Evolution of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Companies in ISE National‐30 Index in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose

The Purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the evolution of reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Istanbul Stock Exchange companies.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to monitor the evolution of reporting on CSR relevant information in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 annual reports of the ISE‐30 Index Companies were examined. The data collected were used to study in depth the following issues: information disclosed related to corporate governance; environmental policy; and social policy.

Findings

The study highlights that the companies' attitude towards CSR is encouraging and they try to fulfill their duties as a corporate citizen regarding the social responsibility.

Research limitations/implications

The study covers only 20 companies, which were in the ISE‐30 Index for all of the three years in order to provide comparable information. Since the annual reports of two of these 20 companies cannot be obtained, the research was conducted on the annual reports of the remaining companies that published their annual reports in their websites.

Practical implications

According to the study, the listed companies' disclosures on CSR are not at a desirable level in respect of the best practices. The study reveals that the Turkish companies should give more weight to reporting, especially on environmental and social issues.

Originality/value

Although similar research had been conducted in various countries, this is one of the first studies related to reporting on CSR conducted in the ISE‐30 Index in Turkey.

Citation

Nalan Altintas, N., Adiloglu, B. and Taylan Altintas, A. (2007), "Evolution of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Companies in ISE National‐30 Index in Turkey", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 19-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/17471110710835545