Sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement inSpain: Different instruments, different quality

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare the quality of the sustainability information issued following the three most common reporting models: annual report (addressed to shareholders), sustainability report (addressed to stakeholders), and integrated report (addressed to shareholders). To this aim, we create a quality index based on previous literature, analyzing the content of the sustainability information disclosed by Spanish listed companies during the years 2013 to 2015. We find that companies issuing sustainability reports or integrated reports provide higher quality information than companies including their sustainability information within the annual report. We also find that sustainability reports are issued with higher quality than integrated reports. Both findings indicate that companies in Spain are engaged in a dialogue with all stakeholders, not only shareholders. Our results offer insights on the need to improve the framework of the integrated report in order to achieve the objectives of the International Integrated Reporting Council and to get a speed up in the adoption of this new reporting tool.

Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting

“…In the context of IR, “an organization's ability to create value over time depends on (…) the quality of its relationships with, and assessments by, its stakeholders” (IIRC, , p. 1). Insofar, the objective of IR is to satisfy the information needs of various internal and external stakeholder groups (Jensen & Berg, ; Romero, Ruiz, & Fernandez‐Feijoo, ; Steyn, ). This can only be achieved if the organization discloses “its unique value creation story in a meaningful and transparent way “(IIRC, , p. 1), as determined by materiality considerations.…”

The Involvement of Real Estate Companies in Sustainable Development—An Analysis from the SDGs Reporting Perspective

“…Thus, the dynamic problems of sustainable development determine the new perspectives of corporate reporting, increasingly emphasising the role of the business environment in designing and implementing the sustainability objectives [1]. In this respect, entities are encouraged to align their values with those of the community in which they operate [2], and because transparency has become the new paradigm of economic activities [1,3], companies must legitimise their role in society through concrete actions while meeting the information needs of stakeholders [4]. As a result, more and more entities are integrating SDGs into their business models, annually reporting on their progress.…”

The how and why of integrated reporting in a public health care organization: The stakeholders' perspective

“…Brusca et al () and Guthrie et al () encourage the application of IR in other cases. Other scholars call for further research on the adoption of IR as a sustainable reporting practice used by companies to legitimate their role in society (Romero et al, ). In this study, we were interested in exploring how and why a specific organization, that is, a PHO, has chosen to adopt IR, and we compared the PHO's and the stakeholders' perception of the value of the document—the integrated report itself—to determine whether they coincide.…”

“…Those scholars who centered their attention on private entities focused on companies' motivations for adopting it (Stubbs & Higgins, ); the institutional factors, which influence its adoption (Frías‐Aceituno, Rodríguez‐Ariza, & García‐Sánchez, ); the internal adopters' perspectives and/or managerial perceptions (Adams, ; Esch, Schnellbächer, & Wald, ; Perego, Kennedy, & Whiteman, ; Stubbs & Higgins, ); the quality of the sustainability information in the reporting (Romero, Ruiz, & Fernandez‐Feijoo, ); the materiality disclosure quality (Fasan & Mio, ; Gerwanski, Kordsachia, & Velte, ); and “how” the IRF is applied (Gibassier, Rodrigue, & Arjaliès, ).…”

“…Gatti, Chiucchi, and Montemari () discuss the manager's role in the design and the implementation of the integrated report in a health care organization. Other scholars call for further research on the adoption of IR as a sustainable reporting practice used by companies to legitimate their role in society (Romero et al, ). In IRF research, in general, academics emphasize the need for empirical research in which researchers engage with practitioners and take part in the development of the IRF (Brusca et al, ; Dumay, Bernardi, Guthrie, & Demartini, ; Gibassier et al, ; Girella, Rossi, & Zambon, ; Guthrie et al, ; Lai, Melloni, & Stacchezzini, ; Perego et al, ).…”