Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 21 March 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse changes in community disclosures by listed companies in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried out a quantitative and qualitative assessment of annual report disclosures over the period 2004-2010. In particular, the authors consider the influence of a corporate governance code and a government intervention to first persuade and subsequently mandate corporate social responsibility investment (known as a “CSR Levy”).
Findings
From a predominantly limited and neutral form of communication, narratives of community involvement morph into assertive and rhetorical statements, emphasising commitment, permanency and an intimate connection to the community and a re-organisation of activities and priorities which seek to portray structure and order in the way companies deliver community interventions. Informed by Gray et al.’s (1995) neo-pluralist framework and documentary evidence pertaining to the country’s social, political and economic context, the authors relate the change in disclosures to the use of corporate impression management techniques with a view to maintain legitimacy and to counter the predominant public narrative on the insufficient extent of community involvement by local companies.
Research limitations/implications
The authors find that community disclosures are not only legitimating mechanisms driven by international pressures but are also the result of local tensions and expectations.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence on forms of “social” – as opposed to environmental – disclosures. Furthermore, it examines a unique setting where a government enacted a legally binding regime for greater corporate social involvement.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 6th Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting held at the University of Sydney (July 2010). The authors thank the anonymous conference reviewers, the discussant (Geoff Frost) and the participants for their valuable comments and suggestions. The authors also would like to express our appreciation to Professor Lee Parker and the two AAAJ reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestion. This paper is partially based on work supported by the Mauritius Research Council (MRC) under Award Number: URGS MRC/RUN-0702. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MRC.
Citation
Soobaroyen, T. and Mahadeo, J.D. (2016), "Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 452-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2014-1810
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited