Integrated thinking leading to integrated reporting: case study insights from a global player

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between integrated thinking (IT) and integrated reporting (IR) in a global player. It seeks to shed light on how IT develops organically, using their IR as a source. Bourdieu’s theory of practice is utilised to explain the concept of IT and how it is established in the case organisation through publicly available corporate information. Design/methodology/approach Video, document/text and interview material are used to investigate the perception and status quo of IT at the case organisation. Data were analysed in two coding stages to derive at the categories/themes that have the most explanatory power regarding the phenomenon under study. Findings The study contributes the organisational habitus of handling uncertainty and disruption, which governs the IT and IR initiative and development in the case organisation. Furthermore, it illustrates an empirical example of how an organisation has grown its IT approach over time and has introduced IR as a result of that, as a reflection on the IT approach. Originality/value This paper investigates a global organisation, the first provider of an integrated report in their geographical region, and its IT and reporting approach. The findings reflect on the organisational habitus of handling uncertainty and disruption, which leads to IT and ultimately IR. The case organisation constitutes a “natural integrated thinker” in their agile asset-light approach to their business and their integration of stakeholders beyond the organisation. They are the regional vanguard of sustainability and integration, as a result of which they have become one of the few global players of their region.

Integrated thinking and sustainability reporting assurance: International evidence

“…A common characteristic that emerges from IT definitions in the academic literature (Al-Htaybat & von Alberti-Alhtaybat, 2018;Churet et al, 2014;De Villiers, Venter, & Hsiao, 2017;Epstein & Roy, 2003;Gray, 1992;Knauer & Serafeim, 2014;Parker, 2005;Venter et al, 2017) (Maniora, 2017;Serafeim, 2015;Venter et al, 2017) have employed a proxy of IT derived from Thomson Reuters ASSET4 database. This proxy, which we also employ in this study, captures a firm's 'capacity to maintain an overarching vision and strategy that integrates financial and extra-financial aspects of its business'.…”

Integrated reporting in higher education: insights from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales

“…For instance, Del Baldo (2017) points out that integrated thinking is linked to the strategic management process and can facilitate organizational operation by changing the whole organizational culture through collaboration between different internal units to gain a better understanding and appreciate the impact of their behaviour and decision on their organization’s stakeholders. Moreover, it is argued that by using an integrated thinking approach, organizations can switch to forward-thinking to report future growth prospects and deal with uncertainty (Al-Htaybat and Alberti-Alhtaybat, 2018; Massingham et al , 2019). Additionally, internal communication can lead to the development of integrated thinking as organizations embed economic, sustainability and governance-related performance within their strategic and operational processes (Camilleri, 2018; Higgins et al , 2019).…”

Qualitative accounting research: dispelling myths and developing a new research agenda

“…In the corporate governance and sustainability space, qualitative researchers play a key role in identifying important social and environmental issues and providing organisations with insights on how they should be managed and reported (de Villiers and Hsiao, ). For example, the interpretive accounting community has devoted considerable attention to explaining how integrated reporting can be used to reinforce an organisation's social, economic and environmental objectives (Gibassier et al ., ; Vesty et al ., ); engage more effectively with stakeholders (Lodhia, ; Lai et al ., ); and promote a more integrated approach to business management (Guthrie et al ., ; Al‐Htaybat and von Alberti‐Alhtaybat, ). In concert, there have also been critiques of integrated reporting that offer recommendations on how to improve the guidelines or their practice (Brown and Dillard, ; Dumay et al ., ; McNally et al ., ; du Toit et al ., ).…”