Why do companies not produce sustainability reports?

Business Strategy and the Environment

Volumn 22, Issue 7, 2013, Pages 456-470

  Stubbs, Wendy ^a   Higgins, Colin ^b   Milne, Markus ^c  

^a MONASH UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^b VICTORIA UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

Australia; Non reporters; Social and environmental reporting; Sustainability reporting

Indexed keywords

ACCOUNTABILITY; BUSINESS; CORPORATE STRATEGY; ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS; SUSTAINABILITY; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;

AUSTRALIA;

EID: 84887608652     PISSN: 09644733     EISSN: 10990836     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/bse.1756     Document Type: Article

References (88)

1. Adams C. 2002. Internal organisational factors influencing social and ethical reporting: Beyond current theorising. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 15(2): 223-250.
2. Adams C, Frost G. 2006. Accessibility and functionality of the corporate website: Implications for sustainability reporting. Business Strategy and the Environment 15(4): 275-287.
3. Andersen O. 2003. Environmental reporting and transport - the case of a public transport company. [Article]. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 12(6): 386-399. doi: 10.1002/bse.381
4. Andersson L, Bateman T. 2000. Individual environmental initiative: championing natural environmental issues in US business organisations. Academy of Management Journal 43(4): 548-570.
5. Andriof J, McIntosh M. 2001. Introduction. In Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship, Andriof J, McIntosh M (Eds.). Greenleaf: Sheffield; 13-24.
6. Atkinson G. 2000. Measuring corporate sustainability. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 43(2): 235-252.
7. Australian Council of Super Investors. 2011. Sustainability reporting practices of the S&P/ASX200. Author: Melbourne, Australia.
8. Bansal P. 2005. Evolving sustainability: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic Management Journal 26: 197-218.
9. Bansal P, Roth K. 2000. Why companies go green: A model of ecological responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal 43(4): 717-736.
10. Bebbington J, Higgins C, Frame, B. 2009. Initiating sustainable development reporting: Evidence from New Zealand. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 22(4): 588-625.
11. Berman S, Wicks A, Kotha S, Jones T. 1999. Does stakeholder orientation matter? The relationship between stakeholder management models and firm financial performance. Academy of Management Journal 42(5): 488-506.
12. Blaikie NWH. 2000. Designing social research: the logic of anticipation. Polity Press: Malden, MA.
13. Borkowski SC, Welsh MJ, Wentzel K. 2010. Johnson & Johnson: A Model for Sustainability Reporting. [Article]. Strategic Finance 92(3): 29-37.
14. Brown N, Deegan C. 1998. The public disclosure of environmental performance information: A dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory. Accounting and Business Research 29(1): 21-41.
15. Burritt R. 2002. Environmental reporting in Australia: Current practices and issues for the future. Business Strategy and the Environment 11(6): 391-406.
16. Campbell T, Mollica D. 2009. Introduction. In Sustainability, Campbell T, Mollica D (Eds.). Ashgate: Farnham, Surrey, UK; xv-xliv.
17. Cerin P. 2002. Communication in corporate environmental reports. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 9(2): 46-66.
18. Cooper SM, Owen DL. 2007. Corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability: The missing link. Accounting, Organizations and Society 32: 649-667.
19. Cormier D, Gordon I. 2001. An examination of social and environmental reporting strategies. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 14(5): 587-616.
20. Cormier D, Magnan M. 1999. Corporate environmental disclosure strategies: Determinants, costs and benefits. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance 14(4): 429-451.
21. Dechant K, Altman B, Browning R, Keeney T. 1994. Environmental leadership: From compliance to competitive advantage. The Academy of Management Executive 8(3): 7-28.
22. Deegan C. 2002. The legitimising effect of social and environmental disclosures: A theoretical foundation. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15(3): 282-311.
23. Deegan C, Gordon B. 1996. A study of the environmental disclosure practices of Australian corporations. Accounting and Business Research 26(3): 187-199.
24. Dillard J, Rigsby J, Goodman C. 2004. The making and remaking of organization context: Duality and the institutionalisation process. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 17(4): 506-542.
25. DiMaggio P, Powell W. 1983. The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review 48: 147-160.
26. Elkington J (Ed.). 1997. Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st Century business. Earthscan: London.
27. Ernst and Ernst. 1978. Social responsibility disclosure: 1978 survey. Author: Cleveland, OH.
28. Gladwin T. 1993. The meaning of greening: A plea for organizational theory. In Environmental strategies for industry, Fisher K, Schot J (Eds.). Island Press: Washington, DC.
29. Gray R, Bebbington J. 2000. Environmental accounting, managerialism and sustainability: Is the planet safe in the hands of business and accounting. Advances in Environmental Accounting and Management 1: 1-44.
30. Gray R, Bebbington J, Waters D (Eds.). 1993. Accounting for the environment. ACCA: London.
31. Gray R, Dey C, Owen D, Evans R, Zadek S. 1997. Struggling with the praxis of social accounting: Stakeholders, accountability, audits and procedures, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 10(3): 325-364.
32. Gray R, Kouhy R, Lavers S. 1995. Corporate social and environmental reporting: A review of the literature and a longitudinal study of UK disclosure. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 8(2): 47-77.
33. Gray RH, Milne MJ. 2002. Sustainability Reporting: Who's Kidding Whom? Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand July: 66-70.
34. Gray R, Milne MJ. 2004. Towards Reporting on The Triple Bottom Line: Mirages, methods and myths. In The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up?, Henriques A, Richardson J (eds.). Earthscan: London.
35. Gray R, Owen D, Adams C. 1996. Accounting and accountability: Changes and challenges in corporate social and environmental reporting. Prentice Hall: London.
36. Gray R, Owen D, Maunders K. 1988. Corporate social reporting: emerging trends in accountability and the social contract. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 1(1): 6-20.
37. Group 100. 2003. Sustainability: A guide to triple bottom line reporting. Business Council of Australia: Sydney.
38. Gunningham N, Kagan R, Thornton D. 2003. Shades of green: Business, regulation, and the environment. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California.
39. Guthrie J, Parker L. 1990. Corporate social disclosure practice: A comparative international analysis. Advances in Public Interest Accounting 3: 159-176.
40. Hedberg C-J, von Malmborg F. 2003. The Global Reporting Initiative and corporate sustainability reporting in Swedish companies. [Article]. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 10(3): 153-164. doi: 10.1002/csr.038
41. Higgins C, Milne M, van Gramberg B. 2011. Towards a more nuanced understanding of sustainable development reporting in Australia. In 25th Australian and New Zeal and Academy of Management Conference, 7-9 December 2011. ANZAM (eds): Wellington, NZ.
42. Higgins C, Larrinaga C. 2012. Sustainability reporting: Insights from institutional theory. In Sustainability Accounting and Accountability, 2nd edn, Unerman J, Bebbington J, O'Dwyer B (Eds.). Routledge: London.
43. Higgins C, Walker R. 2012 in press. Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports. Accounting Forum. doi: 10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003
44. Hoffman A. 1999. Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the US chemical industry. Academy of Management Journal 42(4): 351-371.
45. Isenmann R, Lenz C. 2002. Internet use for corporate environmental reporting: Current challenges, technical benefits, practical guidance. Business Strategy and the Environment 11(2): 181-202.
46. Jensen J, Berg N. 2011. Determinants of traditional sustainability reporting versus integrated reporting: An institutionalist approach. Business Strategy and the Environment. 21(5): 299-316. doi: 10.1002/bse.740
47. Kolk A. 2003. Trends in sustainability reporting by the Fortune Global 250. Business Strategy and the Environment 12(5): 279-291.
48. KPMG. 2008. International survey of corporate social responsibility reporting, 2008. KPMG International: Amsterdam.
49. KPMG. 2011. The KPMG survey of corporate social responsibility reporting. KPMG: London.
50. KPMG and Group 100. 2008. Sustainability reporting: A guide. KPMG: Melbourne.
51. Lindblom CK. 1993. The implications for organizational legitimacy for corporate social performance and disclosure. Proceedings of the Critical Perspectives on Accounting conference, New York.
52. Marshall S, Brown DL. 2003. Corporate environmental reporting: What's in a metric. Business Strategy and the Environment 12(3): 87-106.
53. Martin AD, Hadley DJ. 2008. Corporate environmental non-reporting - a UK FTSE 350 perspective. [Article]. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 17(4): 245-259. doi: 10.1002/bse.518
54. Mathews MR. 1997. Twenty-five years of social and environmental accounting research: Is there a silver jubilee to celebrate? Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 10(4): 481-531.
55. Mathews MR. 2002. A brief description and preliminary analysis of recent social and environmental accounting research literature. Plenary session: CSEAR conference, Melbourne.
56. Miles MB, Huberman AM. 1994. Qualitative data analysis: an expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks (first published 1984).
57. Milne MJ. 2007. Downsizing Reg (me and you)! Addressing the 'real' sustainability agenda at work and home. In Social Accounting, Mega Accounting and Beyond: Festschrift in Honour of Martin (Reg) Mathews, Gray RH, Guthrie J (eds.). CSEAR: St. Andrews.
58. Milne M, Gray R. 2007. Future prospects for corporate sustainability reporting. In Sustainability Accounting and Accountability, Unerman J, Bebbington J, O'Dwyer B (Eds.). Routledge: London.
59. Milne MJ, Ball A, Gray RH. 2008. W(h)ither Ecology? The Triple Bottom Line, the Global Reporting Initiative and Corporate Sustainability Reporting, American Accounting Association Annual Meetings, Anaheim, CA, August.
60. Milne M, Tregidga H, Walton S. 2009. Words not actions! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 22(8): 1211-1257.
61. Mitchell CG, Hill T. 2009. Corporate social and environmental reporting and the impact of internal environmental policy in South Africa. [Article]. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 16(1): 48-60.
62. Mitchell R, Agle B, Wood D. 1997. Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review 22(4): 853-886.
63. Morhardt J. 2010. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting on the Internet. Business Strategy and the Environment 19(7): 436-452.
64. Morhardt J, Baird S, Freeman K. 2002. Scoring corporate environmental and sustainability reports using GRI2000, ISO14031 and other criteria. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 9: 215-233.
65. Neuman WL. 2003. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson Education Inc.: New York.
66. Noci G. 2000. Environmental reporting in Italy: current practice and future developments. [Article]. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 9(4): 211-223.
67. O'Dwyer B. 2002. Managerial perceptions of corporate social disclosure: An Irish story. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 15(3): 406-436.
68. O'Dwyer B. 2003. Conceptions of corporate social responsibility: The nature of managerial capture. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 16(4): 523-557.
69. Owen D, Swift T, Bowerman M, Humphreys C. 2000. The new social audits: Accountability, managerial capture or the agenda of social champions? The European Accounting Review 9(1): 81-98.
70. Parker L. 2005. Social and environmental accounting research: A view from the commentary box. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 18(6): 842-860.
71. Parker L. 2011. Twenty-one years of social and environmental accountability research: A coming of age. Accounting Forum 35(2): 1-10.
72. Patten D. 1992. Intra-industry environmental disclosures in response to the Alaskan oil spill: A note on legitimacy theory. Accounting, Organizations and Society 17: 471-475.
73. Patton MQ. 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Sage Publications: New York.
74. Porter M, van der Linde C. 1995. Toward a new conception of the environment-competitiveness relationship. Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(4): 97-118.
75. Roberts C. 1991. Environmental disclosures: A note on reporting practices in mainland Europe. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 4(3): 62-71.
76. Roberts RW. 1992. Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure. Accounting, Organizations and Society 17(6): 595-612.
77. Solomon A, Lewis L. 2002. Incentives and disincentives for corporate environmental disclosure. Business Strategy and the Environment 11(2): 154-169.
78. Solomon J, Solomon A, Norton SD, Joseph N. 2011. Private climate change reporting: An emerging discourse of risk and opportunity? Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 24(8): 1119-1148.
79. Spence C. 2007. Social and environmental reporting and hegemonic discourse. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 20(6): 855-882.
80. Strauss AL, Corbin JM. 1998. Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks (first published 1990).
81. Stray S, Ballantine J. 2000. A sectoral comparison of corporate environmental reporting and disclosure. Eco-management and Auditing 7(1): 165-177.
82. SustainAbility. 1998. The non-reporting report. Author: London.
83. UNEP/SustainAbility. 2004. Risk and opportunity: Best practice in non-financial reporting. The Global Reporters 2004 survey of Sustainability Reporting. Author: London.
84. von Geibler J, Liedtke C, Wallbaum H, Schaller S. 2006. Accounting for the social dimension of sustainability: experiences from the biotechnology industry. [Article]. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 15(5): 334-346. doi: 10.1002/bse.540
85. Vormedal I, Ruud A. 2009. Sustainability reporting in Norway - an assessment of performance in the context of legal demands and socio-political drivers. [Article]. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 18(4): 207-222. doi: 10.1002/bse.560
86. Wheeler D, Elkington J. 2001. The end of the corporate environmental report? Or the advent of cybernetic sustainability reporting and communication? Business Strategy and the Environment 10(1): 1-14.
87. World Industry Council for the Environment. 1994. Environmental reporting: A manager's guide. International Chamber of Commerce: Paris.
88. Zadek S. 1998. Balancing performance, ethics, and accountability. Journal of Business Ethics 17(3): 1241-1441.