Purpose The purpose of this study is to test the legitimacy theory (LT) argument in the context of the banking industry of a developing country, taking Bangladesh as a case by interpreting the bank managers’ perceptions in legitimizing corporate social (CS) reporting. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) listed banks data during a 10-year period (2004–2013) and uses Islam and Kokubu (2018) CS reporting index. The LT variables are tested by using multiple regression method. A mixed-method of research with “triangulation design” has been used in this study for a comprehensive understanding of LT variables. In addition, a total number of 28 interviews (ranges from Corporate Social Responsibility Operational Manager to Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer) from 24 listed banks have been conducted to interpret bank managers’ legitimate perception in CS reporting. Findings This study supports the applicability of the broader thrust of LT for the banking industry of the developing economies in three ways. First, for companies with lower “proximity to end-users” by density in population disclose more social information than the companies with higher ones to gain/regain/maintain market legitimacy. Second, newer banks with less scope to reach proximity to end-users disclose more social information to fill proximity to tertiary clients’ gap to meet community expectation. Third, companies disclose more social information in their annual reports to legitimize corporate actions in response to the CS reporting initiatives taken by the stakeholders, particularly regulators. Research limitations/implications The main implication of this study is that it extends the applicability of the LT for the developing country, in general, and for the banking industry, in particular. Originality/value The study enriches the existing LT literature of the developing economies’ banking industry by providing empirical evidence from the banking system in Bangladesh.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of corporate social (CS) reporting in the developing country’s banking industry from the legitimacy theory perspective – Bangladesh as a case. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the longitudinal aspects and analyzes the content of annual reports using the ISO26000 standard with some country- and industry-specific adjustments as the method of data coding. All Dhaka Stock Exchange-listed banks (30 of 47, 2013) and 282 annual reports with 46 reporting items have been used for data analysis during a 10-year period (2004-2013). A CS reporting index has been constructed for this purpose of analysis. Findings The key findings are that the main impetus driving the development of CS reporting was the stakeholder initiatives; the CS reporting index was less than 20 in 2004, and it increased linearly and reached around 60 in 2013 because of the legitimization of the new banking process through social perceptions. This study explains that the contemplation of the legitimacy theory argument can similarly be applied to the developing countries as well as to the banking industry’s context. Research limitations/implications The main implication of this study is the extension of the broader thrust of the legitimacy theory argument in the developing country’s banking industry, such as that of Bangladesh. Originality/value This study contributes to the documentation of the CS reporting practices of the developing country’s banking industry where there is a lack of published longitudinal studies from the legitimacy theory perspective.

The past few decades showed inadequate discussion of the impact of employees’ knowledge sharing and its diffusion on advancing banks’ long-term sustainability. The objective of the study is to examine the role of employees’ knowledge sharing on the sustainable performance of the banks operating in Bangladesh. Furthermore, this study tested the “moderated mediation model” of knowledge hiding and employees’ ambidexterity on the association above. The researchers applied the deductive reasoning method through the application of quantitative techniques, using structural equation modeling. Finally, 287 respondents from different banks were chosen through a self-administered questionnaire survey in the capital city of Dhaka. The findings indicated that all the predictor variables significantly explain the outcome variable, except the influence of knowledge sharing. Mediation analysis showed that employees’ ambidexterity mediated the association between knowledge sharing and sustainable performance. Surprisingly, moderation analysis revealed that the influence of knowledge sharing on employees’ ambidexterity is not affected by knowledge hiding. This study adds to the existing literature by demonstrating the importance of knowledge hiding, along with explaining how knowledge sharing can motivate and influence employees to achieve sustainable performances. In addition, the main contribution of this study is to advance knowledge and add values in the forms of knowledge creation, preservation, and dissemination among practitioners, banking professionals, and academics for utilizing their domain-specific areas to increase long-term sustainability.