IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijocsr/v8y2023i1d10.1186_s40991-023-00082-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility communication in the ICT sector: digital issues, greenwashing, and materiality

Author

Listed:
  • Jordan Famularo

    (University of California, Berkeley, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity)

Abstract

Digitalization brings with it new social and governance issues and heightened responsibility, particularly for corporations. In recent years, society has demanded more transparency from companies about digital technology practices, oversight, and impacts. One sector that sharpens the view on these dynamics is information and communication technology (ICT). This study introduces for the first time an examination of corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse on digital issues among large ICT firms by using signaling theory to analyze a broad set of media (sustainability, ESG, CSR, integrated, impact, purpose, consolidated management, and annual reports as well as issue briefs and webpages). It clarifies how ICT firms present materiality—a reporting concept associated with fair representation and relevance of information—in their CSR reporting on digital topics. It then discusses implications for greenwashing and makes recommendations for improving disclosure credibility. Graphical Abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Jordan Famularo, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility communication in the ICT sector: digital issues, greenwashing, and materiality," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijocsr:v:8:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1186_s40991-023-00082-8
    DOI: 10.1186/s40991-023-00082-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40991-023-00082-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40991-023-00082-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Niamh Brennan & Sidney J. Gray, 2005. "The Impact of Materiality: Accounting's Best Kept Secret," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 1(1), pages 1-30.
    2. Hess, David, 2007. "Social Reporting and New Governance Regulation: The Prospects of Achieving Corporate Accountability Through Transparency," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 453-476, July.
    3. Nataša Verk & Urša Golob & Klement Podnar, 2021. "A Dynamic Review of the Emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 491-515, January.
    4. Edgley, Carla, 2014. "A genealogy of accounting materiality," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 255-271.
    5. Idoya Ferrero-Ferrero & Raúl León & María Jesús Muñoz-Torres, 2021. "Sustainability materiality matrices in doubt: may prioritizations of aspects overestimate environmental performance?," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(3), pages 432-463, February.
    6. Bloemendal, Martijn Ten, 2021. "On the advent of environmental, social and governance reporting and its intersection with privacy," Journal of Data Protection & Privacy, Henry Stewart Publications, vol. 5(1), pages 39-49, December.
    7. Andrew Crane & Sarah Glozer, 2016. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1223-1252, November.
    8. Armando Calabrese & Roberta Costa & Francesco Rosati, 2015. "A feedback-based model for CSR assessment and materiality analysis," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 312-327, December.
    9. Abdul Jelil Abukari & Ibn Kailan Abdul-Hamid, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility reporting in the telecommunications sector in Ghana," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Carol A. Adams, 2008. "A commentary on: corporate social responsibility reporting and reputation risk management," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 365-370, March.
    11. Shawn Pope & Arild Wæraas, 2016. "CSR-Washing is Rare: A Conceptual Framework, Literature Review, and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 173-193, August.
    12. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    13. Kim, Eun-Hee & Lyon, Thomas P., 2011. "Strategic environmental disclosure: Evidence from the DOE's voluntary greenhouse gas registry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 311-326, May.
    14. Carpenter, Brian W. & Dirsmith, Mark W., 1992. "Early debt extinguishment transactions and auditor materiality judgments: A bounded rationality perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(8), pages 709-739, November.
    15. Sandra Khalil & Patrick O’sullivan, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility: Internet social and environmental reporting by banks," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(3), pages 414-446, August.
    16. Dubbink, G.W. & Graafland, J.J. & Liederkerke, L., 2008. "CSR: Transparency and the role of intermediate organisations," MPRA Paper 17892, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Cynthia Hardy, 2001. "Researching Organizational Discourse," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 25-47, September.
    18. Bonsón, Enrique & Bednárová, Michaela & Perea, David, 2023. "Disclosures about algorithmic decision making in the corporate reports of Western European companies," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    19. Maryam Safari & Amreen Areeb, 2020. "A qualitative analysis of GRI principles for defining sustainability report quality: an Australian case from the preparers’ perspective," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 344-375, October.
    20. Myria W. Allen & Christopher A. Craig, 2016. "Rethinking corporate social responsibility in the age of climate change: a communication perspective," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-11, December.
    21. Irina Ervits, 2021. "CSR reporting by Chinese and Western MNEs: patterns combining formal homogenization and substantive differences," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-24, December.
    22. Irene M. Herremans & Jamal A. Nazari & Fereshteh Mahmoudian, 2016. "Stakeholder Relationships, Engagement, and Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 417-435, October.
    23. Whitney Ginder & Wi-Suk Kwon & Sang-Eun Byun, 2021. "Effects of Internal–External Congruence-Based CSR Positioning: An Attribution Theory Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 355-369, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tahniyath Fatima & Said Elbanna, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Implementation: A Review and a Research Agenda Towards an Integrative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 105-121, February.
    2. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Katia Furlotti, 2020. "The materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement: A content analysis of sustainability reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 470-484, March.
    3. Yinglin Huang & Claude Francoeur & Stephen Brammer, 2022. "What drives and curbs brownwashing?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2518-2532, July.
    4. Edgley, Carla & Jones, Michael J. & Atkins, Jill, 2015. "The adoption of the materiality concept in social and environmental reporting assurance: A field study approach," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-18.
    5. Anthony M. Gould & Jean‐Etienne Joullié & Kate Gould, 2024. "First things first: Unselfconscious corporate virtuosity and corporate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 692-706, February.
    6. Venturelli, Valeria & Pedrazzoli, Alessia & Pennetta, Daniela & Gualandri, Elisabetta, 2024. "Pinkwashing in the banking industry: The relevance of board characteristics," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    7. Roberto Aprile & David Alexander & Federica Doni, 2023. "Enhancing the materiality principle in integrated reporting by adopting the General Systems Theory," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2219-2233, September.
    8. Caroline Flammer & Michael W. Toffel & Kala Viswanathan, 2021. "Shareholder activism and firms' voluntary disclosure of climate change risks," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(10), pages 1850-1879, October.
    9. Aseem Kaul & Jiao Luo, 2018. "An economic case for CSR: The comparative efficiency of for‐profit firms in meeting consumer demand for social goods," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1650-1677, June.
    10. Heyes, Anthony & Lyon, Thomas P. & Martin, Steve, 2018. "Salience games: Private politics when public attention is limited," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 396-410.
    11. Olivier Boiral & Marie‐Christine Brotherton & Léo Rivaud & David Talbot, 2022. "Comparing the uncomparable? An investigation of car manufacturers' climate performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2213-2229, July.
    12. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    13. Fabrice Etilé & Sabrina Teyssier, 2012. "Signaling Corporate Social Responsibility: Third-Party Certification vs. Brands," PSE Working Papers halshs-00736551, HAL.
    14. Nicole Darnall & Hyunjung Ji & Kazuyuki Iwata & Toshi H. Arimura, 2022. "Do ESG reporting guidelines and verifications enhance firms' information disclosure?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1214-1230, September.
    15. Edgley, Carla, 2014. "A genealogy of accounting materiality," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 255-271.
    16. Shanti Gamper-Rabindran & Stephen Finger, 2013. "Does industry self-regulation reduce pollution? Responsible Care in the chemical industry," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 1-30, January.
    17. Kira R. Fabrizio & Eun-Hee Kim, 2019. "Reluctant Disclosure and Transparency: Evidence from Environmental Disclosures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1207-1231, November.
    18. Holger Görg & Aoife Hanley & Adnan Seric, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains: Deeds Not Words," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    19. Zhang, Guanglong, 2023. "Regulatory-driven corporate greenwashing: Evidence from “low-carbon city” pilot policy in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van & Chen, Catherine Huirong, 2020. "Greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

    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:spr:ijocsr:v:8:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1186_s40991-023-00082-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.