CSR disclosure in response to major airline accidents: a legitimacy-based exploration

Abstract

Purpose-This paper contributes to the literature investigating disclosure reactions to legitimacy threats by analysing the corporate social responsibility disclosure reactions to catastrophic accidents suffered by major airlines. Design/methodology/approach-We use content analysis to examine changes in annual report disclosure in response to four separate airline disasters. We adopt two classification schemes and two measurement approaches to explore these changes. Findings-We find that for three events the organisations appear to have responded with considerable increases in CSR disclosure that are consistent with attempts of legitimation. For one of the events examined we find no disclosure response and suggest that this could be due to the company's unwillingness to accept responsibility. Research limitations/implications-The study's focus on major airlines that have suffered an accident with available annual reports in English meant that other companies and more recent events had to be excluded from the analysis. Practical implications-The findings demonstrate the use of the annual report as a legitimation tool and further highlight the need for greater transparency and comparability across publications. Originality/value-The paper adds to the scarce literature examining corporate disclosure reactions following threats to their social legitimacy.

The Power of Stakeholders' Voice: The Effects of Social Media Activism on Stock Markets

“…Overall, the evidence in this literature is aligned with findings in social and environmental reporting (e.g. Cho, ; Cormier and Magnan, ; Vourvachis et al , ) and suggests that companies modify their behavior when social activists target them (Grolin, ).…”

Behind camouflaging: traditional and innovative theoretical perspectives in social and environmental accounting research

“…The first two papers are anchored in legitimacy theory and explore, respectively, the use of CSR disclosure during a legitimacy crisis and as a "disguising" strategy. The first contribution by Vourvachis et al (2016) analyses corporate social responsibility disclosure reactions to catastrophic accidents suffered by major airlines. The paper extends the body of research on corporate disclosure reactions to catastrophic events, which has mainly focused on environmental disasters, by considering a broader spectrum of social disclosures.…”

The readability of integrated reports

“…The integrate report may have an effect on symbolic legitimacy (Ahmed Haji & Anifowose, 2016) of companies listed on the JSE, especially in terms of providing evidence to the world regarding South Africa"s reporting and corporate governance reforms (Maroun et al, 2014). Academic research has consequently found that corporate annual reports and integrated reports have in cases become merely ceremonial to display companies in the best light (Ahmed Haji & Hossain, 2016;Brennan, Guillamon-Saorin, & Pierce, 2009;Maroun, 2015;Vourvachis, Woodward, Woodward, & Patten, 2016;Williams & Adams, 2013).…”