Assessing the Communication Quality of CSR Reports. A Case Study on Four Spanish Food Companies

Abstract

Sustainability reports are tools for disseminating information to stakeholders and the public, serving the organizations in the dual purpose of communicating CSR and being accountable. The production of these reports has recently become more prevalent in the food industry, despite the fact this practice has received heavy criticism on two fronts: The quality of the tool for communication, and the extent of accountability. In addition to these criticisms, organizations must overcome the additional challenge of publishing sustainability reports that successfully meet the demands of a multi-stakeholder audience. In light of the importance of this practice, this paper presents a method to assess the communication and accountability characteristics of Spanish food companies' sustainability reports. This method is based on the method Analytic Network Process (ANP) and adopts a multi-stakeholder approach. This research, therefore, provides a reference model for improving sustainability reports, with the aim of successfully meeting their communication objectives and the demands of all stakeholders.

Corporate Disclosure, Materiality, and Integrated Report: An Event Study Analysis

“…The reason for this is that the former may restrain or boost the latter depending on the quantity of compulsory information that organizations are already being asked, whereas quality or credibility of the latter may affect the former, thus encouraging greater or lesser market regulation [8][9][10]. Subsequently, the issue of corporate disclosure requires a consideration of not only (or not so much) the amount of (mandatory and voluntary) data disclosed, but also the materiality of the corporate communication, which is to be assessed while checking if the information provided is actually useful for the different stakeholders and their behaviors towards the organization.…”

Organizational Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Firms Listed by the Corporate Sustainability Index

“…Siew [2] conducted a review regarding the main methodologies employed to assess sustainability. Amui et al [3] focused on the dynamic and needs of sustainability and [4] on the quality of the corporate sustainability reports. This paper complements those works with a holistic view of the system through the analysis and assessment of the main sustainability categories, observing the recognized practices performed by large, corporations that are acknowledged as being sustainable.…”

CSR Reporting Practices of Polish Energy and Mining Companies

“…Thus, the TBL is useful rather as a rhetorical phrase to form and maintain a broader perspective in decision making processes [7,8]. Through these reports, organizations fulfil the dual purpose of communicating CSR and being accountable [6]. In the traditional model of business, corporations' goals are measured with financial performance indicators, such as profits, market value, and dividends.…”