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How to make corporate social disclosures comparable?

Author

Listed:
  • Hanna Czaja-Cieszyńska

    (University of Szczecin, Poland)

  • Dominika Kordela

    (University of Szczecin, Poland)

  • Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak

    (Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland)

Abstract

The paper aims to develop instruments supporting the comparability of social disclosures and ipso facto business transparency. This research study aims to assess the possibility of achieving social disclosure comparability based on research of the Polish listed companies and to develop an authorial tools which may support stakeholders in comparing social performance and thus help them make business decisions.To attain the goals, this article introduced practical and theoretical premises of sustainability reporting development in its social dimension. Based on that, an empirical study was conducted on the comparability of social disclosures in sustainability reporting of Polish listed (WIG20) companies. For this purpose, a social disclosure index was developed by the authors. The findings of our study indicate that corporate social disclosures can be the subject of comparisons supporting stakeholders in the decision-making process. The conducted comparability analysis refers to the comparison of the scope of disclosures between the WIG20 companies, as well as the scope of disclosures over three years, and helps us to construct the index as a tool for social disclosure benchmarking. This paper contributes to filling the gap relating the social disclosure comparability. The results of this study may help compare any social disclosures, and the proposed index may be a practical instrument of benchmarking. The research originality refers to the research niche relating to the difficult comparison of non-financial data and the scope of social disclosures in sustainability reporting. It extends the knowledge on this area by giving a new perspective on the comparison of social disclosures.

Suggested Citation

  • Hanna Czaja-Cieszyńska & Dominika Kordela & Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak, 2021. "How to make corporate social disclosures comparable?," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 9(2), pages 268-288, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssi:jouesi:v:9:y:2021:i:2:p:268-288
    DOI: 10.9770/jesi.2021.9.2(18)
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Hanna E. Czaja-Cieszyńska & Dominika Kordela, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting in Energy Companies—Is There a Link between Social Disclosures, the Experience and Market Value?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak & Kristina Rudžionienė, 2022. "Corporate COVID-19-Related Risk Disclosure in the Electricity Sector: Evidence of Public Companies from Central and Eastern Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Bedjo Santoso & Widodo Widodo & Muhammad Taufiq Akbar & Khaliq Ahmad & Rahmat Heru Setianto, 2022. "The Determinant of Sukuk Rating: Agency Theory and Asymmetry Theory Perspectives," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-23, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    comparability; non-financial reporting; responsibility; social disclosures; sustainability; sustainability reporting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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