IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/medarp/medar-03-2021-1250.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Textual characteristics of corporate sustainability disclosure and corporate sustainability performance: evidence from Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Zhongtian Li
  • Jing Jia
  • Larelle J. Chapple

Abstract

Purpose - This study aims to analyze whether various textual characteristics in corporate sustainability disclosure associate with corporate sustainability performance in Australia, pertaining to tones of language and readability. The voluntary disclosure theory and legitimacy theory are used to formulate the study hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach - Using data from Australian listed firms (2002–2016), four textual characteristics are examined: tone of optimism, tone of certainty, tone of clarity and readability. Corporate sustainability performance is measured by Thomson Reuters Asset4 ratings. Different strategies are adopted to mitigate endogeneity concerns. Findings - The authors found that there is a positive relationship between the textual characteristics of sustainability disclosure and sustainability performance. Specifically, firms with better performance communicate in an optimistic, certain, clear and more readable manner. Practical implications - The results suggest that Australia’s voluntary reporting status does not induce a combination of poor performance and positive disclosure. This paper should be of interest to investors and other stakeholders and also informs regulatory policy on sustainability disclosure in Australia. Originality/value - The authors contribute to the sustainability disclosure literature using computer-based textual analysis to explore whether firms reveal their sustainability performance by “how things are said” (i.e. textual characteristics) in sustainability disclosure. As far as the authors could ascertain, they are the first to investigate textual characteristics of sustainability disclosure in Australia.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhongtian Li & Jing Jia & Larelle J. Chapple, 2022. "Textual characteristics of corporate sustainability disclosure and corporate sustainability performance: evidence from Australia," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(3), pages 786-816, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:medarp:medar-03-2021-1250
    DOI: 10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1250
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1250/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1250/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/MEDAR-03-2021-1250?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2017. "On the foundations of corporate social responsibility," Other publications TiSEM c6821f0a-e7f0-41da-adba-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Robert G. Eccles & Mirtha D. Kastrapeli & Stephanie J. Potter, 2017. "How to Integrate ESG into Investment Decision†Making: Results of a Global Survey of Institutional Investors," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 29(4), pages 125-133, December.
    3. Dominik Dienes & Remmer Sassen & Jasmin Fischer, 2016. "What are the drivers of sustainability reporting? A systematic review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 154-189, May.
    4. Emma L. Schultz & David T. Tan & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2010. "Endogeneity and the corporate governance - performance relation," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 35(2), pages 145-163, August.
    5. Patten, Dennis M., 2002. "The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 763-773, November.
    6. Blanca Pérez-Gladish & Karen Benson & Robert Faff, 2012. "Profiling socially responsible investors: Australian evidence," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 37(2), pages 189-209, August.
    7. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    9. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    10. Pallab Kumar Biswas & Mansi Mansi & Rakesh Pandey, 2018. "Board composition, sustainability committee and corporate social and environmental performance in Australia," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(4), pages 517-540, November.
    11. Mahoney, Lois S. & Thorne, Linda & Cecil, Lianna & LaGore, William, 2013. "A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 350-359.
    12. Marna de Klerk & Charl de Villiers, 2012. "The value relevance of corporate responsibility reporting: South African evidence," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(1), pages 21-38, June.
    13. Kearney, Colm & Liu, Sha, 2014. "Textual sentiment in finance: A survey of methods and models," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 171-185.
    14. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2020. "Does external uncertainty matter in corporate sustainability performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Gerard Stone & Lee D. Parker, 2013. "Developing the Flesch reading ease formula for the contemporary accounting communications landscape," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 31-59, April.
    16. Brian J. Bushee & Ian D. Gow & Daniel J. Taylor, 2018. "Linguistic Complexity in Firm Disclosures: Obfuscation or Information?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 85-121, March.
    17. Granger, C. W. J. & Newbold, P., 1974. "Spurious regressions in econometrics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 111-120, July.
    18. Dufour, Jean-Marie & Taamouti, Abderrahim, 2010. "Short and long run causality measures: Theory and inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 154(1), pages 42-58, January.
    19. Li, Feng, 2008. "Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 221-247, August.
    20. Guay, Wayne & Samuels, Delphine & Taylor, Daniel, 2016. "Guiding through the Fog: Financial statement complexity and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 234-269.
    21. Doris M. Merkl-Davies & Niamh Brennan, 2007. "Discretionary disclosure strategies in corporate narratives : incremental information or impression management?," Open Access publications 10197/2907, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    22. Jennifer Gippel & Tom Smith & Yushu Zhu, 2015. "Endogeneity in Accounting and Finance Research: Natural Experiments as a State-of-the-Art Solution," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 51(2), pages 143-168, June.
    23. Le Luo, 2019. "The influence of institutional contexts on the relationship between voluntary carbon disclosure and carbon emission performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(2), pages 1235-1264, June.
    24. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    25. Cho, Charles H. & Roberts, Robin W. & Patten, Dennis M., 2010. "The language of US corporate environmental disclosure," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 431-443, May.
    26. Claudia Arena & Saverio Bozzolan & Giovanna Michelon, 2015. "Environmental Reporting: Transparency to Stakeholders or Stakeholder Manipulation? An Analysis of Disclosure Tone and the Role of the Board of Directors," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(6), pages 346-361, November.
    27. Tim Loughran & Bill McDonald, 2014. "Regulation and financial disclosure: The impact of plain English," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 94-113, February.
    28. Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2014. "Does voluntary carbon disclosure reflect underlying carbon performance?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 191-205.
    29. Judith L. Walls & Pascual Berrone & Phillip H. Phan, 2012. "Corporate governance and environmental performance: is there really a link?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 885-913, August.
    30. Zhihong Wang & Tien‐Shih Hsieh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "CSR Performance and the Readability of CSR Reports: Too Good to be True?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 66-79, January.
    31. Craig Deegan & Michaela Rankin & John Tobin, 2002. "An examination of the corporate social and environmental disclosures of BHP from 1983‐1997," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 312-343, August.
    32. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    33. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 853-910, April.
    34. Peter M. Clarkson & Jordan Ponn & Gordon D. Richardson & Frank Rudzicz & Albert Tsang & Jingjing Wang, 2020. "A Textual Analysis of US Corporate Social Responsibility Reports," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 3-34, March.
    35. Kathleen Herbohn & Julie Walker & Huay Yien Monica Loo, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility: The Link Between Sustainability Disclosure and Sustainability Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 50(4), pages 422-459, December.
    36. Peter M. Clarkson & Michael B. Overell & Larelle Chapple, 2011. "Environmental Reporting and its Relation to Corporate Environmental Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 27-60, March.
    37. Ertugrul, Mine & Lei, Jin & Qiu, Jiaping & Wan, Chi, 2017. "Annual Report Readability, Tone Ambiguity, and the Cost of Borrowing," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 811-836, April.
    38. Lorenzo Simoni & Laura Bini & Marco Bellucci, 2020. "Effects of social, environmental, and institutional factors on sustainability report assurance: evidence from European countries," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(6), pages 1059-1087, April.
    39. Brian Rutherford, 2003. "Obfuscation, Textual Complexity and the Role of Regulated Narrative Accounting Disclosure in Corporate Governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 7(2), pages 187-210, June.
    40. Al-Tuwaijri, Sulaiman A. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Hughes, K. II, 2004. "The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: a simultaneous equations approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(5-6), pages 447-471.
    41. Colin Higgins & Markus Milne & Bernadine Gramberg, 2015. "The Uptake of Sustainability Reporting in Australia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 445-468, June.
    42. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    43. Verrecchia, Robert E., 1983. "Discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 179-194, April.
    44. Mahfuja Malik, 2015. "Value-Enhancing Capabilities of CSR: A Brief Review of Contemporary Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 419-438, March.
    45. Nazari, Jamal A. & Hrazdil, Karel & Mahmoudian, Fereshteh, 2017. "Assessing social and environmental performance through narrative complexity in CSR reports," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 166-178.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhongtian Li & Jing Jia & Larelle (Ellie) Chapple, 2022. "The corporate sustainability committee and its relation to corporate environmental performance," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(5), pages 1292-1324, July.
    2. My Hanh Doan & Remmer Sassen, 2020. "The relationship between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: A meta‐analysis," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 1140-1157, October.
    3. Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate sustainability, earnings persistence and the association between earnings and future cash flows," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 299-336, March.
    4. Soliman, Marwa & Ben-Amar, Walid, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility orientation and textual features of financial disclosures," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Risk management committees and readability of risk management disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).
    6. Lu Zhang & Yuan George Shan & Millicent Chang, 2021. "Can CSR Disclosure Protect Firm Reputation During Financial Restatements?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 157-184, September.
    7. Dong Ding & Bin Liu & Millicent Chang, 2023. "Carbon Emissions and TCFD Aligned Climate-Related Information Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 967-1001, February.
    8. Perera, Luckmika & Jubb, Christine & Gopalan, Sandeep, 2019. "A comparison of voluntary and mandated climate change-related disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 243-266.
    9. Jiang, Yan & Luo, Le & Xu, JianFeng & Shao, XiaoRui, 2021. "The value relevance of corporate voluntary carbon disclosure: Evidence from the United States and BRIC countries," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3).
    10. Nazari, Jamal A. & Hrazdil, Karel & Mahmoudian, Fereshteh, 2017. "Assessing social and environmental performance through narrative complexity in CSR reports," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 166-178.
    11. Omaima A.G. Hassan & Peter Romilly, 2018. "Relations between corporate economic performance, environmental disclosure and greenhouse gas emissions: New insights," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 893-909, November.
    12. Helfaya, Akrum & Aboud, Ahmed & Amin, Essam, 2023. "An examination of corporate environmental goals disclosure, sustainability performance and firm value – An Egyptian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    13. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    14. Renato Camodeca & Alex Almici & Umberto Sagliaschi, 2018. "Sustainability Disclosure in Integrated Reporting: Does It Matter to Investors? A Cheap Talk Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-34, November.
    15. Jieun Chung & Charles H. Cho, 2018. "Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 207-239, June.
    16. Shuili Du & Kun Yu, 2021. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Convey Value Relevant Information? Evidence from Report Readability and Tone," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 253-274, August.
    17. Jannik Gerwanski & Othar Kordsachia & Patrick Velte, 2019. "Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 750-770, July.
    18. Kuo Zhou & Xianghui Jin & Xinru Li & Yunqing Tao, 2024. "Enhancing sustainable development through effective disclosure: Corporate environmental performance and readability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 274-291, January.
    19. Michele Gendelsky de Oliveira & Graça Azevedo & Jonas Oliveira, 2021. "The Relationship between the Company’s Value and the Tone of the Risk-Related Narratives: The Case of Portugal," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-28, May.
    20. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:medarp:medar-03-2021-1250. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.