Call for Papers – Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy in France – Emerald

Special issue call for papers from Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal

Who are the editorial team on this special issue?

Senior Editor:
Charles H. Cho, ESSEC Business School, Cergy-Pontoise, France ()
Guest Editors:
Delphine Gibassier, Toulouse University, Toulouse Business School, Toulouse, France ()
Jonathan Maurice, Toulouse University, Toulouse 1 Capitole University, IAE Toulouse, Toulouse, France ( )

What’s the special issue about?

For this special issue of Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal (SAMPJ)—in collaboration with the 4th French Conference on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (4th CSEAR France), we are primarily interested in papers that highlight the development of tools, practices, regulations, roles and professions in relation to social and environmental accounting research in France.

First, the various French regulations on social and environmental reporting (NRE Law in 2001, Grenelle 2 Law in 2010) provide an interesting context to study disclosure and reporting practices between mandatory and voluntary corporate initiatives (Antheaume et al., 2013; Capron and Quairel, 2010; Damak-Ayadi, 2010; Quairel, 2004). These regulations fostered some works on the needs for a wider accounting (Petit et al., 2013) and others on the quality and impact of the disclosed information (Perrigot et al., 2015; André et al., 2011; Chauvey et al., 2015; Cho, 2009; Depoers, 2010; Oxybar and Déjean, 2010) that need to be pursued.

Second, an emerging theme ensues from the Grenelle 2 Law requiring an audit of environmental information. The credibility of disclosure and issues around external audit of such information need to be more extensively investigated (Gillet 2010; Gillet-Monjarret and Martinez, 2012; Lafontaine, 2010; Igalens, 2004; Rivière-Giordano, 2007). The need for credibility also encourages new internal audit practices for environmental and social data (Dohou-Renaud, 2009) and deserve a peculiar attention by academia.

Third, environmental and social management control in France has emerged with new tools and practices such as the “Bilan social” for social accounting, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for product accounting or the “Bilan carbone” for carbon accounting. Various authors have studied the implementation of such practices and tools in the French context (e.g., Dohou-Renaud, 2012; Mocquet, 2010; Dreveton, 2009a; 2009b; Meyssonnier and Rasofol-Distler, 2008; Naro and Noguera, 2008; Janicot, 2007) but some areas remain understudied such as life cycle costing, human capital accounting (Trébucq, 2006, Decocq-Good and Laurent, 2003) or integrated reporting. We encourage papers documenting the success or failure of such innovations in social and environmental accounting in both big and small companies in the French context. We also welcome genealogies of tools and analysis of the path taken by the different tools developed in France or adopted by French companies (Gibassier, 2016; Lafontaine 2003). We would like to see studies of adoption, creation, diffusion, disruption of SEA innovations in the French context. We are also interested in the competition between tools and innovations. Examples developed in France include not only LCA and “Bilan Carbone” but also methodologies behind the experimental environmental labelling program, as well as those such as CARE, the “comptabilité universelle”. On the contrary, methodologies such as the Material Flow Cost Accounting are absent in our territory. The association OREE has also participated in PhD research on biodiversity accounting that have led to companies testing and implementing such practice frameworks. Several water accounting tools have emerged in different contexts and industries (Gibassier and Alcouffe, 2016).

Fourth, we encourage in-depth single case studies of company social and environmental accounting experiences. For example, Kering has famously launched its E[nvironmental] P&L in 2011. Danone has been working on their own carbon accounting since 2007 and LVMH has been developing biodiversity accounting. Many smaller regional companies may have developed tools, methodologies that warrant the attention of academia. We welcome research from the “green economy” and the “social and solidarity” economy organizations on their path to measurement their environmental and social impact and performance.

Fifthly, France is also a rare site where the birth of new professions linked to social and environmental accounting can be observed. Renaud (2014) accounted for the role of “the environmental management accountant” in a French pioneer organization in carbon accounting. Gibassier and El Omari (2015) have discussed the troubled birth of the profession “conseil carbone”.

We also encourage case studies from smaller organizations and how they deal with social and environmental reporting and accounting. Are they using different tools than multinationals? Last but not least, we encourage exploration around the national environmental accounting of France (nation), French cities and French territories.

Finally, we are interested in academic papers on the development of social and environmental education in French universities and business schools (Lafontaine, 2009).

We are accepting papers on:

We invite both conceptual and empirical submissions drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and diverse methodologies. While not representing an exhaustive list, the following topic areas highlight exemplary questions and research themes linked with the French context:

• Disclosure and reporting (including integrated reporting)
• Genealogies (unofficial histories) of tools for sustainability accounting
• Organizational practice of sustainability accounting (social and environmental)
• Human capital and social capital accounting experiences
• New roles and professions
• External (Grenelle 2) and internal auditing of social and environmental reporting
• Teaching sustainability accounting in the French context
• Biodiversity accounting and water accounting in the French context
• Sustainability accounting for SMEs
• France (nation), French cities and French territories sustainability accounting and reporting

Important notice about format of papers and the submissions

• Papers submitted to the special issue will undergo a typical double blind review process.
• Submissions are welcome in either English or French.
• If submitted in French and accepted, translation needs to be done by the authors using one of the translators of the AFC list.
• Submissions to the journal are made using SAMPJ ScholarOne Manuscripts, the online submission and peer review system.
• Please use these Guidelines for authors
• This special issue of SAMPJ is in collaboration with the 4th French Conference on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (4th CSEAR France) to be held in Toulouse in May, 2017 (final dates to be confirmed). However, submissions to this special issue can be made directly without also submitting to the conference.

Submissions and deadlines

• Submission deadline for the special issue: September 15th, 2017

4th CSEAR France Important Dates:

• Submission deadline to the 4th CSEAR France conference: March 15th, 2017
• Dates of the 4th CSEAR France conference: May 2017

References:

André, J. M., Husser, J., Barbat, G. and Lespinet-Najib, V. (2011). Le rapport de développement durable des entreprises françaises : quelles perspectives pour les parties prenantes ? Management & Avenir 48 (8): 37-56.
Antheaume, N., Capron, M., Cuzacq, N., Lahalle, T., Queinnec, Y. and Tchotourian, I. (2013). Du nouveau dans le reporting extra-financier des sociétés. Analyse pluridisciplinaire et critique du décret relatif aux obligations de transparence des entreprises en matière sociale et environnementale. In Jalons pour une économie verte, Presses Universitaires Aix-Marseille.
Chauvey, J-N., Giordano-Spring, S., Cho, C.H., and Patten, D.M. (2015). The normativity and legitimacy of CSR disclosure: Evidence from France. Journal of Business Ethics 130 (4): 789-803.
Capron, M. and Quairel, F. (2010). Le rapportage « développement durable » entre reddition et communication, entre volontariat et obligation. Revue de l’Organisation Responsable 4 (2): 19-29.
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Lafontaine, J.-P. (2009). Introduire l’environnement dans les formations en comptabilité contrôle audit : une nécessité pour répondre à l’évolution des organisations. In L’enseignement au XXIe siècle : défis et perspectives, vol. 2, 186-198. University of Samara, Russia.
Lafontaine, J.-P. (2010). La crédibilité des informations publiées en matière de développement durable : le cas de Renault. Revue Française de Comptabilité 438: 42-43.
Meyssonnier, F. and Rasolofo-Distler, F. (2008). Le contrôle de gestion entre responsabilité globale et performance économique: le cas d’une entreprise sociale pour l’habitat. Comptabilité – Contrôle – Audit 14 (2): 107-124.
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Perrigot, R., Oxibar, B. and Déjean, F. (2015). Corporate social disclosure in the franchising sector: Insights from French franchisors’ websites. Journal of Small Business Management 53 (2): 321-339.
Petit, F., Belet, D. and de Saint-Front, J. (2013). Tentative d’une « comptabilité élargie » à la responsabilité sociétale de l’entreprise ou comment concilier business et intérêt général ? Recherches en Sciences de Gestion 94 (1): 29-51.
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