The series is co-hosted by Faculty of Business and Economics (FBEc), Universiti Malaya (UM) and Taipei School of Economics and Political Science (TSE), National Tsing Hua University (NTHU).
The series will be organized on a monthly basis - FBEc and TSE will do it in succession in hosting the event. The focused area of this series is on Economic Development and each session will take about one (1) hour. All faculty members and graduate students are invited to join this series. Let’s grab the chance to share thoughts, ideas and insights with each other on specific topics every month.
TOPIC FOR JUNE 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING PRACTICES AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN MALAYSIA
By Prof. Dr. Baskaran Angathevar
Abstract:
This study aims to explore the state of environmental reporting practices by SMEs in Malaysia. It examines the following research questions: 1. What is the current level of adoption of environmental reporting practices among SMEs in Malaysia? 2. What are the environmental drivers and barriers of SMEs and how do they influence the adoption of environmental reporting practices? 3. How can SMEs be incentivized to adopt environmental reporting practices? It employs a qualitative methodology and multiple case study design, and uses primary data gathered from five manufacturing SMEs through semi-structured interviews. Results showed that case SMEs are engaged in several environmental initiatives and some are already involved in reporting practices, albeit at varying levels. In terms of environmental drivers, the findings confirmed that an SME’s environmental motivation was steered by not a single but by multiple drivers including owner-manager’s intrinsic motivation, regulatory and external stakeholder pressures. The findings confirm resource limitations such as the lack of financial resources, knowledge and manpower, are critical impediments faced by SMEs in adopting environmental reporting practices. In relation to incentives, SMEs in the study perceived reputation-enhancing and knowledge-disseminating incentives to be most useful in motivating them to adopt formal reporting practices. Overall, this study concludes that it is viable for local SMEs to adopt environmental reporting. Carefully designing a policy that balances both regulatory pressure and incentives will facilitate SMEs to pursue comprehensive environmental reporting practices in the future.
Date:
7 June 2023 (Wednesday)
Time:
12:00 pm - 13:00 pm
Meeting link (MS Team):
https://bit.ly/43fko4mMSTeam
Registration Form:
https://bit.ly/3MKY0ue
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