Background: Over the last few decades, with the emergence of integrated reporting (IR) and sustainability reporting (SR) as new reporting methods, corporate reporting practices attracted substantial interest as a topic of research. Throughout the literature, many theories have been adopted to explain IR and SR practices and there is currently an increased focus on nonfinancial reporting.
Aim:The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the theories used in the growing body of IR and SR research, to gather insight into current trends in the use and dominance of these theories in the related literature.Setting: Research articles in the Scopus database for the period spanning from 2010 to 2019 were included in the study.Method: Using a systematic review methodology, 574 articles on IR and SR published in the Scopus database for the period spanning from 2010 to 2019, were systematically searched for the presence of theories that may be used to explain these practices.
Results:The results show that the most dominant theories in the last decade are the legitimacy, stakeholder, institutional, agency and signalling theories.
Conclusion:Supported by extensive numerical data, this research provides insights into the theoretical perspectives used in the study of IR and SR and contributes to the existing discourse surrounding applicable theoretical frameworks for studying corporate reporting practices. These insights can be used to study IR and SR as the world grapples with changes in the reporting and business environment.
There has been a rising demand for the global convergence of sustainability reporting standards (SRS) to provide consistency and comparability. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has stepped forward, formed the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and proposes to develop a global set of SRS. These standards will focus on the financial impacts of sustainability issues and are targeted towards the investor. However, this approach does not align with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the most commonly used sustainability reporting framework globally, which adopts a multistakeholder focus. This study aims to analyse the SRS currently being used by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Top 100 companies, the respective focus of these standards, and suggest whether these companies are likely to adopt the ISSB standards over the frameworks currently being used. A content analysis approach is adopted. The reports and websites of these companies are examined to identify the sustainability reporting guidelines and frameworks currently being used and whether these companies submit disclosures to reporting bodies. The results show that regardless of whether the ISSB standards are adopted, companies are likely to continue using the current frameworks to report beyond the financial impact of sustainability issues.
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