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Corporate Responsibility and Strategic Groups in the Forest‐based Industry: Exploratory Analysis based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework

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  • Anne Toppinen
  • Ning Li
  • Anni Tuppura
  • Ying Xiong

Abstract

A growing number of large forest industry companies have declared voluntary adoption of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines to avoid the lack of verification in reporting and to alleviate current criticisms of corporate responsibility (CR) practices. In this study, we use quantitative multivariate analysis of CR disclosure data (GRI indicators) from 66 forest industry firms. The results from cluster analysis show that 58% of the major companies in forest‐based industries are following what could be called a relatively defensive approach to CR, while companies proactive towards CR represent only a minority of the sample (18%), and one‐quarter of the companies could be classified as being ‘stuck‐in‐the‐middle’ in terms of CR. CR practices are found to run parallel to and beyond core business activities, number of employees, sales, and production in these three strategic groups. However, no strategic group level differences in terms of the location of headquarters or financial performance were found. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Anne Toppinen & Ning Li & Anni Tuppura & Ying Xiong, 2012. "Corporate Responsibility and Strategic Groups in the Forest‐based Industry: Exploratory Analysis based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 191-205, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:19:y:2012:i:4:p:191-205
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.256
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    2. María L. Gallén & Carlos Peraita, 2017. "The Relationship between Femininity and Sustainability Reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 496-508, November.
    3. Sándor Gáspár & Zoltán Musinszki & István Zsombor Hágen & Ákos Barta & Judit Bárczi & Gergő Thalmeiner, 2023. "Developing a Controlling Model for Analyzing the Subjectivity of Enterprise Sustainability and Expert Group Judgments Using Fuzzy Triangular Membership Functions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-26, May.
    4. Stefanella Stranieri & Luigi Orsi & Alessandro Banterle & Elena Claire Ricci, 2019. "Sustainable development and supply chain coordination: The impact of corporate social responsibility rules in the European Union food industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 481-491, March.
    5. María del Mar Alonso‐Almeida & Josep Llach & Frederic Marimon, 2014. "A Closer Look at the ‘Global Reporting Initiative’ Sustainability Reporting as a Tool to Implement Environmental and Social Policies: A Worldwide Sector Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(6), pages 318-335, November.
    6. Daniel Reimsbach & Rüdiger Hahn, 2015. "The Effects of Negative Incidents in Sustainability Reporting on Investors’ Judgments–an Experimental Study of Third‐party Versus Self‐disclosure in the Realm of Sustainable Development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 217-235, May.
    7. Emanuela Jurietti & Andreina Mandelli & Morana Fudurić, 2017. "How do virtual corporate social responsibility dialogs generate value? A case study of The Unilever Sustainable Living Lab," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5), pages 357-367, September.
    8. Cinthia Leonora Murillo‐Avalos & Mitzi Cubilla‐Montilla & Miguel Ángel Celestino Sánchez & Purificación Vicente‐Galindo, 2021. "What environmental social responsibility practices do large companies manage for sustainable development?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 153-168, January.
    9. Alessandro Lai & Gaia Melloni & Riccardo Stacchezzini, 2016. "Corporate Sustainable Development: is ‘Integrated Reporting’ a Legitimation Strategy?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 165-177, March.
    10. Pierluigi Toma & Pier Paolo Miglietta & Domenico Morrone & Donatella Porrini, 2020. "Environmental risks and efficiency performances: The vulnerability of Italian forestry firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2793-2803, November.
    11. Anni Tuppura & Anne Toppinen & Kaisu Puumalainen, 2016. "Forest Certification and ISO 14001: Current State and Motivation in Forest Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 355-368, July.

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