Abstract
Japan is regarded for a high degree of accuracy in corporate social disclosure (CSD) practices among its corporations. However, concerns have been raised about the practices of Japanese companies in the electronics industry, particularly among suppliers of Apple Inc. This chapter aims at analyzing CSD practices in Japan by looking at a Japanese corporation that has operations in China — Meiko Electronics Company Limited. This company was selected since some environmental problems at Meiko have been investigated. This chapter uses content analysis to compare the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental practices of the company (disclosed in Meiko’s CSR reports and website) with the perceptions of stakeholders on these practices. Public data in three languages, Chinese, English and Japanese, are analyzed and interpreted. The chapter aims to analyze the factors that influence a Japanese corporation’s CSR policies and decisions on disclosure, specifically on environmental issues. The chapter also addresses the following questions: How and in what ways do stakeholders influence the company’s CSR practices and disclosure? Are there any gaps between Meiko’s CSR disclosures and the perceptions of its stakeholders on social and environmental matters? Does Meiko’s CSD comply with CSR reporting standards?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abbot, W.F. & Monsen, R.J. (1979). On the measurement of corporate social responsibility: Self-reported disclosures as a method of measuring corporate social involvement, Academy of Management Journal, 22, (3), 501–515.
Apple (2013). Supplier List 2013. Available at https://www.apple.com/br/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_List_2013.pdf
Branco, M. & Rodrigues, L. (2008). Factors influencing social responsibility disclosure by Portuguese companies, Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 685–701.
Carroll, A. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business & Society, 38, (3), 268–295.
Cho, C., Michelon, G. & Tanaka, Y. (2013). Does environmental disclosure influence cost of capital? An empirical investigation of Japanese companies. In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Dhaliwal, D., Li, O., Tsang, A. & Yang, Y.G. (2011). Voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the costs of equity capital: The initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting. The Accounting Review, 86, (1), 59–100.
European Commission (2011). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions.
Fukukawa, K. (2010). Corporate social responsibility in Japan: A local-global perspective (Working Paper No 10/03).
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (2006). Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Version 3.0
Gray, G.L. & Gray, M.J. (2000). Assurance Services: Implications for the Internal Audit Profession. Altamonte Springs, FL: Institute for Internal Auditors Research Foundation.
Green Choice Alliance (GCA) (2012). Supplier Audit Explanations and Conclusions: Meiko Electronics (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. Available at http://www.ipe.org.cn/Upload/Audit-Meiko-Electronics-Wuhan-Co-Ltd-EN.pdf.
Guler, I., Guillén, M. & Macpherson, J. (2002). Global competition, institutions, and the diffusion of organizational practices: The international spread of ISO 9000 quality certificates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, (2), 207–232.
Haider, M., Kokubu, K. & Nishitani, K. (2013). Stakeholder influence on the adoption of assurance in sustainability reporting: Evidence from Japan. In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Huang, C. & Kung, F. (2010). Drivers of environmental disclosure and stakeholder expectation: Evidence from Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics, 96, 435–451.
IPE, Friends of Nature and Green Beagle (2011). The Other Side of Apple. Available at http://www.ipe.org.cn/Upload/Report-IT-V-Apple-I-EN.pdf
IPE, Friends of Nature, Green Beagle Envirofriends & Green Stone Environmental Action Network (2011). The Other Side of Apple II, Pollution Spreads Through Apple’s Supply Chain. Available at http://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/63637255-Apple-II-Final-20–14.pdf.
IPE, Friends of Nature, Envirofriends, Nature University and Nanjing Greenstone (2013). Apple Opens Up: IT Industry Supply Chain Investigative Draft Report — Phase VI. Available at http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgreer/Report-IT-Phase-VI-Draft-EN.pdf.
Jamali, D. (2010). The CSR of MNC subsidiaries in developing countries: Global, local, substantive or diluted? Journal of Business Ethics, 93, 181–200.
Kamal, Y. & Deegan, C. (2013). Motivation of corporate managers for social responsibility related governance disclosure: Evidence from Bangladesh. In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) (2010). Charter of Corporate Behavior. Available at http://www.keidanren.or.jp/english/policy/csr/charter2010.html
Kitora, Y. (2010). Corporate disclosure on corporate websites and its effect on corporate reputation: By controlling the respondents’ attributes (in Japanese). The Japan Society for Socio-Information Studies, 14, (1), 33–45.
KPMG (2011). KPMG International Responsibility Reporting 2011: The Definitive Snapshot of Corporate Responsibility Reporting. KPMG International.
Manitoba City (2013). Information Bulletin — Environmental Assessment and Licensing under the Environment Act.
Marquis, C. & Toffel, M.W. (2013). Scrutiny, norms, and selective disclosure: A global study of greenwashing. Harvard Business School Organizational Behavior Working Paper No. 11–115.
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) (2012). Japan’s Policy for CSR. METI.
Ministry of the Environment (MOE) (2007). Environmental Reporting Guidelines. MOE.
Nakao, Y., Nishitani, K. & Kokubu, K. (2013). Determinants of narrative content of sustainability reporting by Japanese companies. In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Nuzula, N. & Kato, M. (2011). Do Japanese capital markets respond to the publication of corporate social responsibility reports? Journal of Accounting, Finance and Economics, 1, (1), 48–60.
Patten, D. (1991). Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 10, 297–308.
Qian, W. & Schaltegger, S. (2013). Perform to disclose or disclose to perform: Which drives which? In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Saka, C. & Noda, A. (2013). The effects of stakeholders on CSR disclosure: Evidence from Japan. In Kokubu, K., Sawabe, N. & Sakaue, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference. Kobe: The APIRA Conference Committee.
Sun, M., Nagata, K. & Onoda, H. (2011). The current status and promotion of Chinese corporate social responsibility. International Proceedings on Biology, Environment and Chemistry IPCBEE, 1, 401–405.
Tanimoto, K. (2013). Corporate social responsibility and management process in Japanese corporations. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainability. Development, 9, (1), 10–25.
Teramoto, Y. (2006). Thought of honest fortune — The way of using personal fortune: Japanese practitioners, Edo period canto (in Japanese), Nikkei Venture, November, 128–131.
Will, M., Kumarasinghe, S. & Hoshino, Y. (2013). Corporate social responsibility disclosures and performance in Japanese companies. Available at http://www.bsec.canterbury.ac.nz/sars/documents/CSRD%20in%20Japanese%20 companies(%20PaperforNZSARS).pdf.
Williams, C. & Aguilera, R. (2008). Corporate social responsibility in a comparative perspective. In McWilliams, A., Matten, D., Moon, J. & Siegel, D. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yamagami, T. & Kokubu, K. (1991). A note on corporate social disclosure in Japan. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, 4, (4), 32–39.
Yamaguchi, A. (2010). CSR reporting in Japan, 2010 Global Compact CJK Researchers Meeting Discussion on CJK CSR Report Research.
Yang, X. & Rivers, C. (2009). Antecedents of CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries: A stakeholder and institutional perspective, Journal of Business Ethics, 86, 155–169.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Gustavo Tanaka
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tanaka, G. (2015). Corporate Social Disclosure Practices in Japanese Corporations: The Case of Meiko Electronics. In: Noronha, C. (eds) Corporate Social Disclosure. Palgrave Macmillan Asian Business Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137414694_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137414694_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49034-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-41469-4
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)