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Letters from the top: a comparative control group study of CEO letters to stakeholders

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  • Mark Fuller

    (St. Francis Xavier University)

Abstract

This paper examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting with a focus on communications from management. It examines letters from the board chair, CEO and/or senior CSR lead to gain a deeper understanding of how firms disclose their past performance and whether firms noted for the CSR reporting disclose their information in meaningfully different ways compared to other firms. Using a comparative analysis between treatment and control groups, we explore whether there is a difference in reporting approaches between a sample of highly regarded CSR reporters vis-à-vis firms recognized for their high profitability. Our findings suggest CSR-recognized firms discuss sustainability issues in greater quantity but without much meaningful difference in quality. We postulate a parabolic relationship between report quality and cost to explain this situation, discussing both the theoretical and the practical implications.

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  • Mark Fuller, 2018. "Letters from the top: a comparative control group study of CEO letters to stakeholders," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijocsr:v:3:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s40991-018-0034-3
    DOI: 10.1186/s40991-018-0034-3
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    2. Simona Fiandrino & Alberto Tonelli, 2021. "A Text-Mining Analysis on the Review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive: Bringing Value Creation for Stakeholders into Accounting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.

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