Europe, between Mandatory and Voluntary Approach to CSR: Some New Evidence from the Polish Listed Companies

Öz

This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate governance rules and application of CSR practices into operations of the top 30 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Since in Poland, so far, there is no obligation to follow any specific CSR standards or to make disclosures of non-financial, social and environmental information, this is still a fully voluntary approach. At the moment, only some of the companies listed on the WSE are regularly applying and reporting on CSR practices. The limited attention paid to CSR norms as well as CSR reporting under Polish law means also that foreign companies seeking access to Polish capital market generally will not face serious constraints in terms of regulations regarding CSR. Moreover, the situation in Europe is very diverse. Although European companies have no general legal obligation under EU law to adopt CSR policies or to report on them, the 2003 Accounts Modernization Directive deals with a range of issues on corporate accounting and reporting, and it has been at origin of more detailed legislation interventions at the national level. Countries such as Sweden, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK have mandated the disclosure of corporate social responsibility data. While in adopting and implementing corporate governance rules for the listed companies Poland has been not too distant from the other European countries, it appears only on the verge of a decision on the mandatory application of the CSR policy. Also the evidence on this topic from Polish listed companies is still quite poor in Poland. This paper would be an attempt to give a first conclusion from the preliminary research and will provide a basis for the further deeper analysis

Anahtar Kelimeler

• CSR
• corporate governance
• listed companies
• Poland

Kurumsal Sosyal Sorumluluğa (KSS) Zorunlu ve Gönüllü Yaklaşım Arasındaki Avrupa: Polonya’daki Borsaya Kayıtlı Şirketlerden Bazı Bulgular

Öz

Bu makale kurumsal yönetişim kuralları ile Varşova Borsası’nda kayıtlı 30 şirketin CSR uygulamaları arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Polonya’da bugüne kadar herhangi bir KSS standardını takip zorunluluğu ya da finans-dışı, sosyal ve çevre ile ilgili performansın raporlanması zorunluluğu olmadığından, bu konu tamamen gönüllülük yaklaşımı ile ele alınmaktadır. An itibariyle sadece Varşova Borsası’na kayıtlı bazı şirketler düzenli olarak KSS uygulamalarını gerçekleştirmekte ve raporlamaktadır. KSS norm ve raporlamasına kısıtlı ilgi gösteren Polonya kanunları nedeniyle de Polonya’da sermaye piyasalarına ulaşmaya çalışan yabancı şirketler de KSS düzenlemeleri konusunda herhangi ciddi bir sınırlama ile karşılaşmamaktadırlar. Bunun yanı sıra, Avrupa’daki durum da çeşitlilik arz etmektedir. Avrupalı şirketlerin KSS politikaları ve raporlaması konusunda AB tarafından konulan herhangi bir genel yasal zorunluluk yoksa da 2003 yılı Muhasebenin Modernleştirilmesi Direktifi, kurumsal muhasebe ve raporlama ile ilgili konuları içermekte, ulusal seviyede daha detaylı yasal müdahalelere kaynaklık etmektedir. İsveç, Danimarka, Hollanda ve İngiltere gibi ülkeler KSS bilgilerinin raporlanmasını ve kamuoyuna açıklanmasını zorunlu kılmaktadırlar. Polonya
borsalarında kayıtlı şirketler kurumsal yönetişim kurallarının uygulanmasında Avrupa ülkelerinin uygulamalarından çok uzak görünmeseler de, KSS politikalarının zorunlu hale gelmesi henüz karar aşamasındadır. Bu konuda Polonya’da kayıtlı şirketlere ilişkin belgeler de oldukça azdır. Bu makale konuya ilişkin ön hazırlık çalışması olarak ön sonuçları verme girişimidir ve daha derinlikli analizler için temel oluşturacaktır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• KSS
• kurumsal yönetişim
• borsada kayıtlı şirketler
• Polonya

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