Legitimacy theory

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Michael Deegan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting ◽  
Highly Cited

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the contributions made to the social and environmental accounting literature by papers that comprised a 2002 Special Issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ) entitled social and environmental reporting and its role in maintaining or creating organisational legitimacy. This paper will also provide insights into the origins of legitimacy theory as used in the social and environmental accounting literature as well as providing reflections about the strengths, and shortcomings, of the theory. Suggestions are made with respect to the ongoing application, and development, of legitimacy theory. Design/methodology/approach As a commentary, this paper utilises a review of the social and environmental accounting and institutional literature across a number of decades to reveal insights about the development and use of legitimacy theory as a basis to explain social and environmental reporting practices. Citation data are also used to indicate the potential impact that the papers in the 2002 Special Issue had upon subsequent research. Findings This commentary shows that the 2002 Special Issue is the most highly cited issue in the history of AAAJ. It also shows that individually, some of the papers in the Special Issue represent some of the most highly cited papers in the social and environmental accounting literature. The commentary provides arguments to suggest that the development of legitimacy theory is in need of further refinement, and suggests a way in which this refinement might take place. Research limitations/implications This paper is largely based on the opinions of one researcher, and the evidence presented in the paper is selected on the basis that it is deemed sufficient to support the opinions being projected. The paper also relies on citation data as an indicator of “impact”. The implication of the research is that it identifies a “way forward” for the development of theory applicable to the understanding of organisational social and environmental reporting practices. Originality/value The study provides evidence to show that the 2002 Special Issue was significant within the context of AAAJ, and also within the context of the evolution of the social and environmental accounting literature. The description of the history of the development of legitimacy theory, and of the theory’s subsequent application, provides a solid impetus for future refinements to the theory.

scholarly journals Eksplorasi dimensi spiritual dalam praktik pelaporan akuntansi sosial dan lingkungan di Bali

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Agus Fredy Maradona
Keyword(s):  
Business Environment ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

Social and environmental accounting has attracted growing attention from companies in Indonesia as these companies face an increasing pressure to report their social and environmental responsibilities to the public. Despite this trend, however, Indonesia lacks a social and environmental reporting model that is relevant to its business environment, i.e., a model that incorporates the spiritual dimension, and not merely the economics, social, and environmental dimensions. The main aim of this study was to explore the spiritual dimension of the social and environmental reporting practices of a tourism company in Bali. The exploration was based on Tri Hita Karana, a local societal value held by the people of Bali. This study employed a two-phase research approach, where the first phase focused on exploring the social and environmental reporting practices of the company, while the second phase centered on refining and assessing the applicability of this reporting model in other companies. The results of this study show that the appropriate model of social and environmental accounting for Indonesian companies should consist of four dimensions: economic, environmental, social, and spiritual. Among these dimensions, the implementation of the spiritual dimension in social and environmental accounting faces the greatest challenges.

What is the stock of the situation? A bibliometric analysis on social and environmental accounting research in public sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floriana Fusco ◽  
Paolo Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Academic Journals ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Bibliometric Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of the state of the art in social and environmental accounting research applied to the public sector, highlighting different streams and the main gaps in current literature and providing input for future research.Design/methodology/approachA bibliometric method was used to analyse the characteristics, citation patterns and content of 38 papers published in international academic journals.FindingsThe findings show that the research on social and environmental reporting in the public sector is still at an early stage. Current investigations, although slowly on the increase, are still very few and localised. Most papers are about the reasons why public organisations report, what and how they report, but there are so many aspects that need to be investigated more in-depth or require extra validation in order to open new directions for future research, among which the relationship with and the differences between other non-financial type of reporting, namely ICR and IR.Research limitations/implicationsThe study shows some limitations, mainly related to the adoption of the bibliometric method. Indeed, it does not take into account books and chapters but only papers published in international and academic journals. This leads to exclude a significant part of the existing literature and other relevant contributions on the field.Originality/valueSocial and environmental reporting practices are quickly spreading in the public sector. The field is particularly interesting, given the specific connotations of this kind of organisations. However, the literature is clearly not exhaustive and there is not a comprehensive and systematic review of the state of the art on the subject.

Corporate social and environmental reporting practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Moazzem Hossain ◽  
Mahmood Ahmed Momin ◽  
Anna Lee Rowe ◽  
Mohammed Quaddus
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Community Investment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) practices and motivations in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-methods approach, the paper attempts to understand what corporate social and environmental issues Bangladeshi firms are reporting and why. The paper first explores the motivations for CSER in line with O’Dwyer’s (2003) proposed classifications of proactive and reactive motivations through interviews and frames its findings using stakeholder theory. To provide a more holistic view, content analysis adapted from CSR Asia (2008) categorization (broadly guided by GRI) was conducted to enhance findings from engagement-based interviews with managers. Findings The paper finds that “community investment and development” and “governance codes and policies” received the highest amount of disclosure, while the least amount of disclosure was found in the “workplace/human rights” category. Although a philanthropic tone was found behind “community investment”, such as poverty alleviation activities, disclosure in this area is mostly motivated by proactive rationales with enlightened self-interest and image-building activities. In terms of reactive motivations underpinning CSER, the paper finds that companies also report reactively to reduce pressure from powerful stakeholders such as international buyers and government agencies. Contrary to other studies regarding reactive motivations, the authors argue that a director’s proactive motivation is the prime determinant of CSER in a developing country. They also argue that low-level disclosures on workplace environment/human rights need to be given more importance by policymakers, management and other relevant stakeholders. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is one of the few engagement-based field studies that uses a mixed-methods approach to seek managerial perspectives in an attempt to understand CSER practices in an emerging country context.

Social report innovation: evidence from a major Italian bank 2007-2012

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Martin-Sardesai ◽  
James Guthrie
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Social Report ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it traces the development of social and environmental disclosure (SED) by identifying and reporting what national and international guidelines aligned to the voluntary disclosures of a major Italian case study organisation, a Bank. It will address the gap in relation to empirical SED studies in banking industries by reviewing in detail the case study Bank’s social report, for the period 2007 to 2012, thus giving insights into the phases of the SED journey. Second, the paper assesses how the social reports have changed over time and identifies the reasons for the change in form and content of disclosure over the period. As a rapidly developing accounting regulatory arena, studies of SED have the potential to examine many aspects of the development of accounting regulation. Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a theoretically informed analysis to track the history of social reports using the Idea Journey framework. The paper undertakes a content analysis of the Bank’s social reports to gain an understanding how and why the changes in social reports occurred during the period. Data sources for the study included historical data from academic literature, policy documents alongside the 2006 version of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the 2008 GRI Financial Services Sector Supplements. Findings The findings reveal that the Bank’s social report was aligned to a variety of national and international institution’s directives and guidelines. It identifies the various elements that were at play in the preparation of the social report. The paper provides useful insights for academics, regulators and reporting organisations and highlights the need for a better understanding of social reporting practices, an antecedent to integrated reporting and the European directive and now regulation for non-financial information. Research limitations/implications This study provides a foundation for future research into the practices of Italian companies who produce integrated report and social and environmental reporting generally in light of the introduction of legislation mandating non-financial reporting. Originality/value The paper helps inform improvements in research, policy and practice by providing rich information in the stages in the development of social report, which has received limited attention in the extant literature. It also builds on innovation literature showing how the idea journey framework can be used to shape accounting research.

Environmental reporting practices and performance of timber firms in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Kwaku Agyei ◽  
Benjamin Yankey
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Environmental Disclosure ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
And Performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the motivations of timber firms in Ghana to undertake environmental accounting and reporting (EAR) and the perceived benefits from it. Design/methodology/approach Survey method involving primary data from a census of 13 timber firms in Kumasi (Ghana) and descriptive statistics including Kendall’s coefficient were used to analyze the perceptions of practitioners on EAR. Findings The study offered support for the political economy, legitimacy and stakeholder theories generally applied to the study of EAR. Specifically, the study concluded that EAR is common to timber firms in Ghana. Pressure from government, media, shareholders’ influence and the existence of environmental committee or department in the company are perceived to influence timber firms’ level of environmental disclosure. Meanwhile, perceived benefits from EAR include fostering cordial relationship between timber firms and the society, preventing government fines and improving firm reputation. Research limitations/implications The presence of biases in the responses of survey method studies can be difficult to eliminate. However, given the benefits associated with getting practitioners views on EAR and the reliability/validity procedures that the instruments and respondents were subjected to, this weakness was reduced to its barest minimum. Practical implications The study recommends that governments should adopt green tax policy to encourage EAR while regulatory bodies make EAR mandatory. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion on EAR from the perspective of practitioners in the timber industry of Ghana, which has been neglected in previous studies.

Environmental disclosures on local governments' websites: a Malaysian context

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 663-679
Author(s):  
Che Ku Hisam Che Ku Kassim ◽  
Suraya Ahmad ◽  
Noor Emilina Mohd Nasir ◽  
Nur Nariza Mod Arifin ◽  
Wan Mohd Nazif Wan Mohd Nori
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Environmental Disclosures ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

PurposeFirst, the paper examines the extent of environmental disclosures (EDs) made by the Malaysian local governments (LGs) on their websites. Second, it examines the patterns of disclosure with the aim of investigating the underlying motive behind the EDs.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive content analysis was employed to measure the EDs. A disclosure instrument, based on the extant studies, is designed to facilitate the measurement process.FindingsThe results suggest that LGs of various levels, have taken the initiative to report EDs on their websites even in the absence of any statutory reporting regulations either by the state or federal government. Differences in the types of EDs are also apparent and consistent with the premise of legitimacy theory.Originality/valueA paucity of prior studies measuring EDs made at the LG level is observed in the literature. Research evidence focussing on the EDs reported on the websites is even more scarce. This lack of research contributes to a limited understanding on the development and challenges of the environmental reporting practices within the developing country's perspective. Moreover, generalising the findings of studies conducted in developed countries may not be possible due to a number of regulatory, political and socio-economic factors.

Factors determining social and environmental reporting by Indian textile and apparel firms: a test of legitimacy theory

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratna Nurhayati ◽  
Grantley Taylor ◽  
Rusmin Rusmin ◽  
Greg Tower ◽  
Bikram Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Social Information ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Social Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Textile And Apparel ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors determining the social and environmental reporting (SER) of Indian textile and apparel (TA) firms. Design/methodology/approach – The 2010 annual reports of a sample of top 100 Indian TA firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange were examined to assess the extent of SER. SER was assessed based on the Global Reporting Initiative index applicable to the TA industry. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the determinants of SER. Findings – This study reports a low extent of SER in the annual reports of Indian listed TA firms, with a mean disclosure of 14 per cent. On average, firms reported more extensive environmental information, with a mean disclosure of 18.4 per cent, compared to social information, with a mean disclosure of 10.7 per cent. Most firms reported social information relating to “labour practices and decent work”, while the reporting of information relating to “human rights” was sparse. Overall, the SER patterns provide support for legitimacy theory. Consistent with legitimacy theory expectations, corporate size, brand development and audit committee size are significant factors determining the variation in SER. No significant relationship was found between board independence, level of ownership and SER. Originality/value – There is no existing study specifically on SER by TA firms in India. In fact, there is surprisingly little research on SER in the Indian context in general. Given the dearth in research on corporate social reporting in the Indian context, the study extends prior literature on corporate SER by concentrating on SER of TA firms in an emerging economy. The theoretical contribution of this study is the testing of legitimacy theory in the context of an emerging economy. This study contributes towards practice by delineating the relationship between governance structure and SER, particularly with regard to issues such as child labour. These findings have implications for the future development of reporting standards and regulations in regard to corporate governance in India. The dearth of social reporting by Indian TA firms has implications for foreign purchasers of branded products, as international companies have been implicated in sub-optimal social or environmental practices or incidents.

Management controls and pressure groups: the mediation of overflows

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1644-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Jollands ◽  
Chris Akroyd ◽  
Norio Sawabe
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Management Controls ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

Purpose Organisations produce effects that go beyond the economic framing within which they operate, referred to as overflows in this paper. When an organisation comes under pressure to address these overflows they must decide how to respond. Previous research has placed social and environmental reporting as an important tool organisations mobilise in their attempts to mediate these pressures and the groups that give rise to them. However, these reports are typically only released once a year while the pressures that organisations face can arise at any time and are ongoing and constant. The purpose of this paper is to explore situated organisational practices and examine if and how management controls are mobilised in relation to the actions of pressure groups. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a case study approach to understand how an organisation attempts to mediate the pressures from a number of overflows: carbon emissions, changing lifestyles, aspartame and obesity. To undertake this research a performative understanding of management control is utilised. This focusses the research on if and how management controls are mobilised to assist with attempts to mediate pressures. Findings Analysis of the data shows that many different management controls, beyond just reports, were mobilised during the attempts to mediate the pressure arising from the actions of groups affected by the overflows. The management controls were utilised to: identify pressures, demonstrate how the pressure had been addressed, alleviate the pressure or to dispute the legitimacy of the pressure. Originality/value This paper shows the potential for new connections to be made between the management control and social and environmental accounting literatures. It demonstrates that future research may gain much from examining the management controls mobilised within the situated practices that constitute an organisations response to the pressures it faces.

The National Data Center and the Rise of the Data Double

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 627-636
Author(s):  
Dan Bouk
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
National Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Economy

A mid-1960s proposal to create a National Data Center has long been recognized as a turning point in the history of privacy and surveillance. This article shows that the story of the center also demonstrates how bureaucrats and researchers interested in managing the American economy came to value personal data stored as “data doubles,” especially the cards and files generated to represent individuals within the Social Security bureaucracy. The article argues that the United States welfare state, modeled after corporate life insurance, created vast databanks of data doubles that later became attractive to economic researchers and government planners. This story can be understood as helping to usher in our present age of personal data, one in which data doubles have become not only commodities, but the basis for a new capitalism. This essay is part of a special issue entitled Histories of Data and the Database edited by Soraya de Chadarevian and Theodore M. Porter.

Empathy, closeness, and distance in non-profit accountability

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 224-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ericka Costa ◽  
Caterina Pesci ◽  
Michele Andreaus ◽  
Emanuele Taufer
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Edith Stein ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Social And Environmental Reporting

Purpose Drawing on the phenomenological concepts of “empathy” and “communal emotions” developed by Edith Stein (1917, 1922), the purpose of this paper is to discuss the co-existence both of the legitimacy and accountability perspectives in voluntarily delivered social and environmental reporting (SER), based on different “levels of empathy” towards different stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts an interpretive research design, drawn from Stein’s concept of empathy by using a mixed-method approach. A manual content analysis was performed on 393 cooperative banks’ (CB) social and environmental reports from 2005 to 2013 in Italy, and 14 semi-structured interviews. Findings The results show that CBs voluntarily disclose information in different ways to different stakeholders. According to Stein, the phenomenological concept of empathy, and its understanding within institutions, allows us to interpret these multiple perspectives within a single social and environmental report. Therefore, when the process of acquiring knowledge in the CB–stakeholder relationship is complete and mentalised (level 3, re-enactive empathy), the SER holds high informative power, consistent with the accountability perspective; on the contrary, when this process is peripheral and perceptional (level 1, basic empathy), the SER tends to provide more self-assessment information, attempting to portray the bank in a positive light, which is consistent with the legitimacy perspective. Originality/value The concept of empathy introduced in this paper can assist in interpreting the interactions between an organisation and different stakeholders within the same social and environmental report. Moreover, the approach adopted in this paper considers different stakeholders simultaneously, thus responding to previous concerns regarding the lack of focus on multiple stakeholders.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document