Corporate social reporting and legitimacy in banking: a longitudinal study in the developing country

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tazul Islam ◽  
Katsuhiko Kokubu
Keyword(s):  
Banking Industry ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Data Coding ◽  
Corporate Social Reporting ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the development of corporate social (CS) reporting in the developing country’s banking industry from the legitimacy theory perspective – Bangladesh as a case.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the longitudinal aspects and analyzes the content of annual reports using the ISO26000 standard with some country- and industry-specific adjustments as the method of data coding. All Dhaka Stock Exchange-listed banks (30 of 47, 2013) and 282 annual reports with 46 reporting items have been used for data analysis during a 10-year period (2004-2013). A CS reporting index has been constructed for this purpose of analysis.FindingsThe key findings are that the main impetus driving the development of CS reporting was the stakeholder initiatives; the CS reporting index was less than 20 in 2004, and it increased linearly and reached around 60 in 2013 because of the legitimization of the new banking process through social perceptions. This study explains that the contemplation of the legitimacy theory argument can similarly be applied to the developing countries as well as to the banking industry’s context.Research limitations/implicationsThe main implication of this study is the extension of the broader thrust of the legitimacy theory argument in the developing country’s banking industry, such as that of Bangladesh.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the documentation of the CS reporting practices of the developing country’s banking industry where there is a lack of published longitudinal studies from the legitimacy theory perspective.

scholarly journals Do stakeholders or social obligations drive corporate social and environmental responsibility reporting? Managerial views from a developing country

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Moazzem Hossain ◽  
Manzurul Alam ◽  
Muhammad Azizul Islam ◽  
Angela Hecimovic
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore senior managers’ perception and motivations of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) reporting in the context of a developing country, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 senior managers of companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Publicly available annual reports of these companies were also analysed. Findings – The results indicate that senior managers perceive CSER reporting as a social obligation. The study finds that the managers focus mostly on child labour, human resources/rights, responsible products/services, health education, sports and community engagement activities as part of the social obligations. Interviewees identify a lack of a regulatory framework along with socio-cultural and religious factors as contributing to the low level of disclosures. These findings suggest that CSER reporting is not merely stakeholder-driven, but rather country-specific social and environmental issues play an important role in relation to CSER reporting practices. Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to engagement-based studies by focussing on CSER reporting practices in developing countries and are useful for academics, practitioners and policymakers in understanding the reasons behind CSER reporting in developing countries. Originality/value – This paper addresses a literature “gap” in the empirical study of CSER reporting in a developing country, such as Bangladesh. This study fills a gap in the existing literature to understand managers’ motivations for CSER reporting in a developing country context. Managerial perceptions on CSER issues are largely unexplored in developing countries.

Corporate social reporting in the banking industry of Bangladesh: a test of legitimacy theory

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tazul Islam ◽  
Katsuhiko Kokubu ◽  
Kimitaka Nishitani
Keyword(s):  
Developing Country ◽  
Banking Industry ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Social Information ◽  
End Users ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bank Managers ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this study is to test the legitimacy theory (LT) argument in the context of the banking industry of a developing country, taking Bangladesh as a case by interpreting the bank managers’ perceptions in legitimizing corporate social (CS) reporting. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) listed banks data during a 10-year period (2004–2013) and uses Islam and Kokubu (2018) CS reporting index. The LT variables are tested by using multiple regression method. A mixed-method of research with “triangulation design” has been used in this study for a comprehensive understanding of LT variables. In addition, a total number of 28 interviews (ranges from Corporate Social Responsibility Operational Manager to Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer) from 24 listed banks have been conducted to interpret bank managers’ legitimate perception in CS reporting. Findings This study supports the applicability of the broader thrust of LT for the banking industry of the developing economies in three ways. First, for companies with lower “proximity to end-users” by density in population disclose more social information than the companies with higher ones to gain/regain/maintain market legitimacy. Second, newer banks with less scope to reach proximity to end-users disclose more social information to fill proximity to tertiary clients’ gap to meet community expectation. Third, companies disclose more social information in their annual reports to legitimize corporate actions in response to the CS reporting initiatives taken by the stakeholders, particularly regulators. Research limitations/implications The main implication of this study is that it extends the applicability of the LT for the developing country, in general, and for the banking industry, in particular. Originality/value The study enriches the existing LT literature of the developing economies’ banking industry by providing empirical evidence from the banking system in Bangladesh.

Corporate Social Reporting Practices In India

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Vipin Bihari Srivastava ◽  
Dr Manoj Kumar Mishra ◽  
Dr Wogari Negari
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Social Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Corporate Social Reporting ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
Corporate Social

"This paper aims to examine the extent of corporate social reporting practices in the annual reports of companies in India and to ascertain the differences if any, between public sector and private sector companies and to investigate what were the determinants of corporate social reporting . The study intends to answer the research questions which include: a) what variables could represent a Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Reporting consists of dependent variables and Independent variables? b) What are the factors of Corporate Social Reporting (COSOR) and how valid and reliable are these factors? c) What is the degree of COSOR by factors in public and private sector companies? d) What are the determinants of COSOR? What is the level of their influence on COSOR? A sample of 120 listed companies of National Stock Exchange of India was chosen and they were stratified in to public and private sector companies. A Corporate social reporting Index was constructed for data collection through content analysis from the annual reports. The results of the study revealed that social accounting information were disclosed in company’s annual reports, chairman’s speech, directors’ reports, notes to accounts, schedule to accounts and auditor’s report. The degree of corporate social reporting varies between public sector and private sector companies. The public sector companies have disclosed more corporate social reporting information than the private sector companies. The study found that higher the level of capital employed, earnings before depreciation and taxes, total assets and total sales higher was the level of corporate social reporting. However, the degree of influence of determinants on corporate social reporting was different among public and private sector companies. Most of the companies have disclosed corporate social information on voluntary basis. To improve the understandably, uniformity, and comparability of corporate social information, this study suggests making it mandatory. A standard format for disclosure of corporate social information shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs by amending the Indian Companies Act. The concept of social accounting is relatively new in India. This study suggests to include it in the commerce curriculum and also in the curriculum of CA/CWA/CS. Corporate Social Reporting is such a vast area of research that no single study can cover different dimensions related to it. Though some studies including the present study have been conducted on Corporate Social Reporting Practices in India, but still there is much potential of research in this area. Future research in this area will hopefully bring more brightening result measuring and analysing social costs and benefits data by manager as well as by other concerned. Since the subject is in the primary stage, an in-depth research is needed to be done in different sectors such as banking information technology, manufacturing etc. The results are specifically applicable to sample companies and generalisations can be made with caution. The results of the study are based on the data collected from published annual reports of sample companies using content analysis method. Corporate social reporting in company websites, brochures etc are not covered. Social cost and benefit analysis is not covered in this study.

scholarly journals Social reporting in the annual reports of Iranian listed companies

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Yaftian ◽  
Victoria Wise ◽  
Kathie Cooper ◽  
Soheila Mirshekary
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Social Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
Corporate Social Reporting ◽  
Industry Type ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social

This paper examines corporate social reporting (CSR) in the annual reports of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) in Iran. Descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression techniques are used to analyse the extent of CSR disclosure and to test hypotheses regarding the relationships between CSR disclosure and four company characteristics namely size, profitability, financial leverage and industry type. Among five important themes of social disclosure (human resources, environmental performance and policies, community activities, energy consumption, and customer satisfaction and product quality) the human resources theme was found to be the most common type of disclosure made. Only the size of the disclosing company was found to be significantly related to the level of overall CSR disclosure.

Corporate Social, Environmental, and Governance Reporting and Firm's Characteristics

2019 ◽  
pp. 697-721
Author(s):  
Md. Nazrul Islam ◽  
Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury ◽  
Mehedi Hasan Tuhin ◽  
Md. Masud Sarker
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Corporate Social

The study aimed to explore the social, environmental and governance (SEG) reporting practices of Banking sector of Bangladesh. In conducting the study, the longitudinal data has been used over the period 2000-2015 taking all the 30listed private commercial banks in Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited. Three separate reporting index for social, environmental and governance have been developed to measure reporting practices using the dichotomous method from the published annual reports of banks. The analysis found that corporate social, environmental and governance reporting has been increased over the study period. The statistical measure showed that social, governance and environmental reporting were made 46%, 49% and 1% respectively over the period while total SEGwas 39% over the period. The econometrics models using fixed effects showed that corporate profitability, size, age and leverage have positive impact on SEG reporting. The main cause of low SEG reporting could be due to the insufficient laws and framework of SEG reporting.

scholarly journals Corporate social responsibility through sport: a longitudinal study of the FTSE100 companies

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Bason ◽  
Christos Anagnostopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – Under growing public scrutiny of their behaviour, the vast majority of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been undertaking significant investments through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to close legitimacy gaps. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the nature and scope of MNEs’ CSR programmes that have sport at their core. More specifically, the present study addresses the following questions. First, how do Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 firms utilise sport as part of their CSR agendas? Second, how do different industries have different approaches to CSR through sport? And third, can the types of CSR through sport be classified? Design/methodology/approach – Centred on legitimacy theory and exploratory in nature, the study employed a content analysis method, and examined three types of document from each of the FTSE100 firms, namely, annual reports, annual reviews and CSR reports over the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012. In total, 1,473 documents were content analysed, thereby offering a sound representation of CSR disclosure of the FTSE100. Findings – From the analysis, three main streams emerged: “Philanthropy”, “Sponsorships” and “Personnel engagement” with the first showing the smallest growth compared with the other main streams. Findings show the general rise in CSR through sport, thereby demonstrating that the corporate world has practically acknowledged that the sporting context is a powerful vehicle for the employment of CSR. Originality/value – Previous empirical studies have sought to investigate CSR through sport, yet they have generally suffered from sampling limitations which have, in turn, rendered the drawing of reliable conclusions problematic. Particularly, the lack of an explicit focus on longitudinality is a typical limitation, meaning that no conclusions can be made regarding the trend. The study outlined in this paper offers the most comprehensive longitudinal study of CSR through sport to date, and thus contributes to the increasing volume of literature that examines the application of CSR in relation to the sport sector.

scholarly journals Corporate Social Reporting By Mauritian Banks

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dineshwar Ramdhony
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Corporate Social Reporting ◽  
Narrow View ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Code Of Corporate Governance ◽  
Corporate Social

The paper examines CSR disclosures by commercial banks operating in Mauritius. Annual reports for the year 2011 were scrutinized using content analysis. Five categories of disclosure were chosen in line with the Code of corporate governance and prior studies. Due to the small number (20) of banks operating in the country all banks were selected. Findings show that banks with higher visibility disclose more CSR information thus confirming that the legitimacy theory is an explanation for CSR disclosure by Mauritian banks. CSR reporting is prevalent among all banks but forty percent of banks disclose CSR information relating to one category only showing a narrow view of CSR. The primary area of disclosure is ‘Human resources’ which is at odds with previous studies. The paper contributes to the scarce literature on CSR disclosures by banks in a developing country.

Green accounting practices: lesson from an emerging economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruna Maama ◽  
Kingsley Opoku Appiah
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Green Accounting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices

Purpose Reporting on only the financial performance of an organisation is no longer the focus of reporting because, gradually, investors and other stakeholders demand that companies also report on their effect on the environment and the society. Accounting and reporting for the environment has, therefore, increasingly become important to stakeholders and organisations because the effect of an organisation’s environmental and social performance on its financial health. The purpose of this study is to examine the extend of voluntary green accounting practice of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on content analysis of 202 annual reports of 23 listed firms in Ghana, from 2006 to 2015. Findings The mining, oil and gas sector has integrated environmental sustainability information in their accounting system. With regards to the nature of green disclosure, the content analysis depicts that only positive qualitative disclosures were provided in the annual reports. Again, almost all the companies increased the quality and quantity of environmental disclosures over the years. Practical implications The service and manufacturing sectors should integrate environmental sustainability information in their accounting system. This, in turn, may enhance their legitimacy to access critical resources for survival. Originality/value This study contributes to the green and social reporting practices literature from Ghana, a sub-Sahara Africa country.

scholarly journals The impact of web marketing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms' performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Muneerali Thottoli ◽  
K.V. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Web Marketing ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe current study seeks to examine the impact of web marketing (through the company's website) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms' performance across companies listed in the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), Oman.Design/methodology/approachThis research analyses qualitative and exploratory data taken from companies' website, annual reports (the financial year 2019), Google search and CSR report from 69 out of total 117 listed companies in the MSX to analyze the impact of web marketing on CSR and firms' performance proxied by return of assets (ROA), return of equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q (TQ).FindingsWeb marketing on CSR positively affects firms' performance. Especially, the positive effect of web marketing on firms' performance is stronger for listed companies. Web marketing enhances financial performance proxied by ROA, ROE and TQ.Practical implicationsThe research findings provide new insights that are able to enlighten governing bodies in Oman to make standardized compulsory CSR spending (say, 0.5% on profit after tax) by listed companies in MSX.Originality/valueThis research presents evidence that web marketing on CSR can increase firms' performance and brand image among stakeholders. This is the first study to examine the impact of web marketing on CSR and firms' performance using empirical data in Oman.

Corporate political connection and corporate social responsibility disclosures

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 725-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Dessalegn Getie Mihret ◽  
Arifur Khan
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
The State ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Political Connection ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Corporate Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of corporate political connection with the level of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures to determine how the relationships between the state and the corporate sector influence CSR engagement. Design/methodology/approach Based on a neo-pluralist view of legitimacy theory, which conceptualizes the state as a concentration of power amenable to exploitation by the corporate sector, the study develops and empirically tests a hypothesis that CSR disclosures are inversely associated with political connection. A sample of 936 firm-year observations is used with data collected from annual reports of companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh from 2005 to 2013. Findings Results indicate that corporate political connection is associated with reduced CSR disclosures. This finding suggests that the perceived need for CSR disclosures as a legitimation strategy diminishes for politically connected firms. The finding supports a neo-pluralist argument that political connection could enable firms to eschew stakeholder pressure associated with potential legitimacy threats originating from poor CSR performance. This conclusion challenges the pluralist view of legitimacy theory that considers the state as a neutral arbiter resolving conflict among stakeholder groups in society. Originality/value The study makes a significant contribution to the literature by developing a neo-pluralist theorization of voluntary CSR disclosures within legitimacy theory and empirically testing it. Because prior empirical CSR disclosure research is largely underpinned by the pluralistic conception of society, examining this phenomenon from a neo-pluralist perspective enables a more complete understanding of CSR disclosure behaviors of firms.

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