IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v49y2017i6p513-531.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility as a legitimacy maintenance strategy in the professional accountancy firm

Author

Listed:
  • Duff, Angus

Abstract

This paper investigates how accountancy firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a device to maintain legitimacy with key constituents. It explores who these constituents (audiences) are for their CSR actions and the strategies they use to maintain legitimacy with these audiences. Interview-based evidence from 18 large accountancy firms in the United Kingdom (UK) identifies the main CSR constituents as: clients and potential clients of the firm; graduates as potential entrants to the industry; internal audiences represented by the firms' staff and partners; and other external audiences constructed as members of those local communities in which the firm operate. In the largest firms, maintaining pragmatic legitimacy with some client, graduate and internal audiences is frequently dependent on the development of moral legitimacy established with other external constituents (communities). Consequently, the typologies of legitimacy developed are largely pragmatic, the most ephemeral and most easily attained form, rather than something that is enduring, embedded and taken-for-granted.

Suggested Citation

  • Duff, Angus, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility as a legitimacy maintenance strategy in the professional accountancy firm," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 513-531.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:49:y:2017:i:6:p:513-531
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2017.08.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838917300392
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2017.08.001?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Re-Theorizing Change: Institutional Experimentation and the Struggle for Domination in the Field of Public Accounting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 870-899, July.
    2. Itziar Castelló & Josep Lozano, 2011. "Searching for New Forms of Legitimacy Through Corporate Responsibility Rhetoric," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 11-29, April.
    3. Martin Kornberger & Lise Justesen & Jan Mouritsen, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you” : An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Post-Print hal-02276736, HAL.
    4. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Owen, David & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2011. "Seeking legitimacy for new assurance forms: The case of assurance on sustainability reporting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 31-52, January.
    5. Power, Michael, 1997. "Expertise and the construction of relevance: Accountants and environmental audit," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 123-146, February.
    6. Pablo Archel & Javier Husillos & Carlos Larrinaga & Crawford Spence, 2009. "Social disclosure, legitimacy theory and the role of the state," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(8), pages 1284-1307, October.
    7. Prem Sikka, 2010. "Smoke and mirrors: Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3-4), pages 153-168, September.
    8. Duff, Angus, 2011. "Big four accounting firms’ annual reviews: A photo analysis of gender and race portrayals," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 20-38.
    9. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    10. Pablo Rodrigo & Daniel Arenas, 2008. "Do Employees Care About CSR Programs? A Typology of Employees According to their Attitudes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 265-283, December.
    11. Kornberger, Martin & Justesen, Lise & Mouritsen, Jan, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you”: An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 514-533.
    12. Gerard Stone, 2012. "The effectiveness of newsletters in accountants' client relations with small business managers," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 21-43, April.
    13. Noel Brown & Craig Deegan, 1998. "The public disclosure of environmental performance information—a dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 21-41.
    14. Martin Kornberger & Lise Justesen & Jan Mouritsen, 2011. "“When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you” : An ethnography of managers in a Big 4 Accounting Firm," Post-Print hal-02311997, HAL.
    15. Prem Sikka & Mark P. Hampton, 2005. "The role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance: Some evidence and issues," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 325-343, September.
    16. Dima Jamali & Ramez Mirshak, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 243-262, May.
    17. Brendan O'Dwyer, 2003. "The ponderous evolution of corporate environmental reporting in Ireland. Recent evidence from publicly listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 91-100, June.
    18. Sikka, Prem, 2009. "Financial crisis and the silence of the auditors," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 868-873, August.
    19. Steen Vallentin, 2015. "Governmentalities of CSR: Danish Government Policy as a Reflection of Political Difference," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 33-47, March.
    20. Georgiou, Omiros & Jack, Lisa, 2011. "In pursuit of legitimacy: A history behind fair value accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 311-323.
    21. Marc Orlitzky & Diane L. Swanson, 2008. "Corporate Social and Financial Performance: An Integrative Review," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Toward Integrative Corporate Citizenship, chapter 4, pages 83-120, Palgrave Macmillan.
    22. Laux, Christian & Leuz, Christian, 2009. "The crisis of fair-value accounting: Making sense of the recent debate," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 826-834, August.
    23. Angus Duff, 2017. "Social mobility and Fair Access to the accountancy profession in the UK," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(5), pages 1082-1110, June.
    24. van Staden, Chris J. & Hooks, Jill, 2007. "A comprehensive comparison of corporate environmental reporting and responsiveness," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 197-210.
    25. Manuel Branco & Lúcia Rodrigues, 2008. "Factors Influencing Social Responsibility Disclosure by Portuguese Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(4), pages 685-701, December.
    26. 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.
    27. Ataur Belal & David L Owen, 2015. "The rise and fall of stand-alone social reporting in a multinational subsidiary in Bangladesh," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(7), pages 1160-1192, September.
    28. Reinhard Steurer, 2010. "The role of governments in corporate social responsibility: characterising public policies on CSR in Europe," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 43(1), pages 49-72, March.
    29. David A. Waldman & Donald S. Siegel & Mansour Javidan, 2006. "Components of CEO Transformational Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1703-1725, December.
    30. Gambling, Trevor, 1977. "Magic, accounting and morale," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 141-151, March.
    31. Duff, Angus, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility reporting in professional accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 74-86.
    32. Niina Erkama & Eero Vaara, 2010. "Struggles over legitimacy in global organizational restructuring : A Rhetorical perspective on legitimation strategies and dynamics in a shutdown case," Post-Print hal-02312530, HAL.
    33. Momin, Mahmood Ahmed & Parker, Lee D., 2013. "Motivations for corporate social responsibility reporting by MNC subsidiaries in an emerging country: The case of Bangladesh," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 215-228.
    34. Sikka, Prem, 2010. "Smoke and mirrors: Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 153-168.
    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. Alicia Blanco-González & Francisco Díez-Martín & Giorgia Miotto, 2023. "Achieving Legitimacy Through Gender Equality Policies," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, May.
    2. Uyar, Ali & Lodh, Suman & Nandy, Monomita & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Tradeoff between corporate investment and CSR: The moderating effect of financial slack, workforce slack, and board gender diversity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Yuan-Shuh Lii & May-Ching Ding & Chih-Huang Lin, 2018. "Fair or Unfair: The Moderating Effect of Sustainable CSR Practices on Anticipatory Justice Following Service Failure Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Passetti, Emilio & Rinaldi, Leonardo, 2020. "Micro-processes of justification and critique in a water sustainability controversy: Examining the establishment of moral legitimacy through accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    5. Maryam Safari & Jacqueline Birt & Yi Xiang, 2022. "The sociology of compensation inequality in upper‐echelon positions: evidence from Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2615-2649, June.
    6. Qiaowen Zhang & Annalien de Vries, 2022. "Seeking Moral Legitimacy through Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Multinationals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    7. 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.

    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. Dermarkar, Simon & Hazgui, Mouna, 2022. "How auditors legitimize commercialism: A micro-discursive analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria & Marie-Christine Brotherton & Julie Bernard, 2019. "Ethical Issues in the Assurance of Sustainability Reports: Perspectives from Assurance Providers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1111-1125, November.
    3. Claire France Picard & Sylvain Durocher & Yves Gendron, 2013. "From Meticulous Professionals To Superheroes Of The Business World: A Historical Portrait Of A Cultural Change In The Field Of Accountancy," Post-Print hal-00993019, HAL.
    4. François Brouard & Merridee Bujaki & Sylvain Durocher & Leighann C. Neilson, 2017. "Professional Accountants’ Identity Formation: An Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 225-238, May.
    5. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:166-178 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. 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.
    7. Daoust, Laurence & Malsch, Bertrand, 2019. "How ex-auditors remember their past: The transformation of audit experience into cultural memory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Guénin-Paracini, Henri & Malsch, Bertrand & Paillé, Anne Marché, 2014. "Fear and risk in the audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 264-288.
    9. Daoust, Laurence, 2020. "Playing the Big Four recruitment game: The tension between illusio and reflexivity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Gendron, Yves, 2015. "Accounting academia and the threat of the paying-off mentality," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 168-176.
    11. Beau, Pauline & Jerman, Lambert, 2022. "Bonding forged in “auditing hell”: The emotional qualities of Big Four auditors," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    12. Guo, Ken H., 2018. "The odyssey of becoming: Professional identity and insecurity in the Canadian accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-45.
    13. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Edgley, Carla & Robson, Keith & Sharma, Nina, 2022. "Organizational responses to multiple logics: Diversity, identity and the professional service firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    14. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    15. Jorien L. Pruijssers & Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens & J. Oosterhout, 2020. "Winning at a Losing Game? Side-Effects of Perceived Tournament Promotion Incentives in Audit Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 149-167, February.
    16. Edgley, Carla & Sharma, Nina & Anderson-Gough, Fiona, 2016. "Diversity and professionalism in the Big Four firms: Expectation, celebration and weapon in the battle for talent," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 13-34.
    17. Lambert Jerman & Alaric Bourgoin, 2016. "L'identité négative de l'auditeur," Post-Print hal-01902594, HAL.
    18. Durocher, Sylvain & Bujaki, Merridee & Brouard, François, 2016. "Attracting Millennials: Legitimacy management and bottom-up socialization processes within accounting firms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-24.
    19. Boll, Karen, 2014. "Shady car dealings and taxing work practices: An ethnography of a tax audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-19.
    20. Osman, Mohamed & Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2021. "Contextualising and critically theorising corporate social responsibility reporting: Dynamics of the late Mubarak Era in Egypt," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    21. Shaozhen Han & Guoming Li & Michel Lubrano & Zhou Xun, 2020. "Lie of the Weak: Inconsistent Corporate Social Responsibility Activities of Chinese Zombie Firms," AMSE Working Papers 2001, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.

    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:eee:bracre:v:49:y:2017:i:6:p:513-531. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.