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The predictive ability of legitimacy and agency theory after the implementation of the EU directive on non‐financial information

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  • Chiara Mio
  • Marco Fasan
  • Carlo Marcon
  • Silvia Panfilo

Abstract

Directive 2014/95/EU (the EU Directive) requires large companies to disclose information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental challenges, thus shifting the disclosure of non‐financial information (NFI) from the voluntary to the mandatory realm. Building on the idea that regulatory changes can shape stakeholder expectations, we hypothesized that legitimacy (agency) theory's ability to predict NFI disclosure after the implementation of the EU Directive, and hence after NFI disclosure became mandatory, would decrease (increase). By relying on a hand‐collected data set measuring NFI disclosure, we have found that legitimacy theory maintains its predictive ability in the new mandatory setting, while agency theory's predictive ability partially increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Mio & Marco Fasan & Carlo Marcon & Silvia Panfilo, 2020. "The predictive ability of legitimacy and agency theory after the implementation of the EU directive on non‐financial information," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2465-2476, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:6:p:2465-2476
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1968
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    Cited by:

    1. Mariusz Karwowski & Monika Raulinajtys‐Grzybek, 2021. "The application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions for mitigation of environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) and reputational risk in integrated reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 1270-1284, July.
    2. Christianna Chimonaki & Stelios Papadakis & Christos Lemonakis, 2024. "Environmental, Social, Governance and Gen-der Diversity Under the Adoption of European Directive 2014/95/EU," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 162-188, January.
    3. Chiara Mio & Marco Fasan & Carlo Marcon & Silvia Panfilo, 2021. "Carrot or stick? An empirical analysis of the different implementation strategies of the EU directive on nonfinancial information across Europe," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1591-1605, November.
    4. Laura Broccardo & Francesca Culasso & Amandeep Dhir & Elisa Truant, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility: Does it really matter in the luxury context?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 105-118, January.
    5. Nicholas Browning & Ejae Lee & Sung Hyun Lee & Sung-Un Yang, 2022. "We’re All in This Together: Legitimacy and Coronavirus-Oriented CSR Messaging," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-38, February.
    6. Shinu Vig, 2024. "Environmental disclosures by Indian companies: role of board characteristics and board effectiveness," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 16-31, March.
    7. Diletta Acuti & Marco Bellucci & Giacomo Manetti, 2024. "Preventive and Remedial Actions in Corporate Reporting Among “Addiction Industries”: Legitimacy, Effectiveness and Hypocrisy Perception," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 603-623, January.
    8. Fabio Caputo & Simone Pizzi & Lorenzo Ligorio & Rossella Leopizzi, 2021. "Enhancing environmental information transparency through corporate social responsibility reporting regulation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3470-3484, December.
    9. Xiyan Gu & Yingjun Zhu & Jingxia Zhang, 2023. "Toward sustainable port development: an empirical analysis of China’s port industry using an ESG framework," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Monika Wieczorek-Kosmala & Dorota Marquardt & Jarosław Kurpanik, 2021. "Drivers of Sustainable Performance in European Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, October.

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