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AbstractThis study explores the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management quality in the relationship between board diversity and CSR performance. It states that generational diversity is a consistent construct of age diversity as variety, and uses three different proxies to measure CSR management quality and performance. The sample consists of 146 companies listed in FTSE 100, DAX 30, and CAC 40 for the year 2009. The results reveal that generational diversity enables a more effective design of vision and strategies to address financial and extra‐financial aspects, and consequently, it encourages companies to adopt a sustainable approach to their businesses. This study concludes that generational diversity is a key component for improving good corporate governance codes. The findings of this research recommend enhancing generational diversity in board structures to encourage sustainability in firms that aspire to be in tune with the needs of the times. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability reporting (SR) for higher education institutions (HEIs), together with the materiality principle and stakeholder expectations.


Design/methodology/approach
This research uses an exploratory approach based on content analysis, a case study and descriptive and inferential statistics.


Findings
Three key findings come out of this research. First, the results indicate that HEIs use diverse criteria for grouping stakeholders and that stakeholder engagement is a heterogeneous process. Second, the expectations of internal stakeholders align with the material aspects of SR. Finally, among internal stakeholders, students and academics disagree on the prioritisation of some sustainability aspects, with non-academic staff adopting an intermediate position.


Practical implications
This analysis improves our knowledge of stakeholder engagement in HEIs. It helps to identify the relevant impacts of stakeholder engagement, enhances the quality of reporting and encourages a real dialogue with stakeholders.


Originality/value
The study examines stakeholder engagement and how the materiality principle is adopted by HEIs through SR. Furthermore, it compares these results with stakeholder expectations, considering the discrepancies between stakeholders. The results open the way to future research to explore the potential conflicts and collaborations between and within stakeholders to advance towards more sustainable institutions in the higher education sector.

AbstractThe development of sustainable finance favors the appearance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies as providers of ESG information and tools for measuring the contribution of companies to sustainable development. This paper attempts to show whether assessment methods adopted by eight ESG agencies are consistent with the Integrative ESG Sustainable Value Framework proposed according to the literature and sustainable business models (SBMs) conceptualization. An exploratory research analyzes whether these methods are identifying and/or driving more SBMs that contribute to promote the creation of sustainable value, seeking to generate economic, social, and environmental value. Results indicate that ESG rating agencies identify the short‐term results in the internal organizational perspective mainly in the environmental dimension, whereas social aspects are emphasized from the external organizational perspective. However, ESG rating agencies are not driving a more SBMs that must integrate ESG criteria in a holistic way with a short‐term and long‐term perspective.