IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/accfor/v36y2012i3p154-165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Visual disclosure strategies adopted by more and less sustainability-driven companies

Author

Listed:
  • Sue Hrasky

Abstract

Graph use in annual reports is well documented, and research into photographs is gaining momentum, but less is known about their use in sustainability reports. This research analyses graph and photograph use in sustainability reports of more and less sustainability-driven companies. It aims to determine whether use of imagery differs between these groups in a way reflective of different legitimation tactics. Results suggest that less sustainable companies pursue legitimacy symbolically while sustainability-driven firms convey more about actual impacts and accomplishments. Some sustainability reporters appear, therefore, to be using imagery as a rhetorical “green-washing” tool in their communication with stakeholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Sue Hrasky, 2012. "Visual disclosure strategies adopted by more and less sustainability-driven companies," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 154-165, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:accfor:v:36:y:2012:i:3:p:154-165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.001
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.001?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.

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Xiumin & Zhang, Jinsen & Zhu, Yifan & Shen, Jie, 2023. "Presentation of social responsibility reports and the stock price crash risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    2. Yuriko Nakao & Aya Ishino & Katsuhiko Kokubu & Hitoshi Okada, 2024. "Exploring visual communication in corporate sustainability reporting: Using image recognition with deep learning," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3210-3234, July.
    3. Perera, Luckmika & Jubb, Christine & Gopalan, Sandeep, 2019. "A comparison of voluntary and mandated climate change-related disclosure," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 243-266.
    4. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Cristina‐Andrea Araújo‐Bernardo, 2020. "What colour is the corporate social responsibility report? Structural visual rhetoric, impression management strategies, and stakeholder engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 1117-1142, March.
    5. Ahmed Hassanein & Ahmed Bani-Mustafa & Khalil Nimer, 2024. "A country’s culture and reporting of sustainability practices in energy industries: does a corporate sustainability committee matter?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Wangwei Lin, 2022. "Corporate Non-Financial Reporting in the UK: Diversions from the EU Sustainability Reporting Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Antonio Corvino & Silvio Bianchi Martini & Federica Doni, 2021. "Extinction accounting and accountability: Empirical evidence from the west European tissue industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2556-2570, July.
    9. Ruggiero, Pasquale & Bachiller, Patricia, 2023. "Seeing more than reading:The visual mode in utilities' sustainability reports," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Olivier Boiral, 2016. "Accounting for the Unaccountable: Biodiversity Reporting and Impression Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 751-768, June.
    11. Sarah Maire & Sébastien Liarte, 2018. "Building on visuals : Taking stock and moving ahead," Post-Print hal-03026729, HAL.
    12. Jasińska-Biliczak Anna, 2023. "How to Ensure the Development of SMEs in Post-Pandemic Economy? A Start-ups Case Study," TalTech Journal of European Studies, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 201-225, June.
    13. Kanbaty, Majid & Hellmann, Andreas & He, Liyu, 2020. "Infographics in corporate sustainability reports: Providing useful information or used for impression management?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    14. Jieun Chung & Charles H. Cho, 2018. "Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 207-239, June.
    15. Hazianti Abdul Halim, 2016. "Visual Representations Strategies in Chairperson’s Statement in Malaysia: An Analysis of Impression Management," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(12), pages 245-255, December.
    16. Leonardo Becchetti & Sara Mancini & Nazaria Solferino, 2021. "The Effect of Mandatory Non-financial Reporting on CSR (and Environmentally Sustainable) Investment: a Discontinuity Design Approach," CEIS Research Paper 528, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 15 Nov 2021.
    17. 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.
    18. Kshitij Khanna & Helen Irvine, 2018. "Communicating the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Annual Reports: A Study of Australian NGOs," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 109-126, March.
    19. Tuvana Cüre & Emel Esen & Arzu Özsözgün Çalışkan, 2020. "Impression Management in Graphical Representation of Economic, Social, and Environmental Issues: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    20. Peter Seele & Lucia Gatti, 2017. "Greenwashing Revisited: In Search of a Typology and Accusation‐Based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 239-252, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:accfor:v:36:y:2012:i:3:p:154-165. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/racc .

    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.