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Daily Archives: February 3, 2015

BRIC Companies Seeking Legitimacy Through Corporate Social Responsibility

Fiaschi, Davide and Giuliani, Elisa and Nieri, Federica, BRIC Companies Seeking Legitimacy Through Corporate Social Responsibility (February 2, 2015). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2559110

BRIC countries have generally gone through a process of liberalization and rapid economic growth that has allowed their major companies to acquire increasing weight in the global marketplace. However, they are still striving to achieve full legitimacy in the international arena. In a bid to close this legitimacy gap, BRIC firms are making efforts to align with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) global norms of doing business, and recently have adopted a portfolio of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. In this paper we provide a deeper exploration into the factors that relate to BRIC firms’ adoption of different types of CSR initiatives – i.e. social policies (philanthropic projects favoring different stakeholders), publication of CSR reports, adoption of GRI standards; adherence to and financial support for the UN Global Compact. We carry out an empirical analysis on 60 BRIC large public companies, and find support for the idea that different kinds of CSR initiatives may be subject to different pressures and may serve different legitimization strategies.

DOJ and State Partners Secure $1.375 Billion Settlement with S&P for Defrauding Investors in Lead Up to the Financial Crisis

News release: “Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Department of Justice and 19 states and the District of Columbia have entered into a $1.375 billion settlement agreement with the rating agency Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, along with its parent corporation McGraw Hill Financial Inc., to resolve allegations that S&P had engaged… Continue Reading

Google – Fighting Bad Advertising Practices on the Web – 2014 Year in Review

Google Inside Ad Words posting – “Online advertising helps fund content and businesses on the web, from small family-owned shops to large publishers. While online advertising helps the web to work for all of us, this ecosystem can also attract bad actors that aim to misuse ads for harmful or deceptive purposes. We work hard… Continue Reading

Audit of Security Controls for DHS Information Systems at JFK International Airport

DHS OIG Report, January 15, 2015:  “Attached for your information is our revised final report, Audit of Security Controls for DHS Information Technology Systems at John F. Kennedy International Airport (Revised) (Redacted). This report contains findings and recommendations for improving security controls over the servers, routers, switches, and telecommunications circuits comprising the DHS information technology… Continue Reading

State Government Revenues Exceed Expenditures in 2013

“Total state government revenue rose by 16.3 percent, from $1.9 trillion in 2012 to $2.2 trillion in 2013, according to the latest findings on state government finances from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly three-quarters of that increase (73.9 percent) is attributable to the growth in insurance trust revenue, which grew by 89.7 percent, from $255.8… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Egypt and Tunisia Funds

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Management Improvements Are Needed to Better Achieve Its Mission, GAO-15-92: Published: Feb 3, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 3, 2015: “Congress may wish to consider clarifying the roles and responsibilities of commissioners and the staff director. GAO also recommends that the commission make improvements for SACs and engage in comprehensive workforce… Continue Reading