Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world
This paper explores corporate sustainability disclosure practices in a global context. A unique sample of 2009 sustainability reports from some of the world’s largest companies in 24 diverse countries are examined using a comprehensive disclosure index. These reports are analysed to better understan...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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University of Wollongong
2012
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| Online Access: | http://ro.uow.edu.au/aabfj/vol6/iss2/3/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22482 |
| _version_ | 1848750882414395392 |
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| author | Faisal, F. Tower, Greg Rusmin, Rusmin |
| author_facet | Faisal, F. Tower, Greg Rusmin, Rusmin |
| author_sort | Faisal, F. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper explores corporate sustainability disclosure practices in a global context. A unique sample of 2009 sustainability reports from some of the world’s largest companies in 24 diverse countries are examined using a comprehensive disclosure index. These reports are analysed to better understand how company characteristics and institutional factors explain sustainability communication using a legitimacy theory framework. The world renowned Global Reporting Initiative 2006 guidelines are used as the benchmark disclosure index checklist. The empirical results indicate that the average level of sustainability disclosure is a surprisingly high 61.9 percent. Statistical analysis indicates that high profile industries and additional assurance procedures influence the disclosure of more sustainability information. Interestingly, companies operating in emerging country systems disclose more sustainability information than Anglo-Saxon or Communitarian jurisdictions. Consistent with legitimacy theory, these results suggest that these globally well known firms use sustainability disclosure as a legitimising tool. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:43:53Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-22482 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:43:53Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | University of Wollongong |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-224822017-02-28T01:35:56Z Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world Faisal, F. Tower, Greg Rusmin, Rusmin international business systems Sustainability disclosure Global Reporting Initiative This paper explores corporate sustainability disclosure practices in a global context. A unique sample of 2009 sustainability reports from some of the world’s largest companies in 24 diverse countries are examined using a comprehensive disclosure index. These reports are analysed to better understand how company characteristics and institutional factors explain sustainability communication using a legitimacy theory framework. The world renowned Global Reporting Initiative 2006 guidelines are used as the benchmark disclosure index checklist. The empirical results indicate that the average level of sustainability disclosure is a surprisingly high 61.9 percent. Statistical analysis indicates that high profile industries and additional assurance procedures influence the disclosure of more sustainability information. Interestingly, companies operating in emerging country systems disclose more sustainability information than Anglo-Saxon or Communitarian jurisdictions. Consistent with legitimacy theory, these results suggest that these globally well known firms use sustainability disclosure as a legitimising tool. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22482 http://ro.uow.edu.au/aabfj/vol6/iss2/3/ University of Wollongong restricted |
| spellingShingle | international business systems Sustainability disclosure Global Reporting Initiative Faisal, F. Tower, Greg Rusmin, Rusmin Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title | Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title_full | Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title_fullStr | Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title_full_unstemmed | Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title_short | Legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| title_sort | legitimising corporate sustainability reporting throughout the world |
| topic | international business systems Sustainability disclosure Global Reporting Initiative |
| url | http://ro.uow.edu.au/aabfj/vol6/iss2/3/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22482 |