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Reporting Models do not Translate Well: Failing to Regulate CSR Reporting in Spain

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  • Mercedes Luque-Vílchez
  • Carlos Larrinaga

Abstract

This paper explores the regulation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting for corporations exceeding 1000 employees introduced in Spain by the Sustainable Economy Law 2/2011 of 4 March. The relevance for this special issue stems from the fact that this law anticipates possible outcomes of the 2014/95/EU Directive to the Spanish context. Furthermore, the Spanish Law has been cited by the EU as a precedent for the Directive. This paper adopts a multi-method approach, based on content analysis and qualitative interviews to portray the state and evolution of such CSR reporting regulation. The results of the content analysis suggest that the regulation did not have any impact in terms of the number of reporters, but it is associated with a slight improvement in the reporting quality of the published reports. Those findings are consistent with the argument made in previous literature indicating that governmental regulation of CSR reporting alone does not guarantee better disclosure levels and that structural elements are necessary to accompany changes in the law. With the help of qualitative interviews with relevant actors, the paper has examined three elements that seem to explain the limited effect of this regulation: (i) competing views about CSR and CSR regulation; (ii) CSR reporting patterns; and (iii) how power was mobilised to suppress the potential of CSR reporting regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Mercedes Luque-Vílchez & Carlos Larrinaga, 2016. "Reporting Models do not Translate Well: Failing to Regulate CSR Reporting in Spain," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 56-75, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:seaccj:v:36:y:2016:i:1:p:56-75
    DOI: 10.1080/0969160X.2016.1149301
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chris A. Kelsall, 2020. "Ecological Management Accounting—Taking into Account Sustainability, Does Accounting Have Far to Travel?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Anna Jessop & Nicole Wilson & Michal Bardecki & Cory Searcy, 2019. "Corporate Environmental Disclosure in India: An Analysis of Multinational and Domestic Agrochemical Corporations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-33, September.
    3. Ho-Tan-Phat Phan & Francesco De Luca & Lea Iaia, 2020. "The “Walk” towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Does Mandated “Talk” through NonFinancial Disclosure Affect Companies’ Financial Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Laura Sierra-Garcia & Maria Antonia Garcia-Benau & Helena Maria Bollas-Araya, 2018. "Empirical Analysis of Non-Financial Reporting by Spanish Companies," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Andrea Venturelli & Fabio Caputo & Simona Cosma & Rossella Leopizzi & Simone Pizzi, 2017. "Directive 2014/95/EU: Are Italian Companies Already Compliant?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Correa, Carmen & Laine, Matias & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2023. "Taking the world seriously: Autonomy, reflexivity and engagement research in social and environmental accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Fabio Caputo & Rossella Leopizzi & Simone Pizzi & Virginia Milone, 2019. "The Non-Financial Reporting Harmonization in Europe: Evolutionary Pathways Related to the Transposition of the Directive 95/2014/EU within the Italian Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Salvatore Loprevite & Domenico Raucci & Daniela Rupo, 2020. "KPIs Reporting and Financial Performance in the Transition to Mandatory Disclosure: The Case of Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-24, June.
    9. Igor Álvarez-Etxeberria & Miguel Marco-Fondevila & Constancio Zamora-Ramírez, 2023. "Non-Financial Disclosure: Isomorphism Effect in the Face of New Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    10. Giorgio Mion & Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2019. "Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure and Its Consequences on the Sustainability Reporting Quality of Italian and German Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-28, August.
    11. Selena Aureli & Mara Del Baldo & Rosa Lombardi & Fabio Nappo, 2020. "Nonfinancial reporting regulation and challenges in sustainability disclosure and corporate governance practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2392-2403, September.
    12. Hao Yang & Laura Le Luo & Asit Bhattacharyya, 2021. "Mandatory Environmental Reporting in Australia: An In‐depth Analysis of Quantity and Quality," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(4), pages 737-779, December.
    13. Romilda Mazzotta & Giovanni Bronzetti & Stefania Veltri, 2020. "Are mandatory non‐financial disclosures credible? Evidence from Italian listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1900-1913, July.
    14. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.
    15. Simona Cosma & Rossella Leopizzi & Simone Pizzi & Mario Turco, 2021. "The stakeholder engagement in the European banks: Regulation versus governance. What changes after the NF directive?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 1091-1103, May.
    16. Giuseppe Nicolo' & Francisco Javier Andrades‐Peña, 2024. "Does corporate governance influence environmental, social and governance disclosure practices of state‐owned enterprises? An international study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4715-4731, September.
    17. Tae Hee Kim & Sun Hye Lee & Petros Vourvachis, 2023. "Accounting Standard-Setting for an Emission Trading Scheme: The Korean Case," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1003-1024, February.
    18. Fallan, Even & Fallan, Lars, 2019. "Corporate tax behaviour and environmental disclosure: Strategic trade-offs across elements of CSR?," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).

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