IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i11p4491-d366000.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Case Study Analysis of Sustainability Reporting of an Agri-Food Giant

Author

Listed:
  • Irena Jindřichovská

    (Department of International Business, Metropolitan University Prague, 100 00 Prague, Czech Republic)

  • Dana Kubíčková

    (Department of Finance, University of Finance and Administration, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic)

  • Mihaela Mocanu

    (Department of Accounting and Auditing, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the discussion of how large companies in the agri-food sector cope with the growing pressure to perform sustainably and how they disclose sustainability-related information to their stakeholders. To achieve this goal, we used the case study method. We analyzed Cargill’s specific approach to sustainability reporting, who is a company with a 150-year history and worldwide activities. We used reports from the year 2014 and 2018. The core of our analysis lies in the content analysis of the text using 39 corporate social responsibility (CSR) keywords (Cohen, 2010). The frequency of keywords related to the three aspects of CSR was measured to reveal the areas that the company considers most important and those upon which it draws the attention of users. To complement this analysis, we then investigated the linguistic features of Cargill’s sustainability reports, which employed the LIWC2015 program (LIWC–Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) and focused on four features of disclosure (analytical thinking, clout, authenticity, and emotional tone). The findings of our research confirmed that the dominant companies in the agri-food business have reacted to challenges of their social environment and changed their attitude to keep up with the current stage of social development. Sustainability reporting is elaborated and covers all aspects of the company’s activity in sufficient detail. This attitude developed continuously despite it not always being appreciated by Cargill’s stakeholders. The main limitation of our study lies in the method which did not allow even with the greatest effort to eliminate subjectivity. The other limitation relates to the specific features of the company and its position within the world economy and also to its long history, which determined the form and extent of reporting. However, our findings are indicative and inspiring for future research. Our results contribute to the debate concerning the form, content, and evolution of sustainability reporting. Moreover, our results can be used in practice by corporate management, when designing their marketing strategy, plans, and programs. We claim that the biggest challenge for big multinationals like Cargill in these days is to effectively protect the nature and respect the law in jurisdictions where there is traditionally low incentive to obey the rules because of poor regulations and many opportunities to misuse their dominant position.

Suggested Citation

  • Irena Jindřichovská & Dana Kubíčková & Mihaela Mocanu, 2020. "Case Study Analysis of Sustainability Reporting of an Agri-Food Giant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4491-:d:366000
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4491/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4491/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alina Mihaela Dima & Liviu Begu & Maria Denisa Vasilescu & Maria Alexandra Maassen, 2018. "The Relationship between the Knowledge Economy and Global Competitiveness in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Ioannis Manikas & George Malindretos & Socrates Moschuris, 2019. "A Community-Based Agro-Food Hub Model for Sustainable Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Khosro Jahdi & Gaye Acikdilli, 2009. "Marketing Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Marriage of Convenience or Shotgun Wedding?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 103-113, August.
    4. Bree Devin & Carol Richards, 2018. "Food Waste, Power, and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Australian Food Supply Chain," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 199-210, June.
    5. Mark R. Manfredo & Dwight R. Sanders & Winifred D. Scott, 2011. "Analyst's earnings estimates for publicly traded food companies: How good are they?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 261-279, June.
    6. Mira Wilkins, 1988. "The free-standing company, 1870-1914: an important type of British foreign direct investment," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 41(2), pages 259-282, May.
    7. Gergely Nyilasy & Harsha Gangadharbatla & Angela Paladino, 2014. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 693-707, December.
    8. Irena JINDRICHOVSKA & Irina PURCAREA, 2011. "CSR and Environmental Reporting in the Czech Republic and Romania: Country Comparison of Rules and Practices," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 10(2), pages 202-227, June.
    9. Beddewela, Eshani & Herzig, Christian, 2013. "Corporate social reporting by MNCs’ subsidiaries in Sri Lanka," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 135-149.
    10. Kyungtag Lee & Hyunchul Lee, 2019. "How Does CSR Activity Affect Sustainable Growth and Value of Corporations? Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-11, January.
    11. Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2014. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 258-271, September.
    12. Ross, R. Brent & Pandey, Vivek & Ross, Kara L., 2015. "Sustainability and Strategy in U.S. Agri-Food Firms: An Assessment of Current Practices," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-32, February.
    13. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    14. de Olde, Evelien M. & Valentinov, Vladislav, 2019. "The moral complexity of agriculture: A challenge for corporate social responsibility," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 413-430.
    15. Ani L. Katchova & Sierra J. Enlow, 2013. "Financial performance of publicly‐traded agribusinesses," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 73(1), pages 58-73, May.
    16. Domenico Raucci & Lara Tarquinio, 2020. "Sustainability Performance Indicators and Non-Financial Information Reporting. Evidence from the Italian Case," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, February.
    17. Michael Boland & Sara Schumacher, 2005. "The sustainability of return on assets among sectors in the food economy," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 65(1), pages 31-43, May.
    18. Stefan Gold & Nathan Kunz & Gerald Reiner, 2017. "Sustainable Global Agrifood Supply Chains: Exploring the Barriers," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(2), pages 249-260, April.
    19. Bebbington, Jan & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2014. "Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 395-413.
    20. Michaela Horúcková & Thierry Baudassé, 2017. "Content analysis applied to social and environmental reporting," Post-Print hal-03539016, HAL.
    21. Doris M. Merkl-Davies & Niamh M. Brennan, 2011. "A conceptual framework of impression management: new insights from psychology, sociology and critical perspectives," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 415-437, December.
    22. Muhammad Islam & Craig Deegan, 2010. "Media pressures and corporate disclosure of social responsibility performance information: A study of two global clothing and sports retail companies," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 131-148.
    23. Giovanna Michelon & Dennis M. Patten & Andrea M. Romi, 2019. "Creating Legitimacy for Sustainability Assurance Practices: Evidence from Sustainability Restatements," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 395-422, March.
    24. Breeda Comyns, 2018. "Climate change reporting and multinational companies: Insights from institutional theory and international business," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 65-77, March.
    25. Michaela HORUCKOVA & Thierry BAUDASSE, 2017. "Content Analysis Applied To Social And Environmental Reporting," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2529, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    26. Ashok K. Mishra & J. Michael Harris & Kenneth W. Erickson & Charlie Hallahan & Joshua D. Detre, 2012. "Drivers of agricultural profitability in the USA," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 72(3), pages 325-340, November.
    27. Kolk, Ans & van Tulder, Rob, 2010. "International business, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 119-125, April.
    28. Irena Jindrichovska & Dana Kubickova & Mihaela Stratulat, 2019. "Early Stage of Sustainability Reporting: Case Study from the Czech Tobacco Industry," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 128-142.
    29. Jianli Luo & Chen Ji & Chunxiao Qiu & Fu Jia, 2018. "Agri-Food Supply Chain Management: Bibliometric and Content Analyses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    30. Mark A. Clatworthy & Michael John Jones, 2006. "Differential patterns of textual characteristics and company performance in the chairman's statement," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 493-511, July.
    31. Aureliana-Geta Roman & Mihaela Mocanu & Răzvan Hoinaru, 2019. "Disclosure Style and Its Determinants in Integrated Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, April.
    32. Michaela HORUCKOVA & Thierry BAUDASSE, 2017. "Content Analysis Applied To Social And Environmental Reporting," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2521, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    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. Shoufeng Cao & Henry Xu & Kim P. Bryceson, 2023. "Blockchain Traceability for Sustainability Communication in Food Supply Chains: An Architectural Framework, Design Pathway and Considerations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Ibolya Lámfalusi & Judit Hámori & Andrea Rózsa & Judit Hegyi & Károly Kacz & Anita Miklósné Varga & Szabolcs Troján & Nóra Gombkötő, 2024. "Evaluation of sustainability reporting of the food industry in Hungary from an EU taxonomy perspective," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(5), pages 4479-4504, October.
    3. Radka MacGregor Pelikánová & Tereza Němečková & Robert K. MacGregor, 2021. "CSR Statements in International and Czech Luxury Fashion Industry at the Onset and during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Slowing Down the Fast Fashion Business?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.

    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. Belal, Ataur Rahman & Cooper, Stuart M. & Roberts, Robin W., 2013. "Vulnerable and exploitable: The need for organisational accountability and transparency in emerging and less developed economies," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 81-91.
    2. 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).
    3. Maria-Silvia Sandulescu, 2017. "Impression management – an international perspective," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 15(148), pages 605-605.
    4. Mihai Carp & Leontina Păvăloaia & Mihai-Bogdan Afrăsinei & Iuliana Eugenia Georgescu, 2019. "Is Sustainability Reporting a Business Strategy for Firm’s Growth? Empirical Study on the Romanian Capital Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Yihao Guo & Yanwen Song & Yimin Wang, 2024. "Happy troubles? CSR awards and CSR report quality," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 2989-3005, July.
    6. Zaheer Alam & Yasir Bin Tariq, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation and Firm Financial Performance: Evidence from Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    7. Walid Ben‐Amar & Merridee Bujaki & Bruce McConomy & Philip McIlkenny, 2022. "Disclosure transparency and impression management: A textual analysis of board gender diversity disclosures in Canada," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1247-1265, September.
    8. Francisco González Santa Cruz & Iliana Loor Alcívar & Nelly Moreira Mero & Amalia Hidalgo-Fernández, 2020. "Analysis of the Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Study Applied to Co-operativism in Ecuador," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 517-534, April.
    9. Naveed Ahmad & Rana Tahir Naveed & Miklas Scholz & Muhammad Irfan & Muhammad Usman & Ilyas Ahmad, 2021. "CSR Communication through Social Media: A Litmus Test for Banking Consumers’ Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    10. Hajdu, Anna & Daziano, Marcos F. & Visser, Oane, 2021. "Institutions and individual values motivating corporate social responsibility activities in large farms and agroholdings," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(4), April.
    11. Siva K. Balasubramanian & Yiwei Fang & Zihao Yang, 2021. "Twitter Presence and Experience Improve Corporate Social Responsibility Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 737-757, November.
    12. Lauriane Robert & Rachel Bocquet & Elodie Gardet, 2016. "Intra-Organisational Drivers of Purchasing Social Responsibility," Post-Print hal-01613396, HAL.
    13. Adelaide Martins & Delfina Gomes & Manuel Castelo Branco, 2020. "Managing Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure: An Accountability vs. Impression Management Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    14. Tolossa Fufa Gulema & Yadessa Tadesse Roba, 2021. "Internal and external determinants of corporate social responsibility practices in multinational enterprise subsidiaries in developing countries: evidence from Ethiopia," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, December.
    15. Nikolai Brosch, 2023. "Corporate purpose: from a ‘Tower of Babel’ phenomenon towards construct clarity," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 567-595, May.
    16. Pei‐Chi Kelly Hsiao & Charl de Villiers & Claire Horner & Hein Oosthuizen, 2022. "A review and synthesis of contemporary sustainability accounting research and the development of a research agenda," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4453-4483, December.
    17. Marta Pizzetti & Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele, 2021. "Firms Talk, Suppliers Walk: Analyzing the Locus of Greenwashing in the Blame Game and Introducing ‘Vicarious Greenwashing’," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 21-38, April.
    18. Abdullah Alsaadi & M. Shahid Ebrahim & Aziz Jaafar, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Shariah-Compliance, and Earnings Quality," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 51(2), pages 169-194, April.
    19. Xiaoqian Lu & Tong Sheng & Xiaolan Zhou & Chaohai Shen & Bingquan Fang, 2022. "How Does Young Consumers’ Greenwashing Perception Impact Their Green Purchase Intention in the Fast Fashion Industry? An Analysis from the Perspective of Perceived Risk Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Truant & Adrian Zicari, 2019. "Internal corporate sustainability drivers: What evidence from family firms? A literature review and research agenda," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, January.

    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:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4491-:d:366000. 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.