Martin Samy Professorial Inaugural Lecture

Описание: Professor Martin Samy, Professorial Inaugural Lecture:
Corporate Social Responsibility and Effectiveness Measurement

Professor Martin Samy will present a collection of his academic papers on Corporate Social Responsibility and Effectiveness Measurement, drawing on 15 years of research and covering areas including Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh and Nigeria.
The increasing demand of stakeholders’ interests in social performance is giving impetus for companies to undertake social responsibility reporting in their operations to fulfil the demands and to gain public support. Many organisations, especially in developed economies, have already responded either by publishing a separate report regarding their social activities or by providing such information in their annual report or website. However, in some developing countries, there is limited or very ‘weak’ CSR legislation and governmental policies. Having no expectations to follow international CSR guidelines, corporations in these countries tend not to provide CSR reports.
Examining the relationship between CSR and Financial Performance of corporations in developed economies, Martin and his team studied 20 selected UK public corporations. They aimed to prove that, by strategically investing in CSR, profits can be increased and the demands of stakeholders met. The research team analysed the companies using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the trends of earnings per share (EPS) and the Price Earnings ratio (PE), and found that only four of the 20 companies met all six guidelines of the GRI. A very weak but positive relationship was found when analysing the EPS and PE data.
In another similar study of Indonesian corporations, Martin’s findings revealed that, despite the lack of CSR initiatives by government authorities, Indonesian firms are already aware of the increasing demands and provide CSR information to stakeholders. In comparison to other research undertaken, this study showed that CSR reporting by some large and well-known Indonesian companies is comparable to UK and Australian companies.
Martin’s lecture will consider how, in the past, most CSR researchers have relied on stakeholder theory as the basis for explaining corporate social and environmental disclosures. However, he will explain how recent evidence from other studies shows that legitimacy theory is gaining popularity amongst scholars in their quest to explain the motivations behind corporate social and environmental disclosures. Martin will also argue that, particularly in developing economies, governments should play a key role in CSR practices and reporting.