Corporate social responsibility obscuration strategy: The ineffectiveness of social accounting in CSR implementation

Abstract

This study aims to explore the obscuration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices carried out by companies and their impacts on the ineffectiveness of social accounting. Three problems were investigated in this study, including 1) what is the motive behind the CSR practice, 2) how is the CSR obscuration pattern, and 3) how the CSR obscuration impacts the effectiveness of social accounting. This study was conducted on 28 companies that were members of the mining industries going public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2021. To analyze the data, content analysis and taxonomy methods were employed. The results showcased an obscuration of CSR practices from their original goals. The obscuration of CSR could be seen from the motives underlying the CSR implementation, which prioritized economic motives rather than social motives. The five patterns of CSR obscuration comprised 1) motive shifting, 2) meeting the litigation, 3) emphasis on specific CSR implementation, 4) internal stakeholder orientation and support for company operations, and 5) being wrapped or entrusted with company promotion. As a result of the CSR obscuration, it impacted 1) the ineffectiveness of social accounting and 2) the shift in the CSR value from its original purposes.