Technol. People.
[32] Edward Toomer,et al. Qualitative Methods in Management Research , 1989 .
[33] Brendan O'Dwyer,et al. Conceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Nature of Managerial Capture , 2003 .
[34] K. Lewin. Frontiers in Group Dynamics , 1947 .
[35] K. Grønhaug,et al. Action research and knowledge creation: merits and challenges , 1999 .
[36] Carol A. Adams,et al. The ethical, social and environmental reporting‐performance portrayal gap , 2004 .
[37] Carol A. Adams,et al. Internal organisational factors influencing corporate social and ethical reporting: Beyond current theorising , 2002 .
[38] K. Lukka,et al. There and Back Again: Doing Interventionist Research in Management Accounting , 2006 .
[39] W. Powell,et al. The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields , 1983 .
[40] Brendan O'Dwyer,et al. The construction of a social account: a case study in an overseas aid agency , 2005 .
[41] David Owen,et al. QUESTIONING THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND REPORTING , 2001 .
[42] Steven H. Cady,et al. A Diet for Action Research: An Integrated Problem & Appreciative Focuses Approach to Organization Development , 2000 .
[43] K Karim. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of action research. , 2001, Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987).
[44] Robert Davison,et al. GSS and action research in the Hong Kong police , 2001, Inf. Technol. People.
[45] Carmen Correa-ruiz,et al. The Role of Environmental Accounting in Organizational Change: An Exploration of Spanish Companies , 2001 .
[46] Edgar H. Schein,et al. Kurt Lewin's change theory in the field and in the classroom: Notes toward a model of managed learning , 1996 .
[47] W. Powell,et al. The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis , 1993 .
[48] C. Adams,et al. Reporting and the Politics of Difference: (Non)Disclosure on Ethnic Minorities , 2004 .