An Exploratory Study of the Rhetoric in CSR Reports: A Comparison of Shari’ah Compliant Company and Non –Shari’ah Compliant Company in Malaysia

Abstract

This paper advances previous research in corporate social reporting (CSR) by using a taxonomy of five distinct rhetorical strategies to examine any differences in term of type of ethical categories and to identify moral attitudes towards different societal activities between Shari'ah compliant company Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) and Non-Shari'ah compliant company Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank). The data is analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that there are different rhetoric applied in both types of companies such as Agency (profit), Benefit (collective welfare), Compliance (law and contracts), Duty and Ethos (virtue). In term of moral attitudes, both types of companies disclosed relatively similar behaviour and commitment towards CSR. This research is the first of its kind to be conducted in Malaysia by using this new approach and will contribute new insights to existing CSR literatures in Malaysia.