IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v12y2005i3p129-143.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors influencing the publication of social performance information: an Australian case study

Author

Listed:
  • Tony McMurtrie

Abstract

Traditional research into the social responsibility information published by firms has concentrated on the information published in the annual report and has not considered closely the driving forces that have guided the identification and preparation of information that is to be included in that publication. This paper reports on a case study that has examined some of the internal factors that have driven the publication of social responsibility information, and shows that while the annual report is still a major publication medium the internet plays a very significant role in the dissemination of information. Factors that impact on the publication media and the content of the published information in these cases were seen to be the nature of the information system used, the intended audience and their perceived power, and the level of corporate conservatism that guided the companies' management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Tony McMurtrie, 2005. "Factors influencing the publication of social performance information: an Australian case study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 129-143, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:12:y:2005:i:3:p:129-143
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.79
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.79
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.79?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dierkes, Meinolf & Preston, Lee E., 1977. "Corporate social accounting reporting for the physical environment: A critical review and implementation proposal," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 3-22, January.
    2. Cowen, Scott S. & Ferreri, Linda B. & Parker, Lee D., 1987. "The impact of corporate characteristics on social responsibility disclosure: A typology and frequency-based analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 111-122, March.
    3. Craig Deegan & Michaela Rankin & Peter Voght, 2000. "Firms' Disclosure Reactions to Major Social Incidents: Australian Evidence," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 101-130, March.
    4. Trotman, Ken T. & Bradley, Graham W., 1981. "Associations between social responsibility disclosure and characteristics of companies," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 355-362, October.
    5. Carol Adams & Nongnooch Kuasirikun, 2000. "A comparative analysis of corporate reporting on ethical issues by UK and German chemical and pharmaceutical companies," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 53-79.
    6. Patten, Dennis M., 1992. "Intra-industry environmental disclosures in response to the Alaskan oil spill: A note on legitimacy theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 471-475, July.
    7. Niskala, Mikael & Pretes, Michael, 1995. "Environmental reporting in Finland: A note on the use of annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 457-466, August.
    8. Wiseman, Joanne, 1982. "An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 53-63, January.
    9. Tinker, Tony & Neimark, Marilyn, 1987. "The role of annual reports in gender and class contradictions at general motors: 1917-1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 71-88, January.
    10. Patten, Dennis M., 1991. "Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 297-308.
    11. B. M. Craven & C. L. Marston, 1999. "Financial reporting on the Internet by leading UK companies," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 321-333.
    12. Williams, S. Mitchell & Ho Wern Pei, Carol-Anne, 1999. "Corporate social disclosures by listed companies on their web sites: an international comparison," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 389-419, August.
    13. Preston, Lee E., 1981. "Research on corporate social reporting: Directions for development," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 255-262, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sónia Maria da Silva Monteiro & Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán, 2010. "Determinants of environmental disclosure in the annual reports of large companies operating in Portugal," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 185-204, July.
    2. Ilaria Baghi & Enrico Rubaltelli & Marcello Tedeschi, 2009. "A strategy to communicate corporate social responsibility: cause related marketing and its dark side," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 15-26, January.
    3. Matthias S. Fifka & Maria Drabble, 2012. "Focus and Standardization of Sustainability Reporting – A Comparative Study of the United Kingdom and Finland," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(7), pages 455-474, November.
    4. Mark Fuller, 2022. "Wheat and chaff: the degree to which strategic management principles are integrated within corporate social responsibility reporting among large Canadian firms," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Torbjörn Tagesson & Veronica Blank & Pernilla Broberg & Sven‐Olof Collin, 2009. "What explains the extent and content of social and environmental disclosures on corporate websites: a study of social and environmental reporting in Swedish listed corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(6), pages 352-364, November.
    6. Waris Ali & Maha Faisal Alsayegh & Zubair Ahmad & Zeeshan Mahmood & Javed Iqbal, 2018. "The Relationship between Social Visibility and CSR Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-32, March.
    7. Maria del Mar Miralles‐Quiros & Jose Luis Miralles‐Quiros & Irene Guia Arraiano, 2017. "Are Firms that Contribute to Sustainable Development Valued by Investors?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 71-84, January.
    8. Matthias S. Fifka, 2013. "Corporate Responsibility Reporting and its Determinants in Comparative Perspective – a Review of the Empirical Literature and a Meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-35, January.
    9. Soumya Sarkar & Titas Bhattacharjee, 2017. "Impact of Voluntary Disclosures on Corporate Brand Equity," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 125-136, May.
    10. Ladislao Luna Sotorrío & José Luis Fernández Sánchez, 2010. "Corporate social reporting for different audiences: the case of multinational corporations in Spain," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(5), pages 272-283, September.
    11. Torbjörn Tagesson & Michelle Klugman & Maria Ekström, 2013. "What explains the extent and content of social disclosures in Swedish municipalities’ annual reports," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 217-235, May.
    12. Concetta Carnevale & Maria Mazzuca & Sergio Venturini, 2012. "Corporate Social Reporting in European Banks: The Effects on a Firm's Market Value," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 159-177, May.

    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. Matthias S. Fifka, 2013. "Corporate Responsibility Reporting and its Determinants in Comparative Perspective – a Review of the Empirical Literature and a Meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-35, January.
    2. Aerts, Walter & Cormier, Denis, 2009. "Media legitimacy and corporate environmental communication," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-27, January.
    3. Denis Cormier & Michel Magnan, 2015. "The Economic Relevance of Environmental Disclosure and its Impact on Corporate Legitimacy: An Empirical Investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 431-450, September.
    4. Jane Andrew & Max Baker, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: The Last 40 Years and a Path to Sharing Future Insights," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 35-65, March.
    5. Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & Frías Aceituno, José V. & García Rubio, Raquel, 2014. "El consejo de administración y las memorias de sostenibilidad," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-16.
    6. Guthrie, James & Cuganesan, Suresh & Ward, Leanne, 2008. "Industry specific social and environmental reporting: The Australian Food and Beverage Industry," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-15.
    7. Giovanna Michelon, 2007. "Sustainability disclosure and reputation: a comparative study," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0044, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    8. Patten, Dennis M., 2005. "The accuracy of financial report projections of future environmental capital expenditures: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 457-468, July.
    9. Neu, D. & Warsame, H. & Pedwell, K., 1998. "Managing public impressions: environmental disclosures in annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 265-282, April.
    10. Moazzem Hossain & Angela Hecimovic & Aklema Choudhury Lema, 2015. "Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility Reporting Practices from an Emerging Mobile Telecommunications Market," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 25(4), pages 389-404, December.
    11. Aerts, Walter & Cormier, Denis & Magnan, Michel, 2008. "Corporate environmental disclosure, financial markets and the media: An international perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 643-659, January.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/577 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Branco, Manuel Castelo & Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima, 2008. "Social responsibility disclosure: A study of proxies for the public visibility of Portuguese banks," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 161-181.
    14. Gray, Rob, 2002. "The social accounting project and Accounting Organizations and Society Privileging engagement, imaginings, new accountings and pragmatism over critique?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 687-708, October.
    15. Salma Damak-Ayadi, 2006. "Analyse des facteurs explicatifs de la publication des rapports sociétaux en France," Post-Print halshs-00154184, HAL.
    16. Vanessa Magness, 2006. "Strategic posture, financial performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical test of legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 540-563, July.
    17. Salma Damak Ayadi, 2004. "Determinants of the corporate decision to disclose stakeholders' reports in France," Post-Print halshs-00154181, HAL.
    18. Jean-Noël Chauvey & Sophie Giordano-Spring & Charles Cho & Dennis Patten, 2015. "The Normativity and Legitimacy of CSR Disclosure: Evidence from France," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 789-803, September.
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2238 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Isabel Ma García‐Sánchez, 2008. "Corporate social reporting: segmentation and characterization of Spanish companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 187-198, July.
    21. Marc de Bourmont, 2010. "Les Etudes Portant Sur Les Determinants D'Une Publication Volontaire D'Informations Au Sein Des Rapports Annuels : L'Interet De La Realisation D'Une Analyse Multi-Echantillons / Multi-Periodes," Post-Print hal-00481107, HAL.
    22. Adams, Carol A. & Harte, George, 1998. "The changing portrayal of the employment of women in British banks' and retail companies' corporate annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 781-812, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:corsem:v:12:y:2005:i:3:p:129-143. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.