Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India and Its Effects on CSR Reporting: A Case Study of the Petroleum and Gas Industry

The institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in IndiaCSR in India attracts significant interest and discussion at the political, policy and practitioner level. It also highlights the importance of CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) within and beyond the Indian context. Section 135Section 135 of the Companies Act of 2013, mandated CSRMandated CSR spendingCSR spending in large companies that propelled companies from the old charitable and philanthropic model of ‘socialSocial giving’ to establishing CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) as a ‘convention or norm’, with companies remaining committed to the institutionalization of CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) . While, domestic companies in the petroleum and gas industryPetroleum and gas industry have often been engulfed with numerous criticisms due to oil spills and irresponsible behaviour towards stakeholdersStakeholders , they are also the top companies in terms of embracing mandatoryMandatory/voluntary nature of CSR CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) spendingCSR spending and explicitly reporting about their CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and spending. Companies have increasingly developed sophisticated reporting methods to communicate with their stakeholdersStakeholders about their CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) and its alignment to Schedule VIISchedule VII of the Act. This chapter discusses all these elements, aiming to capture the changing Indian CSRIndian CSR landscape, by analysing the CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) reportingCSR reporting of four leading petroleum and gas companies and also examines the effects of mandatoryMandatory/voluntary nature of CSR CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) spendingCSR spending on CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) reportingCSR reporting in these companies. The theoretical lens of institutional theoryInstitutional theory leads to a clearer understanding of how isomorphismsIsomorphisms (coercive, normative and mimetic) have shaped the CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) reportingCSR reporting of companies in the last few years and the extent to which the reports are driven by institutional pressures, for seeking legitimacy.