Stakeholder engagement practices and impression management
Journal of Global Responsibility
ISSN: 2041-2568
Article publication date: 27 December 2021
Issue publication date: 28 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the substantiveness of stakeholder engagement by examining voluntary disclosures tied to the engagement process. The objective is to draw a portrait of stakeholder engagement practices and determine whether they genuinely contribute to informing stakeholders or whether they are simply intended to manage stakeholders’ impressions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed an exploratory content analysis on 113 sustainability reports published in 2018 in the Global Reporting Initiative database. The authors investigated disclosures tied to consulted stakeholders, communication modes and material issues resulting from the engagement process. The authors then assessed the substantiveness of these disclosures to determine the extent of the impression management tactics deployed in the stakeholder engagement disclosures made by Canadian companies.
Findings
Data analysis showed that more than a third of Canadian firms tend to make generic disclosures on their stakeholders’ engagement. As well, almost half the engagement modes disclosed are unidirectional and fewer than 33% of Canadian companies disclose on relevant sustainability issues. Furthermore, only 26% of the sample seek assurance on the information disclosed. Overall, the authors note an important trend in impression management used in sustainability reporting and underscore a potentially significant sectoral effect in the tactics used.
Originality/value
These data provide new insight into stakeholder engagement processes and highlight the strategies used by Canadian companies to manage their stakeholders’ impressions rather than their expectations. The study also contributes to a better understanding of the underexplored stakeholder engagement process and provides regulatory organisations with deepened insights to better frame stakeholder engagement disclosures.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Gabrielle Bergeron for her participation in collecting the data. Vincent Gagné acknowledges the financial support provided by the Ecole de gestion.
Citation
Gagné, V., Berthelot, S. and Coulmont, M. (2022), "Stakeholder engagement practices and impression management", Journal of Global Responsibility, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 217-241. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-03-2021-0036
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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