Measuring corporate social responsibility using composite indicesmission impossible? The case of the electricity utility industry
- Juan Diego Paredes-Gázquez 1
- José Miguel Rodríguez-Fernández 2
- Marta de la Cuesta-González 1
-
1
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
info
-
2
Universidad de Valladolid
info
ISSN: 1138-4891
Año de publicación: 2016
Volumen: 19
Número: 1
Páginas: 142-153
Tipo: Artículo
Otras publicaciones en: Revista de contabilidad = Spanish accounting review: [RC-SAR]
Resumen
La responsabilidad social corporativa es un concepto multidimensional que puede medirse de distintas formas. Una de ellas es a través de índices sintéticos o compuestos, instrumentos que permiten resumir la información de múltiples indicadores en una sola medida. Este artículo pretende identificar los desafíos que se presentan a la hora de construir un índice sintético para evaluar la responsabilidad social corporativa. Este proceso se ilustra a través de la construcción de un índice sintético para medir los resultados sociales de setenta y cuatro empresas que operan en la industria eléctrica, procedentes de veintitrés países diferentes y una región administrativa. Los resultados evidencian que la escasa disponibilidad de información de responsabilidad social corporativa y sus particulares características, así como determinar las ponderaciones a asignar a los indicadores, son los principales obstáculos para elaborar el índice sintético. Subrayamos que, para que un índice sintético se construya adecuadamente, sus objetivos han de estar claramente definidos, el marco teórico en el que se apoya ha de ser sólido y, además, ha de comprobarse si dicho índice es robusto, extremo que se considera muy relevante. Las implicaciones prácticas sugieren reconsiderar cómo se usan los índices sintéticos para medir la responsabilidad social corporativa, evidenciando que es necesaria más transparencia y rigor a la hora de construirlos
Información de financiación
Financial help from the Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry (Research Project ECO2011-26171)Financiadores
-
Science and Innovation Ministry
Spain
- ECO2011-26171
Referencias bibliográficas
- N.H. Afgan, M.G. Carvalho, and N.V. Hovanov Energy system assessment with sustainability indicators Energy Policy 28 2000 603 612
- M. Asif, C. Searcy, A. Zutshi, and O.A.M. Fisscher An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility Journal of Cleaner Production 56 2013 7 17
- L.-M. Asselin Multidimensional poverty: Composite indicator of multidimensional poverty 2002 Institut de Mathématique Gauss Québec
- M.C. Bas Cerdá Estrategias metodológicas para la construcción de indicadores compuestos en la gestión universitaria (Doctoral dissertation) 2014 Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
- J. Bendell World Review: July-September 2010 Journal of Corporate Citizenship Issue 40 2010 6 25
- O. Boiral Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 26 2013 1036 1071
- L. Bouten, P. Evaraert, L. Van Liedekerke, L. De Moor, and J. Christiaens Corporate social responsibility reporting: A comprehensive picture? Accounting Forum 35 2011 187 204
- Y. Cai, H. Jo, and C. Pan Doing well while doing bad? CSR in controversial industry sectors Journal of Business Ethics 108 2012 467 480
- A.C. Cameron, and P.K. Trivedi Microeconometrics: Methods and applications 2005 Cambridge University Press Cambridge/New York
- A.B. Carroll A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance Academy of Management Review 4 1979 497 505
- A.K. Chatterji, D.I. Levine, and M.W. Toffel How well do social ratings actually measure corporate social responsibility? Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 18 2009 125 169
- C.M. Chen, and M. Delmas Measuring corporate social performance: An efficiency perspective Production and Operations Management 20 2011 789 804
- L. Cherchye, W. Moesen, N. Rogge, and T. Van Puyenbroeck An introduction to 'benefit of the doubt' composite indicators Social Indicators Research 82 2007 115 145
- M. De la Cuesta, E. Pardo-Herrasti, and J.D. Paredes-Gázquez Identification of relevant indicators of CSR performance through the use of multi-criteria techniques Innovar Journal 55 2015 75 88
- A.R. De Leon, and K.C. Chough Analysis of mixed data: Methods & applications 2013 CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group Boca Raton
- O. Delbard CSR legislation in France and the European regulatory paradox: An analysis of EU CSR policy and sustainability reporting practice Corporate Governance 8 2008 397 405
- M. Domínguez-Serrano, F.J. Blancas-Peral, F.M. Guerrero-Casas, and M. González-Lozano Una revisión crítica para la construcción de indicadores sintéticos Revista de métodos cuantitativos para la economía y la empresa 11 2011 41 70
- J. Elkington Cannibals with Forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business 1997 Capstone Oxford
- B. Escofier, and J. Pagès Multiple factor analysis (AFMULT package) Computational Statistics & Data Analysis 18 1994 121 140
- E. Escrig-Olmedo, M.J. Muñoz-Torres, M.A. Fernández-Izquierdo, and J.M. Rivera-Lirio Lights and shadows on sustainability rating scoring Review Managerial Science 2013 10.1007/s11846-013-0118-0
- European Commission Corporate social responsibility: A business contribution to sustainable development 2002 COM Brussels 347
- Eurostat NACE Rev.2. Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community 2008 Eurostat, European Commission
- A. Evans, V. Strezov, and T.J. Evans Assessment of sustainability indicators for renewable energy technologies Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 133 2009 1082 1088
- E. Fraser, A.J. Dougill, W.E. Mabee, M.S. Reed, and P. McAlpine Bottom up and top-down: Analysis of participatory processes for sustainability indicator identification as a pathway to community empowerment and sustainable environmental management Journal of Environmental Management 78 2006 114 127
- D. Gallardo-Vázquez, M.I. Sánchez-Hernández, and M.B. Corchuelo-Martínez-Azúac Validación de un instrumento de medida para la relación entre la orientación a la responsabilidad social corporativa y otras variables estratégicas de la empresa Revista de Contabilidad[nl]Spanish Accounting Review 16 2013 11 23
- D. Gallego-Carrera, and A. Mack Sustainability assessment of energy technologies via social indicators: Results of a survey among European energy experts Energy Policy 38 2010 1030 1039
- C. García Aguña, and M. Kovacevic Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the human development index. Human development research paper 2010/47, United Nations Development Programme 2011
- E. Garriga, and D. Melé Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping the territory Journal of Business Ethics 53 2004 51 71
- F. Giambona, and E. Vasallo Composite indicator of social inclusion for European countries Social Indicators Research 116 2014 269 293
- J.A. Gómez-Limón, and L. Riesgo Alternative approaches to the construction of a composite indicator of agricultural sustainability: An application to irrigated agriculture in the Duero basin in Spain Journal of Environmental Management 90 2009 3345 3362
- J.W. Graham Missing data analysis and design 2012 Springer Heidelberg
- R. Gray, and S. Gray Accountability and human rights: A tentative exploration and a commentary Critical Perspectives on Accounting 22 2011 781 789
- GRI Sustainability reporting guidelines 4th Version 2013 Global Reporting Initiative Amsterdam
- GRI Sustainability reporting guidelines & electric utilities sector supplement 2009 Global Reporting Initiative Amsterdam
- J. Grupp, and M.E. Mogee Indicators for national science and technology policy: How robust are composite indicators? Research Policy 33 2004 1373 1384
- J. Hair, R. Anderson, R. Tatham, and W. Black Multivariate data analysis 7th ed. 2009 Pearson/Prentice Hall NJ
- Helio International Sustainable Energy Watch (SEW) indicator selection and rationale 2010 Helio International working document
- N.J. Horton, and S.R. Lipsitz Multiple imputation in practice: Comparison of software packages for regression models with missing variables American Statistician 55 2001 244 254
- IAEA and UN Energy indicators for sustainable development: Country Studies on Brazil, Cuba, Lithuania Mexico, Russian Federation, Slovakia and Thailand 2007 International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- I. Ioannou, and G. Serafeim What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions Journal of International Business Studies 43 2012 834 864
- S. Jung, and S. Lee Exploratory factor analysis for small samples Behavior Research Methods 43 2011 701 709
- C. Khadka, and H. Vacik Comparing a top-down and bottom-up approach in the identification of criteria and indicators for sustainable community forest management in Nepal Forestry 85 2012 145 158
- E.L. La Rovere, J.B. Soares, L.B. Oliveira, and T. Lauria Sustainable expansion of electricity sector: Sustainability indicators as an instrument to support decision making Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 2010 422 429
- G. Legros, I. Havet, N. Bruce, and S. Bonjour The energy access situation in developing countries. A review focusing on the least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa 2009 United Nations Development Programs and World Health Organization
- P. Martínez-García, and I.A. Rodríguez Revisión teórica del concepto y estrategias de medición de la responsabilidad social corporativa Prisma Social: Revista de Ciencias Sociales 11 2013 321 350
- M. Matsunaga Item parceling in structural equation modeling: A primer Communication Methods and Measures 2 2008 260 293
- M. d. M. Miras-Rodríguez, A. Carrasco-Gallego, and B. Escobar-Pérez Has the CSR engagement of electrical companies had an effect on their performance? A closer look at the environment Business Strategy & Environment 2014 10.1002/bse.1848
- G. Mitchell, A. May, and A. McDonald PICABUE: A methodological framework for the development of indicators of sustainable development International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 2 1995 104 123
- V. Modi, S. McDade, D. Lallement, and J. Saghir Energy and the millennium development goals 2006 Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, United Nations Development Programme, UN Millennium Project, and World Bank New York
- J. Mondéjar-Jiménez, and M. Vargas-Vargas Synthetic indicators: A revision of aggregation methods Economía, Sociedad y Territorio 8 2008 565 585
- G. Munda Social multi-criteria evaluation for a sustainable economy 2008 Springer New York
- P. Navarro Alvarado, J.F. Hinojosa Palafox, and M.A. Vázquez Ruiz Comparative study of sustainability of the electrical power industry in Mexico and its northern border region Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 2011 4726 4731
- G. Nicoletti, S. Scarpetta, and O. Boylaud Summary indicators of product market regulation with an extension to employment protection legislation 1999 OECD, Economics department working papers No. 226, ECO/WKP(99)18
- E. O'Boyle Jr., and H. Aguinis The best and the rest: Revisiting the norm of normality of individual performance Personnel Psychology 65 2012 79 119
- M. O'Connor, and J.H. Spangenberg A methodology for CSR reporting: Assuring a representative diversity of indicators across stakeholders, scales, sites and performance issues Journal of Cleaner Production 16 2008 1399 1415
- OECD Handbook on constructing composite indicators. Methodology and user guide 2008 OECD Publications Paris
- OECD and IEA Energy poverty. How to make modern energy access universal 2010 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Energy Agency Paris
- A. Okoye Theorising corporate social responsibility as an essentially contested concept: Is a definition necessary? Journal of Business Ethics 89 2009 613 627
- N. Onat, and H. Bayar The sustainability indicators of power production systems Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 2010 3108 3115
- I. Ozturk A literature survey on energy - growth nexus Energy Policy 38 2010 340 349
- J. Pagès Multiple factor analysis by example using R. [S.I.] 2014 Chapman & Hall/CRC
- P. Paruolo, M. Saisana, and A. Saltelli Ratings and rankings: Voodoo or science? Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A 176 2013 609 634
- A. Pérez, and I. Rodríguez del Bosque Measuring CSR image: Three studies to develop and to validate a reliable measurement tool Journal of Business Ethics 118 2013 265 286
- E. Plischke An effective algorithm for computing global sensitivity indices (EASI) Reliability Engineering & System Safety 95 2010 354 360
- C. Quintano, R. Castellano, and A. Rocca Influence of outliers on some multiple imputation methods Metodološki zvezki[nl]Advances in Methodology & Statistics 7 2010 1 16
- M.A. Reynolds, and K. Yuthas Moral discourse and corporate social responsibility reporting Journal of Business Ethics 78 2008 47 64
- M. Rhemtulla, P.É. Brosseau-Liard, and V. Savalei When can categorical variables be treated as continuous? A comparison of robust continuous and categorical SEM estimation methods under suboptimal conditions Psychological Methods 17 2012 354 373
- M. Saisana, A. Saltelli, and S. Tarantola Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis techniques as tools for the quality assessment of composite indicators Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A 168 2005 307 323
- L. Salvati, and C. Zitti Substitutability and weighting of ecological and economic indicators: Exploring the importance of various components of a synthetic index Ecological Economics 68 2009 1093 1099
- S. Scalet, and T.F. Kelly CSR rating agencies: What is their global impact? Journal of Business Ethics 94 2010 69 88
- H. Schlör, W. Fischer, and J.F. Hake Methods of measuring sustainable development of the German energy sector Applied Energy 101 2012 172 181
- E.M. Scott, S. Cocchi, and J.C. Gemmell Defining a fit for purpose statistically reliable sustainability indicator Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal 5 2014 262 267
- Y. Sheng, and Z. Sheng Is coefficient alpha robust to non-normal data? Frontiers in Psychology 3 2012 34
- R. Shuddhasattwa, and R. Salim The linkage between energy consumption and income in six emerging economies of Asia: An empirical analysis International Journal of Emerging Markets 6 2011 50 73
- M. Shwartz, J.F. Burgess, and D. Berlowitz Benefit-of-the-doubt approaches for calculating a composite measure of quality Health Services & Outcomes Research Methodology 9 2009 234 251
- R.K. Singh, H.R. Murty, S.K. Gupta, and A.K. Dikshit An overview of sustainability assessment methodologies Ecological Indicators 15 2012 281 299
- L. Stamford, and A. Azapagic Sustainability indicators for the assessment of nuclear power Energy 36 2011 6037 6057
- M. Takada, and N.A. Charles Energizing poverty reduction. A review of the energy-poverty nexus in poverty reduction strategy papers 2006 United Nations Development Programme New York
- S.R. Tully The contribution of human rights to universal energy access Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights 4 2006 518 548
- S. Valentine, S.H. Nam, D. Hollingworth, and C. Hall Ethical context and ethical decision making: Examination of an alternative statistical approach for identifying variable relationships Journal of Business Ethics 124 2014 509 526
- C. Valor La contribución de la industria energética a los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio. Análisis de la industria energética. Documento de Trabajo del Observatorio de la RSC 2007
- S. Van Buuren, J.P.L. Brand, C.G.M. Groothuis-Oudshoorn, and D.B. Rubin Fully conditional specification in multivariate imputation Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 76 2006 1049 1064
- F. Van den Bossche, N. Rogge, K. Devooght, and T. Van Puyenbroeck Robust corporate social responsibility investment screening Ecological Economics 69 2010 1159 1169
- I. Vera, L. Langlois, H. Rogner, A. Jalal, and F. Toth Indicators for sustainable energy development: An initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency Natural Resources Forum 29 2005 274 283
- I.R. White, P. Royston, and A.M. Wood Multiple imputation using chained equations: Issues and guidance for practice Statistics in Medicine 30 2011 377 399
- J. Wilde-Ramsing Quality kilowatts: A normative-empirical approach to the challenge of defining and providing sustainable electricity in developing countries Doctoral dissertation 2013 University of Twente
- N. Williamson, A. Stampe-Knippel, and T. Weber CSR Compendium 2014 2014 European Commission Luxembourg
- H. Wold Estimation of principal components and related models by iterative least squares P.R. Krishnaiah, Multivariate analysis 1966 New York Academic Press 391 420
- D.J. Wood Measuring corporate social performance: A review International Journal of Management Reviews 12 2010 50 84
- World Bank World development indicators 2012 2012 World Bank Washington, DC