IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v17y2010i5p272-283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social reporting for different audiences: the case of multinational corporations in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Ladislao Luna Sotorrío
  • José Luis Fernández Sánchez

Abstract

The objective of this research is twofold: first, to analyze descriptively the type of social information disclosed and the degree to which multinational corporations (MNCs) disclose it, and second, to empirically test whether there are differences in the reporting policy of this type of company according to the audience (global or local), and to discover the factors that explain these differences. A sample of 26 non‐Spanish MNCs operating in Spain was selected from the Spanish Merco reputation index in the period 2004–2007. The results show that there are very significant differences in the degree of disclosure and the type of social information reported by MNCs for each audience, and that a company's visibility and resources, in this order, are relevant factors in explaining these differences. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:17:y:2010:i:5:p:272-283
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.215
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.215
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.215?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. Gary K Meek & Clare B Roberts & Sidney J Gray, 1995. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Annual Report Disclosures By U.S., U.K. and Continental European Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(3), pages 555-572, September.
    2. Ans Kolk & Seb Walhain & Susanne van de Wateringen, 2001. "Environmental reporting by the Fortune Global 250: exploring the influence of nationality and sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 15-28, January.
    3. Uwem E. Ite, 2004. "Multinationals and corporate social responsibility in developing countries: a case study of Nigeria," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7-8), pages 1168-1188.
    6. 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.
    7. Laura Hartman & Robert Rubin & K. Dhanda, 2007. "The Communication of Corporate Social Responsibility: United States and European Union Multinational Corporations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 373-389, September.
    8. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1168-1188, September.
    9. Newson, Marc & Deegan, Craig, 2002. "Global expectations and their association with corporate social disclosure practices in Australia, Singapore, and South Korea," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 183-213.
    10. 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.
    11. Stephen Chen & Petra Bouvain, 2009. "Is Corporate Responsibility Converging? A Comparison of Corporate Responsibility Reporting in the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 299-317, April.
    12. van der Laan Smith, Joyce & Adhikari, Ajay & Tondkar, Rasoul H., 2005. "Exploring differences in social disclosures internationally: A stakeholder perspective," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 123-151.
    13. Patten, Dennis M., 1991. "Exposure, legitimacy, and social disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 297-308.
    14. Ans Kolk, 2008. "Sustainability, accountability and corporate governance: exploring multinationals' reporting practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    15. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    16. Verrecchia, Robert E., 1983. "Discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 179-194, April.
    17. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    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. Simona Alfiero & Massimo Cane & Ruggiero Doronzo & Alfredo Esposito, 2018. "Determining characteristics of boards adopting Integrated Reporting," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(2), pages 37-71.
    2. Monowar Mahmood & Janet Humphrey, 2013. "Stakeholder Expectation of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: A Study on Local and Multinational Corporations in Kazakhstan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(3), pages 168-181, May.
    3. Konstantinos Evangelinos & Stefanos Fotiadis & Antonis Skouloudis & Nadeem Khan & Foteini Konstandakopoulou & Ioannis Nikolaou & Shaun Lundy, 2018. "Occupational health and safety disclosures in sustainability reports: An overview of trends among corporate leaders," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 961-970, September.

    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. 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.
    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. 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.
    5. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    6. MuiChing Chan & John Watson & David Woodliff, 2014. "Corporate Governance Quality and CSR Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 59-73, November.
    7. Aparna Bhatia & Megha Mahendru, 2020. "Is Institutional Environment the Only Force Behind Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure? An Insight into Indian Companies," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 13(1), pages 34-62, June.
    8. Daniel Kouloukoui & Sônia Maria da Silva Gomes & Marcia Mara de Oliveira Marinho & Ednildo Andrade Torres & Asher Kiperstok & Pieter de Jong, 2018. "Disclosure of climate risk information by the world’s largest companies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 1251-1279, December.
    9. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & María J. Barroso-Méndez & María L. Pajuelo-Moreno & Julio Sánchez-Meca, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Performance: A Meta-Analytic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-33, February.
    10. 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.
    11. Breeda Comyns, 2016. "Determinants of GHG Reporting: An Analysis of Global Oil and Gas Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 349-369, June.
    12. Ans Kolk & Paolo Perego, 2010. "Determinants of the adoption of sustainability assurance statements: an international investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 182-198, March.
    13. 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.
    14. Thomas Thijssens & Laury Bollen & Harold Hassink, 2015. "Secondary Stakeholder Influence on CSR Disclosure: An Application of Stakeholder Salience Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 873-891, December.
    15. Qiu, Yan & Shaukat, Amama & Tharyan, Rajesh, 2016. "Environmental and social disclosures: Link with corporate financial performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 102-116.
    16. Emerald Edem Welbeck & Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu & Rita Amoah Bekoe & John Amoah Kusi, 2017. "Determinants of environmental disclosures of listed firms in Ghana," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. Laura Girella & Paola Rossi & Stefano Zambon, 2019. "Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1323-1340, November.
    18. Anna Witek-Crabb, 2019. "CSR Maturity in Polish Listed Companies: A Qualitative Diagnosis Based on a Progression Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-28, March.
    19. Cornelia Beck & Geoffrey Frost & Stewart Jones, 2018. "CSR disclosure and financial performance revisited: A cross-country analysis," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(4), pages 517-537, November.
    20. J. Emil Morhardt, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting on the Internet," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(7), pages 436-452, 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:17:y:2010:i:5:p:272-283. 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.