IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i14p3825-d247978.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reporting within the Corridor of Conformance: Managerial Perspectives on Work Environment Disclosures in Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Author

Listed:
  • Shane M. Dixon

    (Centre for Research on Security Practices, Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus, Brantford, ON N3T 2W2, Canada)

  • Cory Searcy

    (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada)

  • W. Patrick Neumann

    (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada)

Abstract

This paper examines managerial perspectives on work environment (WE) disclosures in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. WE encompasses all aspects of the design and management of the work system that affect the employees’ interactions with the workplace. The data are drawn from interviews with 20 CSR managers in large companies that are recognized as high performers in CSR. Managers reported that WE disclosures were an important part of CSR reporting and had several benefits—for example, it helped to maintain companies’ reputations as good places to work, which were of interest to both investors and potential employees. However, WE reporting was at a low level, focusing predominantly on occupational health and safety performance indicators, such as the number of employee injuries per year. We suggest that organizations derive legitimacy by reporting WE disclosures within a corridor of conformance that permits a low level of reporting and a great deal of latitude regarding what topics and how topics are disclosed, provided organizations meet institutional expectations. The corridor is maintained by an institutional environment in which, from participants’ perspectives, few external stakeholders were interested in WE disclosures representing employee well-being (e.g., psychological health) and the prevailing CSR reporting standards and guidelines provide scant information about employee health.

Suggested Citation

  • Shane M. Dixon & Cory Searcy & W. Patrick Neumann, 2019. "Reporting within the Corridor of Conformance: Managerial Perspectives on Work Environment Disclosures in Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-20, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3825-:d:247978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3825/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3825/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sarah J. Williams & Carol A. Adams, 2013. "Moral accounting? Employee disclosures from a stakeholder accountability perspective," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 449-495, March.
    2. Klaus Dingwerth & Margot Eichinger, 2010. "Tamed Transparency: How Information Disclosure under the Global Reporting Initiative Fails to Empower," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 10(3), pages 74-96, August.
    3. Marty Stuebs & Li Sun, 2010. "Business Reputation and Labor Efficiency, Productivity, and Cost," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 265-283, October.
    4. Pamela Kent & Tamara Zunker, 2013. "Attaining legitimacy by employee information in annual reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1072-1106, September.
    5. W. Patrick Neumann & Jörgen Winkel & Gunnar Palmerud & Mikael Forsman, 2018. "Innovation and employee injury risk in automotive disassembly operations," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(9), pages 3188-3203, May.
    6. Bouten, Lies & Everaert, Patricia & Van Liedekerke, Luc & De Moor, Lieven & Christiaens, Johan, 2011. "Corporate social responsibility reporting: A comprehensive picture?," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 187-204.
    7. Olivier Boiral & Yves Gendron, 2011. "Sustainable Development and Certification Practices: Lessons Learned and Prospects," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 331-347, July.
    8. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    9. Kolk, Ans, 2010. "Trajectories of sustainability reporting by MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 367-374, October.
    10. Cory Searcy & Ruvena Buslovich, 2014. "Corporate Perspectives on the Development and Use of Sustainability Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 149-169, May.
    11. Olivier Boiral, 2013. "Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(7), pages 1036-1071, September.
    12. Susan Hart, 2013. "The Crash of Cougar Flight 491: A Case Study of Offshore Safety and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 519-541, March.
    13. Jan Bebbington & Colin Higgins & Bob Frame, 2009. "Initiating sustainable development reporting: evidence from New Zealand," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(4), pages 588-625, May.
    14. Krista Bondy & Jeremy Moon & Dirk Matten, 2012. "An Institution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Multi-National Corporations (MNCs): Form and Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 281-299, December.
    15. Suzanne Young & Magalie Marais, 2013. "Gaining legitimacy in large Australian listed companies: exploring the role of corporate reporting regarding employees," Post-Print hal-02523054, HAL.
    16. Aditya Jain & Stavroula Leka & Gerard Zwetsloot, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Psychosocial Risk Management in Europe," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(4), pages 619-633, July.
    17. Ans Kolk, 2003. "Trends in sustainability reporting by the Fortune Global 250," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 279-291, September.
    18. Adams, Carol A. & Frost, Geoffrey R., 2008. "Integrating sustainability reporting into management practices," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 288-302.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Stefanos Fotiadis & Konstantinos I. Evangelinos & Foteini Konstantakopoulou & Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2023. "Assessing CSR Reports of Top UK Construction Companies: The Case of Occupational Health and Safety Disclosures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-32, April.
    2. Karaman, Abdullah S. & Orazalin, Nurlan & Uyar, Ali & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2021. "CSR achievement, reporting, and assurance in the energy sector: Does economic development matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Albertina Paula Monteiro & Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán, 2022. "Labour Practice, Decent Work and Human Rights Performance and Reporting: The Impact of Women Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 523-542, October.
    4. Albertina Paula Monteiro & Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán & María Garrido-Ruso & Cristina Aibar-Guzmán, 2021. "Employee-Related Disclosure: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-38, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Konstantinos Evangelinos & Stefanos Fotiadis & Antonis Skouloudis & Nadeem Khan & Foteini Konstandakopoulou & Ioannis Nikolaou & Shaun Lundy, 2018. "Occupational health and safety disclosures in sustainability reports: An overview of trends among corporate leaders," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 961-970, September.
    2. Diego Pérez‐López & Ana Moreno‐Romero & Ralf Barkemeyer, 2015. "Exploring the Relationship between Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Management Practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 720-734, December.
    3. Stefanos Fotiadis & Konstantinos I. Evangelinos & Foteini Konstantakopoulou & Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2023. "Assessing CSR Reports of Top UK Construction Companies: The Case of Occupational Health and Safety Disclosures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-32, April.
    4. 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.
    5. Pamela Kent & Robyn McCormack & Tamara Zunker, 2021. "Employee disclosures in the grocery industry before the COVID‐19 pandemic," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4833-4858, September.
    6. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    7. NUGRAHANI Tri Siwi & ARTANTO Dwi Ari, 2022. "Sustainability Reporting By Disclosing Economic, Social And Environmental Performance," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 17(2), pages 216-226, August.
    8. Paolo Perego & Ans Kolk, 2012. "Multinationals’ Accountability on Sustainability: The Evolution of Third-party Assurance of Sustainability Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 173-190, October.
    9. Cory Searcy & Ruvena Buslovich, 2014. "Corporate Perspectives on the Development and Use of Sustainability Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 149-169, May.
    10. Ismail N.B. & Sébastien Alcouffe & Galy N & Ceulemans K, 2020. "The impact of international sustainability initiatives on Life Cycle Assessment voluntary disclosures: The case of France’s CAC40 listed companies," Post-Print hal-03082800, HAL.
    11. Raphaëlle Stewart & Peter Fantke & Anders Bjørn & Mikołaj Owsianiak & Christine Molin & Michael Zwicky Hauschild & Alexis Laurent, 2018. "Life cycle assessment in corporate sustainability reporting: Global, regional, sectoral, and company‐level trends," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1751-1764, December.
    12. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    13. Beddewela, Eshani & Herzig, Christian, 2013. "Corporate social reporting by MNCs’ subsidiaries in Sri Lanka," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 135-149.
    14. Jolanta Maj, 2018. "Embedding Diversity in Sustainability Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    15. Colin Higgins & Wendy Stubbs & Markus Milne, 2018. "Is Sustainability Reporting Becoming Institutionalised? The Role of an Issues-Based Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 309-326, January.
    16. Dan Beare & Ruvena Buslovich & Cory Searcy, 2014. "Linkages between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Public Policy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(6), pages 336-350, November.
    17. David Coen & Kyle Herman & Tom Pegram, 2022. "Are corporate climate efforts genuine? An empirical analysis of the climate ‘talk–walk’ hypothesis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3040-3059, November.
    18. Journeault, Marc & Levant, Yves & Picard, Claire-France, 2021. "Sustainability performance reporting: A technocratic shadowing and silencing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Mollie Painter & Sareh Pouryousefi & Sally Hibbert & Jo-Anna Russon, 2019. "Sharing Vocabularies: Towards Horizontal Alignment of Values-Driven Business Functions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 965-979, April.
    20. Adams, Carol A., 2015. "The International Integrated Reporting Council: A call to action," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 23-28.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3825-:d:247978. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.