An Analysis of the Adherence to GRI for Disclosing Information on Social Action and Sustainability Concerns
Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management: Social and Environmental Accounting in Brazil
ISBN: 978-1-78635-376-4, eISBN: 978-1-78635-375-7
Publication date: 23 March 2017
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to assess the degree of adherence to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) by organizations from all over the world, as well as the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports under the institutional and legitimacy theoretical frameworks. Content analysis was conducted on annual data from all organizations that used GRI as a means for disclosing CSR information. Descriptive analyses and tests for the difference in proportions have been processed. The whole set of organizations adhering to GRI, from 1999 to 2013, has been analyzed. Results signal an increasing adherence to GRI together with an improvement in the quality of reports, which indicates that GRI seems to be recognized as relevant to CSR disclosure. The publication of integrated reports has increased rapidly. The high proportion of organizations adhering to GRI from OECD countries and continents with more advanced economies signals that the institutional and legal environment may contribute to CSR reporting and its quality. The high adherence of business organizations may indicate that GRI is seen as contributing to value creation and to legitimacy and reputational concerns. After 15 years of GRI as a means of disseminating social and sustainability information, GRI has become an important data source for CSR research. By providing results from the whole set of organizations adhering to GRI in the period 1999–2013, the paper contributes to the literature on CSR disclosure as well as builds on the institutional and legitimacy theories.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions. Vicente Crisóstomo acknowledges the support from CNPq (477343/2013-9 – Universal 14/2013). Priscila de Azevedo Prudêncio and Hyane Correia Forte thank Federal University of Ceará for the support under scholarship program PET.
Citation
Crisóstomo, V.L., Prudêncio, P.d.A. and Forte, H.C. (2017), "An Analysis of the Adherence to GRI for Disclosing Information on Social Action and Sustainability Concerns", Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management: Social and Environmental Accounting in Brazil (Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management, Vol. 6), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 69-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-359820160000006002
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited