Narrative Intelligence and Sustainability Reporting: A Stakeholder Approach

The introduction of the CSRD Directive and ESRS standards, which marked a "narrative turn" in the development of corporate reporting, has led to a gap between the complexity of sustainability reporting narratives and the ability of stakeholders to perceive them, since they are not sufficiently prepared for their critical analysis and interpretation for decision-making. The article aims to theoretically substantiate the concept of stakeholder narrative intelligence and determine its role in the system of sustainability reporting communications in the context of its regulatory transformation. The methodological basis of the study is the institutional approach, which enabled consideration of the evolution of sustainability reporting as a process of forming a new institutional practice under the influence of regulatory changes and public demands. To analyze the theoretical and methodological foundations of the narrative intelligence of stakeholders, methods of scientific abstraction, analysis, and synthesis were applied, which made it possible to generalize the work of researchers and identify the main trends in the transformation of accounting science in the context of the "narrative turn" of corporate reporting. The results of the study indicate that accounting narratives are considered not only as a supplement to digital reporting data but also as a tool for reducing information asymmetry and explaining complex business processes. The article systematizes approaches to understanding narrative intelligence from its origins in computer science to modern interpretations that focus on the ability to interpret and protect against manipulative influences. The feasibility of a narrowed approach is substantiated, within which narrative intelligence is defined as the competence of stakeholders to critically perceive, "decode," and interpret the enterprise's role in ensuring sustainable development through the analysis of narratives. The article proposes a classification of options for implementing narrative analysis depending on the subject and the method of information processing. Based on the hypothesis of narrative intelligence by K. Dautengahn, the author identified levels of its development in users of sustainability reporting: 1) zero (patterned reactions); 2) basic (analogies and structured templates); 3) advanced (meaningful integration of knowledge). As a result, this study identifies directions for further scientific research to improve the quality of communication in the "sustainable reporting – stakeholder" system.