Exploring the use of online corporate sustainability information

Abstract

Whilst the supply, exclusivity and prominence of online corporate sustainability information has increased in recent years, comparatively little is known about what information is used by whom. This paper explores which user groups access online corporate sustainability information, and assesses the relative use of sustainability reports and other forms of social and environmental information disseminated on corporate Websites.To collect the necessary empirical data, the paper analyses 4,652,471 successful requests for information made by the users of 10 UK FTSE 350 corporate Websites.The paper finds that the majority of requests for online sustainability information originate from the reporting company indicative of an inward focus to sustainability reporting. In examining access to different online information sets, distinct profiles of corporate Website users begin to emerge. Requests from employees, private individuals, ISPs and consultants represent the vast majority of the online sustainability reporting audience and the corporate Website in general. Contrastingly, a professional financially-orientated profile of users characterised by professional investors, creditors, accounting firms and lawyers make significantly more use of the Annual Report but significantly less use of sustainability reporting information and other online disclosures.Although prior literature notes how companies have yet to utilise the potential of the online medium in disseminating corporate sustainability information, disclosures are found to attract approximately a tenth of all corporate Website requests. Environmental and ethical disclosures outside the Annual Report are the most popular sources of online corporate sustainability information whilst 'standalone' Sustainability and/or Ethics Reports attract very few requests.

Trends and determinants of corporate non-financial disclosure in Greece

“…Furthermore, previous studies were of great help in defining the disclosure topics employed in the study (e.g. see Adams et al, 1998;Bolívar, 2009;Branco and Rodrigues, 2008;Gallego-Alvarez, 2008;Gray et al, 1995;Hackston and Milne, 1996;Holder-Webb et al, 2009;Patten, 1991;Purushothaman et al, 2000;Ratanajongkol et al, 2006;Rowbottom and Lymer, 2009;Sobhani et al, 2009;Williams and Pei, 1999).…”

“…In this regard, the growth of the World Wide Web and internet-based communication channels turned research from paper-based reporting to the electronically-available disclosures made by companies on their websites (e.g. Adams and Frost, 2006;Bolívar, 2009;Chapple and Moon, 2005;Esrock and Leichty, 1998;Line et al, 2002;Rikhardsson et al, 2002;Rowbottom and Lymer, 2009).…”

A research design for mapping national CSR terrains

“…Since Spicer's (1978b), Abbott and Monsen's (1979) or Trotman and Bradley's (1981) landmark studies, research on corporate environmental and social reporting has expanded to other information channels; Internet-based corporate communication practices (e.g. Chapple and Moon 2005;Branco and Rodrigues 2006;Jose and Lee 2007;Bolivar 2009;Rowbottom and Lymer 2009) and stand-alone CSR reports (Daub 2007;Archel et al 2008;Kolk 2010).…”

Communicating Sustainability: An Operational Model for Evaluating Corporate Websites

“…In literature, this consistency has been also labelled as the fit between the organization and the "good causes" it is supporting [72]. Communication concerning the economic, environmental, and social aspects of corporate activities, which is defined in the literature as "sustainability information", has been widely debated in recent years [30]. The Internet has gradually become a privileged channel for this type of CSR information, and the website has developed in the "center" for the dissemination of content on corporate sustainability issues [73][74][75][76].…”