Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective
Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective
Purpose: We analyse changes in community disclosures by listed companies in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach: We carried out a quantitative and qualitative assessment of annual report disclosures over the period 2004-2010. In particular, we 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, we 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: We 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.
corporate social responsibility, community disclosures, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, classical political economy, developing economy
452-482
Soobaroyen, Teerooven
6686e2f8-564f-4f7f-b079-9dc8a2f53a48
Mahadeo, Jyoti Devi
4cfcc703-7dc3-4657-8903-1784b5568070
Soobaroyen, Teerooven
6686e2f8-564f-4f7f-b079-9dc8a2f53a48
Mahadeo, Jyoti Devi
4cfcc703-7dc3-4657-8903-1784b5568070
Soobaroyen, Teerooven and Mahadeo, Jyoti Devi
(2015)
Community disclosures in a developing country: insights from a neo-pluralist perspective.
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 29 (3), .
(doi:10.1108/AAAJ-08-2014-1810).
(In Press)
Abstract
Purpose: We analyse changes in community disclosures by listed companies in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach: We carried out a quantitative and qualitative assessment of annual report disclosures over the period 2004-2010. In particular, we 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, we 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: We 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.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 20 May 2015
Keywords:
corporate social responsibility, community disclosures, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, classical political economy, developing economy
Organisations:
Centre of Excellence for International Banking, Finance & Accounting
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 377526
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377526
ISSN: 0951-3574
PURE UUID: a1b7a62b-9890-4fda-bcae-9163e6371ddb
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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2015 14:12
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:35
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Contributors
Author:
Teerooven Soobaroyen
Author:
Jyoti Devi Mahadeo
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