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Social reporting, engagements, controversies and conflict in an arena context

Author

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  • Georgios Georgakopoulos
  • Ian Thomson

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate relationships between engagement activities and social reporting practices in a controversial and environmentally sensitive industry. The interactions investigated were not restricted to stakeholder relationships but included other communications between different stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents a case study approach framed within a contested political arena. Data were gathered using multiple methods including interviews with salmon farming organisations, stakeholders, rule‐enforcers, issue amplifiers and political institutions. Findings - All arena participants used social reports in their interactions to communicate the social, environmental and economic consequences of salmon farming. Different social reporting practices appeared to be reflexively related to the competing motivations of different stakeholders. However, social reporting in Scottish salmon farming was fragmented, driven by many different factors and did not necessarily lead to a resolution of the conflicts within this arena. Research limitations/implications - Researching social reporting should consider the co‐existence and co‐evolution of different social reports, competing motivations and engagement tactics of stakeholders. This paper identifies the construction of holistic reports from multiple reports and issue amplification as two research methods to engage in social and environmental policy debates. Originality/value - This paper presents empirical evidence from an under‐researched industry, which has the potential to develop the theoretical understanding of social reporting. It also introduces the arena concept as a useful tool in further social reporting research.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgios Georgakopoulos & Ian Thomson, 2008. "Social reporting, engagements, controversies and conflict in an arena context," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(8), pages 1116-1143, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:21:y:2008:i:8:p:1116-1143
    DOI: 10.1108/09513570810918788
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    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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    Cited by:

    1. de Villiers, Charl & Alexander, Deborah, 2014. "The institutionalisation of corporate social responsibility reporting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 198-212.
    2. Hammed Afolabi & Ronita Ram & Gunnar Rimmel, 2022. "Harmonization of Sustainability Reporting Regulation: Analysis of a Contested Arena," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-26, May.
    3. Parker, Lee D., 2011. "Twenty-one years of social and environmental accountability research: A coming of age," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-10.
    4. Contrafatto, Massimo, 2014. "The institutionalization of social and environmental reporting: An Italian narrative," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 414-432.
    5. Favotto, Alvise & McKernan, John Francis & Zou, Yanru, 2022. "Speculative accountability for animal kinship," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Andrew, Jane & Baker, Max, 2020. "The radical potential of leaks in the shadow accounting project: The case of US oil interests in Nigeria," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Irvine, Helen & Moerman, Lee, 2017. "Gambling with the public sphere: Accounting’s contribution to debate on social issues," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 35-52.
    8. Thomson, Ian & Grubnic, Suzana & Georgakopoulos, Georgios, 2014. "Exploring accounting-sustainability hybridisation in the UK public sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 453-476.
    9. Clément Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2017. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems," Post-Print hal-01930913, HAL.
    10. Emilio Passetti & Lara Bianchi & Massimo Battaglia & Marco Frey, 2019. "When Democratic Principles are not Enough: Tensions and Temporalities of Dialogic Stakeholder Engagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 173-190, March.
    11. Colin Higgins & Markus Milne & Bernadine Gramberg, 2015. "The Uptake of Sustainability Reporting in Australia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 445-468, June.

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