Evolution of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Companies in ISE National‐30 Index in Turkey

Purpose - The Purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the evolution of reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Istanbul Stock Exchange companies. Design/methodology/approach - In order to monitor the evolution of reporting on CSR relevant information in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 annual reports of the ISE‐30 Index Companies were examined. The data collected were used to study in depth the following issues: information disclosed related to corporate governance; environmental policy; and social policy. Findings - The study highlights that the companies' attitude towards CSR is encouraging and they try to fulfill their duties as a corporate citizen regarding the social responsibility. Research limitations/implications - The study covers only 20 companies, which were in the ISE‐30 Index for all of the three years in order to provide comparable information. Since the annual reports of two of these 20 companies cannot be obtained, the research was conducted on the annual reports of the remaining companies that published their annual reports in their websites. Practical implications - According to the study, the listed companies' disclosures on CSR are not at a desirable level in respect of the best practices. The study reveals that the Turkish companies should give more weight to reporting, especially on environmental and social issues. Originality/value - Although similar research had been conducted in various countries, this is one of the first studies related to reporting on CSR conducted in the ISE‐30 Index in Turkey.