IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/amfeco/v27y2025i70p1052.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organisational Metamorphosis: Tracing Sustainability Integration through Sentiment Evolution in Corporate Reporting in Turkish Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Yavuz Selim Balcioglu

    (Dogus University, Istanbul, Turkey)

  • Abdullah K rsat Merter

    (Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli, Turkey)

Abstract

This study examines the evolution of sentiment in the sustainability reports of Turkish companies from 2014 to 2023, serving as an indicator of organisational change in response to shifting sustainability regulations. A longitudinal sample of corporate sustainability reports was subjected to sentiment analysis and linguistic pattern recognition, encompassing three distinct regulatory periods. By comparing the tone and language across these periods, the study investigates how companies adapt their sustainability communication strategies under increasing institutional pressures. The study is grounded in organisational change theories and regulatory response models. It sheds light on whether heightened disclosure requirements and global sustainability norms have driven substantive shifts in corporate narrative or merely superficial compliance. The analysis reveals notable changes in sentiment, with an overall trend toward more optimistic and assertive sustainability disclosures over time. These linguistic adaptations correspond to key regulatory milestones. The findings suggest a gradual internalisation of sustainability principles, reflecting organisational learning and strategic legitimisation efforts. The findings contribute to the extant literature on corporate sustainability reporting by linking textual sentiment trends to institutional change dynamics, offering a rare developing-country perspective. The insights are particularly relevant for stakeholders and policymakers seeking to understand and enhance the impact of sustainability reporting in emerging economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Yavuz Selim Balcioglu & Abdullah K rsat Merter, 2025. "Organisational Metamorphosis: Tracing Sustainability Integration through Sentiment Evolution in Corporate Reporting in Turkish Companies," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 27(70), pages 1052-1052, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:27:y:2025:i:70:p:1052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_3458.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wendy Stubbs & Colin Higgins, 2014. "Integrated Reporting and internal mechanisms of change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(7), pages 1068-1089, August.
    2. Wendy Stubbs & Colin Higgins, 2014. "Integrated Reporting and internal mechanisms of change," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(7), pages 1068-1089, August.
    3. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-09-2013-1465 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss & Frank Figge, 2015. "Tensions in Corporate Sustainability: Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 297-316, March.
    5. Habib Zaman Khan & Sudipta Bose & Abu Taher Mollik & Harun Harun, 2020. "“Green washing” or “authentic effort”? An empirical investigation of the quality of sustainability reporting by banks," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(2), pages 338-369, November.
    6. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Maria Aluchna & Maria Roszkowska-Menkes & Bogumił Kamiński, 2022. "From talk to action: the effects of the non-financial reporting directive on ESG performance," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(7), pages 1-25, November.
    9. John Ferguson & Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Anne Fearfull, 2016. "Corporate response to climate change: language, power and symbolic construction," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(2), pages 278-304, February.
    10. Liesel Kassier, 2024. "Identifying transitions in corporate sustainability reporting: a content analysis of JSE/FTSE multinational sustainability reports from 2016 to 2021," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    11. John Ferguson & Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Anne Fearfull, 2016. "Corporate response to climate change: language, power and symbolic construction," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 29(2), pages 278-304, February.
    12. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    13. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2018-3330 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-04-2012-00998 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-03-2013-1279 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Sheela Sundarasen & Usha Rajagopalan & Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak, 2025. "Sustainability Reporting as a Governance Tool for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Bibliometric and Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Roszkowska-Menkes, Maria & Aluchna, Maria & Kamiński, Bogumił, 2024. "True transparency or mere decoupling? The study of selective disclosure in sustainability reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Elda Du Toit, 2024. "Thirty Years of Sustainability Reporting: Insights, Gaps and an Agenda for Future Research Through a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-33, December.
    4. Amir Hossain & Sudipta Bose & Abul Shamsuddin, 2023. "Diffusion of integrated reporting, insights and potential avenues for future research," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2503-2555, June.
    5. Datu Buyung Agusdinata & Wenjuan Liu & Sinta Sulistyo & Philippe LeBillon & Je'anne Wegner, 2023. "Evaluating sustainability impacts of critical mineral extractions: Integration of life cycle sustainability assessment and SDGs frameworks," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(3), pages 746-759, June.
    6. Dimes, Ruth & de Villiers, Charl, 2024. "Hallmarks of Integrated Thinking," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    7. Janice Hollindale & Pamela Kent & James Routledge & Larelle Chapple, 2019. "Women on boards and greenhouse gas emission disclosures," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(1), pages 277-308, March.
    8. 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.
    9. Fitra Dharma & Maran Marimutu & Liza Alvia, 2024. "Profitability and Market Value Effect on Carbon Emission Disclosures: The Moderating Role of Environmental Performance," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(3), pages 463-472, May.
    10. Nuradhi Kalpani Jayasiri & Sriyalatha Kumarasinghe & Rakesh Pandey, 2023. "12 years of integrated reporting: A review of research," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2187-2243, June.
    11. Stefan Bezuidenhout & Charl de Villiers & Ruth Dimes, 2023. "How management control systems can enable, constrain, and embed integrated reporting," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4251-4273, December.
    12. Hohenstein, Yannick, 2025. "The impact of profitability on scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions in Europe," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 10(2), pages 292-333.
    13. F. Cappellieri & R. Vinciguerra & A. Ricciardi & M. Pizzo, 2025. "Independent minority directors against self-serving and manipulative practices in non- financial reporting," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(2), pages 453-501, June.
    14. Habib Zaman Khan & Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Ielemia K Ielemia, 2023. "Organic versus cosmetic efforts of the quality of carbon reporting by top New Zealand firms. Does market reward or penalise?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 686-703, January.
    15. Syed Mahfujul Alam & Ericka Costa, 2025. "Climate Change Disclosure: A Conceptual Framework and Future Research Avenues," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 4019-4034, May.
    16. Boguslawa Bek-Gaik & Anna Surowiec, 2021. "Forward-looking Disclosures in Integrated Reporting: Evidence from Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4 - Part ), pages 952-981.
    17. Daniel Reimsbach & Geert Braam, 2023. "Creating social and environmental value through integrated thinking: International evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 304-320, January.
    18. Martin Ritter & Heiner Schanz, 2021. "Carsharing Business Models’ Strategizing Mindsets Regarding Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    19. Valentina Minutiello & Patrizia Tettamanzi, 2022. "The quality of nonfinancial voluntary disclosure: A systematic literature network analysis on sustainability reporting and integrated reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 1-18, January.
    20. Patrick Velte, 2022. "Does sustainable corporate governance have an impact on materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting? International evidence," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1655-1670, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:aes:amfeco:v:27:y:2025:i:70:p:1052. 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: Valentin Dumitru (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aseeero.html .

    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.