Abstract
Purpose: The paper aims to analyse the engagement in sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) by a sample of Portuguese firms between 2008 and 2011. Design/methodology/approach: Bivariate and multivariate non-parametric statistics is used to analyse some factors that influence the decision to have sustainability reports assured. Findings: Results indicate that size, leverage, profitability, listing status and industrial affiliation are determinants of SRA, whereas type of ownership is not. A downward trend in sustainability reporting and its assurance was also detected. Research limitations/implications: The sample is small. Originality/value: It adds to the scarce research on SRA by providing new empirical data in a context of crisis and extends prior research by analysing the effects of listing status and type of ownership. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

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This study analyzes Standard & Poor’s 500 Index top 250 companies’ responses to Bloomberg’s disclosed calculations of CEO pay ratios. The results suggest that CEO pay ratios, CEO compensations and average worker compensations do not seem to be related to the decision to respond. They also indicate that many of the corporations have adopted a strategy of avoiding the issue or deflecting attention from it by either choosing not to respond or criticizing the technicalities of the calculation of the CEO pay ratios. Corporations that responded largely conceptualize and communicate the rationale for high executive compensation in performance-driven language.

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Sustainability is gaining interest among academics and practitioners due to increased stakeholder awareness of environmental and social issues. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the extent to which firms have integrated social sustainability aspects into the management of their supply chains in emerging economies. The purpose of this article is to explore the social issues pertinent to suppliers and to identify measures and dimensions related to social sustainability in emerging economies. Further, it explores the benefits suppliers and buyers gain by effectively managing such social issues. For this purpose, first, in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 supply chain managers. Further, a survey was conducted in Indian manufacturing industries and co-variance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. The findings reveal that there are 18 validated supplier social sustainability measures underlying five social dimensions: labor rights, safety and health, societal responsibility, diversity, and product responsibility. The results also suggest a positive relationship between supplier social sustainability practices and supply chain performance mediated by supplier performance. In addition, the role of the buyer's commitment and investment moderates both suppliers and supply chain performance. These results are relevant because they not only identify the social issues plaguing supply chains in emerging economies, but also have practical implications for organizations trying to build socially sustainable supply chains for competitive advantage.

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Purpose - This study investigates the use of the internet by the largest companies based in Sweden and Spain to communicate their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Its purpose is to analyse to what extent, if any, are there differences in the CSR communication on the web sites companies from these two countries. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines CSR communication on the internet by companies based in Sweden and Spain. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors that influence disclosure, namely country, industry affiliation, profitability, and size. Findings - Findings suggest that in spite of the existence of a high degree of similarity between CSR communication practices, companies from Spain place social responsibility information in more prominent sections and devote more space to said information. Swedish companies are found to disclose more their codes of conduct/ethics and CSR-related press clips and published articles. Research limitations/implications - The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process. Originality/value - It adds to the scarce research on CSR communication by companies in these countries by providing new empirical data and extends prior research comparing such practices in different international models of CSR.