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“Integrated reporting is like God: no one has met Him, but everybody talks about Him”

Author

Listed:
  • Delphine Gibassier
  • Michelle Rodrigue
  • Diane-Laure Arjaliès

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process through which an International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) pilot company adopted “integrated reporting” (IR), a management innovation that merges financial and non-financial reporting. Design/methodology/approach - A seven-year longitudinal ethnographic study based on semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentary evidence is used to analyze this multinational company’s IR adoption process from its decision to become an IIRC pilot organization to the publication of its first integrated report. Findings - Findings demonstrate that the company envisioned IR as a “rational myth” (Hatchuel, 1998; Hatchuel and Weil, 1992). This conceptualization acted as a springboard for IR adoption, with the mythical dimension residing in the promise that IR had the potential to portray global performance in light of the company’s own foundational myth. The company challenged the vision of IR suggested by the IIRC to stay true to its conceptualization of IR and eventually chose to implement its own version of an integrated report. Originality/value - The study enriches previous research on IR and management innovations by showing how important it is for organizations to acknowledge the mythical dimension of the management innovations they pursue to support their adoption processes. These findings, suggest that myths can play a productive role in transforming business (reporting) practices. Some transition conditions that make this transformation possible are identified and the implications of these results for the future of IR, sustainability, and accounting more broadly are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Delphine Gibassier & Michelle Rodrigue & Diane-Laure Arjaliès, 2018. "“Integrated reporting is like God: no one has met Him, but everybody talks about Him”," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(5), pages 1349-1380, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-07-2016-2631
    DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-07-2016-2631
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Slack & Ioannis Tsalavoutas, 2018. "Integrated reporting decision usefulness: Mainstream equity market views," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 184-198, June.
    2. Amir Hossain & Sudipta Bose & Abul Shamsuddin, 2023. "Diffusion of integrated reporting, insights and potential avenues for future research," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2503-2555, June.
    3. McLaren, Josie & Appleyard, Tony, 2022. "Social movements, identity and disruption in organizational fields: Accounting for farm animal welfare," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Humphrey, Chris & Rowbottom, Nick, 2024. "From institutional integration to institutional demise: The disintegration of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. 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).
    6. Niccol? Comerio & Patrizia Tettamanzi, 2019. "Systematic literature network analysis in accounting: A first application on integrated reporting research," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(2), pages 73-95.
    7. Yasmine Chahed, 2021. "Words and Numbers: Financialization and Accounting Standard‐Setting in the United Kingdom," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 302-337, March.
    8. Serena Santis & Michela Bianchi & Alberto Incollingo & Marco Bisogno, 2018. "Disclosure of Intellectual Capital Components in Integrated Reporting: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Cerbone, Dannielle & Maroun, Warren, 2020. "Materiality in an integrated reporting setting: Insights using an institutional logics framework," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    10. Giovannoni, Elena & Quarchioni, Sonia, 2019. "Exploring the generative power of performance measurement systems design," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 211-225.
    11. Dimes, Ruth & de Villiers, Charl, 2024. "Hallmarks of Integrated Thinking," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    12. Stefano Marasca & Lucia Montanini & Alessia D'Andrea & Eva Cerioni, 2020. "The how and why of integrated reporting in a public health care organization: The stakeholders' perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 1714-1722, May.
    13. Filippo Vitolla & Nicola Raimo & Michele Rubino, 2019. "Appreciations, criticisms, determinants, and effects of integrated reporting: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 518-528, March.
    14. Busco, Cristiano & Malafronte, Irma & Pereira, John & Starita, Maria Grazia, 2019. "The determinants of companies’ levels of integration: Does one size fit all?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 277-298.

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