IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v112y2013i2p187-203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability Ratings and the Disciplinary Power of the Ideology of Numbers

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamed Chelli
  • Yves Gendron

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to better understand how sustainability rating agencies, through discourse, promote an “ideology of numbers” that ultimately aims to establish a regime of normalization governing social and environmental performance. Drawing on Thompson’s (Ideology and modern culture: Critical social theory in the era of mass communication, 1990 ) modes of operation of ideology, we examine the extent to which, and how, the ideology of numbers is reflected on websites and public documents published by a range of sustainability rating agencies. Our analysis indicates that the ideology of numbers promotes a relatively narrow vision of corporate social and environmental responsibility. That is, it establishes some areas of visibility while leaving in the shadow certain aspects of the ways in which companies fulfill, or fail to meet, their social and environmental responsibilities. The ideology of numbers also exerts power by identifying those companies that are deemed to be worthy of inclusion, or not, in a supposedly socially responsible corporate elite. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed Chelli & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Sustainability Ratings and the Disciplinary Power of the Ideology of Numbers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 187-203, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:112:y:2013:i:2:p:187-203
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1252-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1252-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1252-3?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. Bastien Drut, 2010. "Sovereign Bonds and Socially Responsible Investment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 131-145, April.
    2. Martin Kornberger & Chris Carter, 2010. "Manufacturing competition: how accounting practices shape strategy making in cities," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(3), pages 325-349, March.
    3. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter "Greenwashing": A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Post-Print halshs-00561187, HAL.
    4. Giacomo Manetti & Lucia Becatti, 2009. "Assurance Services for Sustainability Reports: Standards and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 289-298, April.
    5. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Fabrice Larceneux, 2011. "How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 15-28, August.
    6. Archel, Pablo & Husillos, Javier & Spence, Crawford, 2011. "The institutionalisation of unaccountability: Loading the dice of Corporate Social Responsibility discourse," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 327-343.
    7. Linda Wedlin, 2006. "Ranking Business Schools," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3941.
    8. Markus J. Milne & Helen Tregidga & Sara Walton, 2009. "Words not actions! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(8), pages 1211-1257, October.
    9. Bessire, Dominique & Onnée, Stéphane, 2010. "Assessing corporate social performance: Strategies of legitimation and conflicting ideologies," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 445-467.
    10. Ferguson, John & Collison, David & Power, David & Stevenson, Lorna, 2009. "Constructing meaning in the service of power: An analysis of the typical modes of ideology in accounting textbooks," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 896-909.
    11. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2006. "Doing qualitative field research in management accounting: Positioning data to contribute to theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 819-841, November.
    12. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1987. "Accounting and the construction of the governable person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 235-265, April.
    13. Bert Scholtens, 2009. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the International Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 159-175, May.
    14. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. David Owen & Tracey Swift & Christopher Humphrey & Mary Bowerman, 2000. "The new social audits: accountability, managerial capture or the agenda of social champions?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 81-98.
    16. Amanda Ball & David L. Owen & Rob Gray, 2000. "External transparency or internal capture? The role of third‐party statements in adding value to corporate environmental reports1," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, January.
    17. Steven Scalet & Thomas Kelly, 2010. "CSR Rating Agencies: What is Their Global Impact?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 69-88, June.
    18. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Owen, David L., 2005. "Assurance statement practice in environmental, social and sustainability reporting: a critical evaluation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 205-229.
    19. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony & Hughes, John & Nahapiet, Janine, 1980. "The roles of accounting in organizations and society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 5-27, January.
    20. Spence, Crawford & Husillos, Javier & Correa-Ruiz, Carmen, 2010. "Cargo cult science and the death of politics: A critical review of social and environmental accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 76-89.
    21. Carmelo Reverte, 2009. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Ratings by Spanish Listed Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 351-366, August.
    22. Kathryn Brasier, 2002. "Ideology and discourse: Characterizations of the 1996 Farm Bill by agricultural interest groups," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(3), pages 239-253, September.
    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. Gazi Islam, 2022. "Business Ethics and Quantification: Towards an Ethics of Numbers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 195-211, March.
    2. Olivier Boiral & David Talbot & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2020. "Measuring sustainability risks: A rational myth?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2557-2571, September.
    3. Olivier Boiral & Marie‐Christine Brotherton & Léo Rivaud & David Talbot, 2022. "Comparing the uncomparable? An investigation of car manufacturers' climate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2213-2229, July.
    4. 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.
    5. Borja Diez-Cañamero & Tania Bishara & Jose Ramon Otegi-Olaso & Rikardo Minguez & José María Fernández, 2020. "Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Corporate Sustainability Indexes, Rankings and Ratings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-36, March.
    6. Michelon, Giovanna & Rodrigue, Michelle & Trevisan, Elisabetta, 2020. "The marketization of a social movement: Activists, shareholders and CSR disclosure," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Fortin, Mélissa & Pimentel, Erica, 2024. "Bitcoin: An accounting regime," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Michaela Haase & Emmanuel Raufflet, 2017. "Ideologies in Markets, Organizations, and Business Ethics: Drafting a Map: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 629-639, June.
    9. Marc Orlitzky & Céline Louche & Jean-Pascal Gond & Wendy Chapple, 2017. "Unpacking the Drivers of Corporate Social Performance: A Multilevel, Multistakeholder, and Multimethod Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 21-40, August.
    10. Clementino, Ester & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "How do companies respond to environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103046, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Tregidga, Helen & Laine, Matias, 2022. "On crisis and emergency: Is it time to rethink long-term environmental accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Journeault, Marc & Levant, Yves & Picard, Claire-France, 2021. "Sustainability performance reporting: A technocratic shadowing and silencing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Linda Thorne & Lois S. Mahoney & Kristen Gregory & Susan Convery, 2017. "A Comparison of Canadian and U.S. CSR Strategic Alliances, CSR Reporting, and CSR Performance: Insights into Implicit–Explicit CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 85-98, June.
    14. Regina F. Bento & Lasse Mertins & Lourdes F. White, 2017. "Ideology and the Balanced Scorecard: An Empirical Exploration of the Tension Between Shareholder Value Maximization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 769-789, June.
    15. Juan Carlos Matallín-Sáez & Amparo Soler-Domínguez & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2016. "Does socially responsible mutual fund performance vary over the business cycle? New insights on the role of ethical strategy focus and green industry idiosyncratic risk," Working Papers 2016/03, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    16. Ans Kolk & Louise Curran, 2017. "Contesting a Place in the Sun: On Ideologies in Foreign Markets and Liabilities of Origin," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 697-717, June.
    17. Alexander, David & Blum, Véronique, 2016. "Ecological economics: A Luhmannian analysis of integrated reporting," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 241-251.
    18. Ester Clementino & Richard Perkins, 2021. "How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 379-397, June.
    19. Monk, Alexander & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "What explains the emergence and diffusion of green bonds?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    20. Janne Järvinen & Matias Laine & Timo Hyvönen & Hannele Kantola, 2022. "Just Look at the Numbers: A Case Study on Quantification in Corporate Environmental Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 23-44, January.
    21. Bauckloh, Tobias & Dobrick, Juris & Höck, André & Utz, Sebastian & Wagner, Marcus, 2024. "In partnership for the goals? The level of agreement between SDG ratings," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 664-678.

    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. John Smith & Ros Haniffa & Jenny Fairbrass, 2011. "A Conceptual Framework for Investigating ‘Capture’ in Corporate Sustainability Reporting Assurance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 425-439, March.
    2. Katrin Hummel & Christian Schlick & Matthias Fifka, 2019. "The Role of Sustainability Performance and Accounting Assurors in Sustainability Assurance Engagements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 733-757, February.
    3. Giacomo Manetti & Simone Toccafondi, 2012. "The Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability Reporting Assurance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 363-377, May.
    4. Elies Seguí-Mas & Fernando Polo-Garrido & Helena María Bollas-Araya, 2018. "Sustainability Assurance in Socially-Sensitive Sectors: A Worldwide Analysis of the Financial Services Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    6. Grisard, Claudine & Annisette, Marcia & Graham, Cameron, 2020. "Performative agency and incremental change in a CSR context," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Vaz Ogando, Natalia & Ruiz Blanco, Silvia & Fernandez-Feijoo Souto, Belen, 2018. "El mercado de verificación de las memorias de sostenibilidad en España: un análisis desde la perspectiva de la demanda," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 48-62.
    9. Kuruppu, Sanjaya & Milne, Markus J., 2010. "Dolphin deaths, organizational legitimacy and potential employees’ reactions to assured environmental disclosures," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-19.
    10. Clément Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2017. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems," Post-Print hal-01930913, HAL.
    11. Mäkelä, Hannele & Laine, Matias, 2011. "A CEO with many messages: Comparing the ideological representations provided by different corporate reports," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 217-231.
    12. Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria & Marie-Christine Brotherton, 2019. "Assessing and Improving the Quality of Sustainability Reports: The Auditors’ Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 703-721, March.
    13. Steven DeSimone & Giuseppe D’Onza & Gerrit Sarens, 2021. "Correlates of internal audit function involvement in sustainability audits," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(2), pages 561-591, June.
    14. Josh Wei-Jun Hsueh, 2018. "Governance Structure and the Credibility Gap: Experimental Evidence on Family Businesses’ Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 547-568, December.
    15. Teresa Eugénio & Sónia Gomes & Manuel Castelo Branco & Ana Isabel Morais, 2022. "Non-Financial Reporting and Assurance: A New Opportunity for Auditors? Evidence from Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    16. Patrick Velte & Martin Stawinoga, 2017. "Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA): A literature review," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(8), pages 1017-1066, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Warren Maroun, 2020. "A Conceptual Model for Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility Assurance Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 187-209, January.
    19. Carol A. Adams & Carlos Larrinaga‐González, 2007. "Engaging with organisations in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 333-355, June.
    20. Hooks, Jill & Stewart, Ross, 2015. "The changing role of accounting: From consumers to shareholders," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 86-101.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:112:y:2013:i:2:p:187-203. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.