An Exploratory Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility and Disclosure

Abstract

Previous studies indicate two possibly asymmetric findings about the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and annual report disclosure practices: (a) disclosure practices of companies with favorable CSP emanate from a sense of ethical duty, and (b) there are strategic reasons to link CSP with disclosure practices. To test the relationship between CSP and annual report disclosure, this study divided S&P 500 companies into two groups, defined for low CSP (resulting n = 148) and high CSP (resulting n = 69). For the low CSP group of companies, disclosure was positively related to CSP strengths. For the high CSP group of companies, disclosure was positively related to CSP weaknesses. The authors conclude that low CSP disclosure practices are related to CSP strengths to build or repair reputation, whereas high CSP disclosure practices are associated with CSP weaknesses to protect favorable CSP brand.

Corporate social responsibility practices and performance improvement among Chinese national state-owned enterprises

“…There is a positive relationship between social performance and annual CSR report disclosure practices (Dawkins and Fraas, 2013). CSR practices can be helpful for enterprises to establish and improve their corporate image (Virvilaite and Daubaraite, 2011).…”

The influence of social disclosure on the relationship between Corporate Financial Performance and Corporate Social Performance*

“…Disclosure is timelily making relevant information available that results in a transparent image of corporate operations, CFP, and corporate governance (Dawkins & Fraas, 2008). It can be considered the result of the transparency of organizations with relation to their different stakeholders, and an operationalization of the disclosure of useful information for these users' decision-making process.…”

“…It can be considered the result of the transparency of organizations with relation to their different stakeholders, and an operationalization of the disclosure of useful information for these users' decision-making process. is usefulness of disclosure for stakeholders is also highlighted by Dawkins and Fraas (2008). Disclosure also forms part of communication as a company strategy for maintaining legitimacy (Suchman, 1995).…”

“…In fact, as CSP constitutes a measure that evaluates the performance of an organization in attending to the interests of its stakeholders (Boaventura et al, 2012), disclosure is a means by which stakeholders can evaluate CSP (Dawkins & Fraas, 2008), forming part of the dialogue between a company and its stakeholders (Roberts, 1992). In general, D-CSP can send a positive signal to stakeholders and, consequently, relevance is attributed to the value of the information disclosed by a company.…”

An analysis of corporate social responsibility in Brazil: growth, firm size, sector and internal stakeholders involved in policy definition

“…Although the absence of regulation for CSR disclosure, companies are trying to accomplish and publish such actions. Some motivations for this search of legitimizing attitudes can be considered (Dawkins & Fraas, 2013). First, companies want to report substantial changes regarding their CSR performance.…”