Conformance and Deviance: Company Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

摘要

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the response of a sample of large private and public sector companies to new regulation imposed in Denmark in 2009 which mandates disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information. The study applies both quantitative and qualitative techniques to examine the similarities and differences in the form and content of reports provided by first-time CSR reporters responding to the new regulation, compared with those of companies with a longer history of CSR reporting, and of the influences on the form and content of such reporting. The paper applies institutional theory to assess the extent of mimetic isomorphism evident in the two groups of reports. The sample on which the study is based comprises 142 company annual reports, as well as interviews with 10 first-time CSR reporters and with 6 non-compliant companies. The annual reports were analysed for data including whether the company was a first-time CSR reporter, the type of CSR content included, and where this content was disclosed. The authors find from the analysis that '[c]oercive pressures from government have an impact on how companies report on CSR', and that 'new regulatory requirements have been instrumental in promoting CSR reporting in Denmark'. In addition, they conclude that an element of mimetic isomorphism is evident in the new reports.