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Incorporating Materiality Considerations into Analyses of Absence from Sustainability Reporting

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  • Jeffrey Unerman
  • Franco Zappettini

Abstract

This paper highlights the need to take materiality into account when analysing the absence of social and/or environmental disclosures from organisational sustainability reports. It argues that materiality must be considered as a prerequisite when researchers seek to interpret lack of disclosures of specific social and/or environmental issues or incidents. Illustrating these arguments using an example from interpretation of absence from reporting in a recent award-winning paper, we contend that such interpretations can only be justified if organisational processes related to materiality are factored into the analysis of rhetorical or symbolic representations of sustainability within organisational reporting, a point that tends to be missed in studies of absence from sustainability reporting.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Unerman & Franco Zappettini, 2014. "Incorporating Materiality Considerations into Analyses of Absence from Sustainability Reporting," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 172-186, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:seaccj:v:34:y:2014:i:3:p:172-186
    DOI: 10.1080/0969160X.2014.965262
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    Cited by:

    1. Bianca Alves Almeida Machado & Lívia Cristina Pinto Dias & Alberto Fonseca, 2021. "Transparency of materiality analysis in GRI‐based sustainability reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 570-580, March.
    2. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-40.
    3. Chris A. Kelsall, 2020. "Ecological Management Accounting—Taking into Account Sustainability, Does Accounting Have Far to Travel?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Peter Ansu-Mensah & Emmanuel Opoku Marfo & Lyon Salia Awuah & Kwame Oduro Amoako, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement in Ghana’s mining sector: a case study of Newmont Ahafo mines," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-22, December.
    5. Schepis, Daniel, 2020. "Understanding Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plans from a corporate social responsibility perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    6. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Katia Furlotti, 2020. "The materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement: A content analysis of sustainability reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 470-484, March.
    7. Jannik Gerwanski & Othar Kordsachia & Patrick Velte, 2019. "Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 750-770, July.
    8. Tiziana De Cristofaro & Carmela Gulluscio, 2023. "In Search of Double Materiality in Non-Financial Reports: First Empirical Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-30, January.
    9. Torelli, Riccardo & Balluchi, Federica & Furlotti, Katia, 2019. "The materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement: A content analysis of sustainability reports," OSF Preprints tw6c7, Center for Open Science.
    10. Eduardo Flores & Marco Fasan & Wesley Mendes‐da‐Silva & Joelson Oliveira Sampaio, 2019. "Integrated reporting and capital markets in an international setting: The role of financial analysts," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1465-1480, November.
    11. Laura Mazzola & Massimo Contrafatto, 2019. "Book Review," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1), pages 155-162.
    12. Ramona Zharfpeykan, 2021. "Representative account or greenwashing? Voluntary sustainability reports in Australia's mining/metals and financial services industries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2209-2223, May.
    13. Unerman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Risks from self-referential peer review echo chambers developing in research fields," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    14. Stefan Zeisel, 2020. "Is sustainability a moving target? A methodology for measuring CSR dynamics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 283-296, January.
    15. Stefano Romito & Clodia Vurro, 2021. "Non‐financial disclosure and information asymmetry: A stakeholder view on US listed firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 595-605, March.
    16. Massimiliano Monaci, 2020. "Embedding Humanizing Cultures in Organizations through ‘Institutional’ Leadership: the Role of HRM," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 59-83, July.
    17. Stefania Veltri & Elena Cristiano & Olga Ferraro, 2023. "Examining the quality of the consolidated mandatory non‐financial statements of a cooperative banking group: A longitudinal analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1573-1587, July.
    18. Inten Meutia & Shelly F. Kartasari & Zulnaidi Yaacob, 2022. "Stakeholder or Legitimacy Theory? The Rationale behind a Company’s Materiality Analysis: Evidence from Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    19. Chiara Mio & Marco Fasan & Antonio Costantini, 2020. "Materiality in integrated and sustainability reporting: A paradigm shift?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 306-320, January.
    20. Janine Maniora, 2018. "Mismanagement of Sustainability: What Business Strategy Makes the Difference? Empirical Evidence from the USA," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 931-947, November.
    21. Marco Fasan & Chiara Mio, 2017. "Fostering Stakeholder Engagement: The Role of Materiality Disclosure in Integrated Reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 288-305, March.
    22. Leyla Azizi & Colin Bien & Remmer Sassen, 2018. "Recent trends in sustainability reporting by German universities [Aktuelle Trends in der Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung deutscher Universitäten]," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 65-85, December.
    23. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.

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