Content analysis in social and environmental reporting research: trends and challenges P. Vourvachis and T. WoodwardAbstract Purpose -The present study comprehensively reviews the use of content analysis in social and environmental reporting research. It explores how the relevant literature has evolved over time and particularly how recent developments have affected the validity and reliability challenges that researchers face when executing the method. Design/methodology/approach -The paper combines a quasi-systematic review of the literature employing content analysis (examining a sample of 251 studies published over the last 40 years in a wide array of journals with interest in the field), with a largely interpretive meta-analysis, using an index, considering the research questions asked and frameworks used as well as the specific content analysis decisions. Findings -A number of issues of concern in the use of the method are identified, mainly over comparability and reliability of coding schemes. Potential explanations are developed and methodological refinements that could enhance the usefulness of content analysis methods in social and environmental reporting research are subsequently proposed. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the literature by offering a critical and comprehensive review of the method's theoretical underpinnings and application in social and environmental reporting research, and by describing changing patterns in content analysis, in order to help build a more secure foundation for future work.

Purpose Motivated by legitimacy theory, this paper aims to examine comprehensively corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Southeast Asian (Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN]) countries with the aim of disentangling whether such disclosures are the result of a proactive stance or a reaction to regulations. Design/methodology/approach After a content analysis of CSR stand-alone reports that relies on the Global Reporting Initiative as the basis for comparison, a multivariate analysis is carried out while controlling for firm-specific incentives and industry, country and year fixed effects. Findings The paper finds that CSR disclosure increased across the entire ASEAN. Although this increase cannot be directly ascribed to the introduction of regulations in Indonesia and Malaysia, the latter may have impacted choices of disclosure media. In countries where reporting requirements have become mandated, mandatory reporters show low levels, and voluntary reporters high levels, of CSR disclosure. The paper also finds that the attainment of CSR awards is related to disclosure. Additional analyses reveal a substitution effect between voluntary and mandatory incentives in countries with high levels of law enforcement. Practical implications The evidence suggests that the introduction of regulations can be effective in improving the level and breadth of CSR reporting only in the presence of institutions that ensure the enforcement of the disclosure regulations. Social implications The evidence suggests that organizations are reluctant to report on issues such as child labor, human rights and corruption. Organizations opportunistically employ related disclosure strategies that deviate from the underlying CSR performance. Originality/value The paper analyzes not only the level and breadth of CSR disclosure but also the motivation for its use across the still under-investigated ASEAN area, thus allowing an examination of the influence of institutional incentives above and beyond the firm-specific factors that drive CSR activities.

Purpose-This paper contributes to the literature investigating disclosure reactions to legitimacy threats by analysing the corporate social responsibility disclosure reactions to catastrophic accidents suffered by major airlines. Design/methodology/approach-We use content analysis to examine changes in annual report disclosure in response to four separate airline disasters. We adopt two classification schemes and two measurement approaches to explore these changes. Findings-We find that for three events the organisations appear to have responded with considerable increases in CSR disclosure that are consistent with attempts of legitimation. For one of the events examined we find no disclosure response and suggest that this could be due to the company's unwillingness to accept responsibility. Research limitations/implications-The study's focus on major airlines that have suffered an accident with available annual reports in English meant that other companies and more recent events had to be excluded from the analysis. Practical implications-The findings demonstrate the use of the annual report as a legitimation tool and further highlight the need for greater transparency and comparability across publications. Originality/value-The paper adds to the scarce literature examining corporate disclosure reactions following threats to their social legitimacy.

This paper investigates Corporate Social (and environmental) Responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices in Mexico. By analysing a sample of Mexican companies in 2010, it utilises a detailed manual content analysis and identifies corporate-governance-related determinants of CSR disclosure. The study shows a general association between the governance variables and both the content and the semantic properties of CSR information published by Mexican companies. Although an increased international influence on CSR disclosure is noted, the study reveals the symbolic role of CSR committees and the negative influence of foreign ownership on community disclosure, suggesting that improvements in business engagement with stakeholders are needed for CSR to be instrumental in business conduct.

In the past decade much has been written on the need to develop social, ethical and environmentally responsible performance reporting frameworks that engage with all organisational stakeholders. The theoretical development of these frameworks has spanned nearly a century culminating in the release in 2000 of voluntary guidelines developed by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies and the United Nations Environment Programme through the offices of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The release of the sustainability reporting guidelines perhaps could not have been more inopportune insofar as it coincided with a concerted effort on the part of the accounting regulators toward global harmonisation of financial reporting standards. This paper reports the findings of a survey of Company Secretaries and company provided information examining the extent to which these guidelines have been adopted by the leading public companies in the United Kingdom. The findings suggest limited acceptance and in the resource‐constrained environment of the twenty‐first century business implementation of mandatory requirements are given priority. Further research needs to be conducted to determine whether the GRI has a role to play in future stakeholder engagement.