Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The role of institutional and reputational factors in the voluntary adoption of corporate social responsibility reporting standards

  • Published:
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Firms are uncertain about the value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, which may involve significant costs. What makes them embark on the initiative? This is the first study to explore the voluntary adoption by companies of the world’s most widespread framework of CSR reporting—the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI case is impressive because it achieved its status in mere 10 years. The inquiry focuses on the role of the firm’s institutional environment and identity communicators as drivers of the adoption of the GRI principles as a reputation management tool. The authors use a duration model to test hypotheses with data on 600 top global companies. The findings indicate that competitive and media pressures together with a company’s CSR media visibility and CSR publicity efforts are important determinants of GRI adoption. Also, as the GRI framework becomes more institutionalized, companies pick up more information from prior adopters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Unilever has two subsidiaries, which are independently listed—one in the Netherlands and another one in the UK, which were included in the sample.

  2. We counted companies as GRI adopters only if the mother company joined the GRI reports. If a foreign subsidiary reported, but the headquarters did not, then we did not count the company as an adopter.

  3. Since the survey publishes only the top 100 brands, we cannot use actual scores or rankings as we do not have information on all of the firms in our sample.

  4. We looked in Business Week’s and Fortune’s annual reports on the top global companies as well as in the Compustat database.

  5. Because of the nature of the model we estimate described in the next section, the data was transformed into firm-year observations resulting in a total sample of 5,560 observations.

  6. While Models 3 and 4 have lower BIC and AIC values, they are based on a different likelihood of the null model (due to differences in the sample). Consequently, the comparison criteria are valid only between Models 1 and 2, and Models 3 and 4.

  7. The authors state: “Marketing’s current problems are rooted in organizational inertia, misaligned incentive systems, poorly designed value propositions, and outmoded ways of thinking about markets and customers. The culture of marketing, especially in consumer marketing, has become too corrupted and disfigured by short-term thinking and the loss of focus on the fundamental human values that require that companies and customers treat each other as allies and partners in value creation rather than as adversaries and potential victims” (Sheth and Sisodia 2006, p. 5). To this we add not only the company’s relationship with customers, but with all its constituencies.

  8. Mitchell (2001) reports on a survey showing that only 18% of executives from other business functions consider marketing executives to be results oriented.

  9. Another limitation related to the current sample is the inability to make any generalizations to medium and small enterprises. This has been noted as a deficiency to the spread of GRI as the adopters are mostly large corporations.

References

  • Adams, C. (2002). Internal organizational factors influencing corporate social and ethical reporting: Beyond current theorizing. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 15(2), 223–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aerts, W., Cormier, D., & Magnan, M. (2006). Intra-industry imitation in corporate environmental reporting: An international perspective. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25(3), 299–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aerts, W., Cormier, D., & Magnan, M. (2008). Corporate environmental disclosure, financial markets and the media: An international perspective. Ecological Economics, 64(3), 643–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. (1995). Survival analysis using the SAS system. Cary: SAS Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, S., & Cason, T. N. (1995). An experiment in voluntary environmental regulation: Participation in EPA’s 33/50 program. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 28(3), 271–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arora, S., & Gangopadhyay, S. (1995). Toward a theoretical model of voluntary overcompliance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 28(3), 289–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal, P. (2005). Evolving sustainability: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic Management Journal, 26(3), 197–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal, P., & Clelland, I. (2004). Talking trash: Legitimacy, impression management and unsystematic risk in the context of the natural environment. Academy of Management Journal, 47(1), 93–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal, P., & Roth, K. (2000). Why companies go green: A model of ecological responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4), 717–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington, J., Larrinaga, C., & Moneva, J. M. (2008). Corporate social reporting and reputation risk management. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 21(3), 337–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beets, S. (2005). Understanding the demand-side issues of international corruption. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(1), 65–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berman, J.E., Webb, T., Fraser, D.J., Harvey, P. J., Barsky, J., Haider, A., Dunn, K., Forde, S., Graham, A., Hilton, M., Tayara, S. & Williams, I. (2003). Race to the top: Attracting and enabling global sustainable business, Business Survey Report. World Bank Group (October).

  • Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2003). Consumer-company identification: A framework for understanding consumers’ relationships with companies. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boone, A. L., & Mulherin, J. H. (2008). Do auctions induce a winner’s curse? New evidence from the corporate takeover market. Journal of Financial Economics, 89, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brammer, S., & Pavelin, S. (2006). Voluntary environmental disclosures by large UK companies. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 33(7/8), 1168–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branco, M. C., & Rodrigues, L. L. (2008). Social responsibility disclosure: A study of proxies for the public visibility of Portuguese banks. The British Accounting Review, 40(2), 161–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. J., Dacin, P. A., Pratt, M. G., & Whetten, D. A. (2006). Identity, intended image, construed image, and reputation: An interdisciplinary framework and suggested terminology. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 99–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, H. S., de Jong, M., & Lessidrenska, T. (2009a). The rise of the global reporting initiative: A case of institutional entrepreneurship. Environmental Politics, 18(2), 182–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, H. S., de Jong, M., & Levy, D. L. (2009b). Building institutions based on information disclosure: Lessons from GRI’s sustainability reporting. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(6), 571–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Business Week. (1999). The Global 1000. July 12 issue. (Last retrieved on December 17, 2009) [At: http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_28/g1000_content.htm].

  • Campbell, J. L. (2007). Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? An institutional theory of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 32, 946–967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, F. E., Herman, R. A., & Noble, D. (2006). Contradictions in “reputation management”. Journal of Communication Management, 10, 191–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardador, M. T., & Pratt, M. G. (2006). Identification management and its bases: Bridging management and marketing perspectives through a focus on affiliation dimensions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 174–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, G. R., & Hannan, M. T. (1989). Density delay and the evolution of organizational populations: A model and five empirical tests. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(3), 411–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, S. M. (2006). The interaction of top management group, stakeholder, and situational factors on certain corporate reputation management activities. Journal of Management Studies, 43(5), 1145–1176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CERES. (1997). CERES global reporting initiative concept paper. Un-published working-paper. Boston MA: Coalition of Environmental Responsible Economics, CERES (September).

  • Chu, S., & Keh, H. (2006). Brand value creation: Analysis of the Interbrand-Business Week brand value rankings. Marketing Letters, 17(4), 323–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson, P. M., Li, Y., Richardson, G. D., & Vasvari, F. P. (2008). Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33, 302–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, B. L., Ketchen, D. J., & Slater, S. F. (2010). Toward a “theoretical toolbox” for sustainability research in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, forthcoming. doi:10.1007/s11747-010-0199-0.

  • DeCanio, S. J., & Watkins, W. E. (1998). Investment in energy efficiency: Do the characteristics of firms matter? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 80(1), 95–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deephouse, D. L. (2000). Media reputation as a strategic resource: An integration of mass communication and resource-based theories. Journal of Management, 26(6), 1091–1112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deephouse, D. L., & Heugens, P. P. M. A. R. (2009). Linking social issues to organizational impact: The role of infomediaries and the infomediary process. Journal of Business Ethics, 86(4), 541–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes: The First Decade: 1999–2009. (Last retrieved on March 19, 2010) [At: http://www.sustainability-index.com].

  • Du, S., Bhattacharya, C. B. & Sen, S. (2010). Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 8–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, R. G., & Krzus, M. P. (2010). One report — integrated reporting for a sustainable society. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J. (1994). Win–win–win business strategies for sustainable development. California Management Review, 36(2), 90–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J. (1998). Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Environmental Quality Management, 8(1), 37–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geroski, P., & Mazzucato, M. (2001). Modelling the dynamics of industry populations. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 19(7), 1003–1022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleason, K. C., Malgwi, C. A., Mathur, I., & Owhoso, V. (2005). Impact of perceived national corruption on the returns to US multinationals in transactions with foreign governments. The Review of Accounting and Finance, 4(2), 26–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, R., Javad, M., Power, D. M., & Sinclair, C. D. (2001). Social and environmental disclosure and corporate characteristics: A research note and extension. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 28(3/4), 327–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grewal, R. & Dharwadkar, R. (2002). The role of the institutional environment in marketing channels. Journal of Marketing, 66(3), 82–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grunig, J. E. (1989). Symmetrical presuppositions as a framework for public relations theory. In C. Botan & V. T. Hazleton (Eds.), Public relations theory (pp. 17–44). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallahan, K. (2001). Strategic media planning: Toward an integrated public relations media model. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), Handbook of public relations (pp. 461–470). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handelman, J. M., & Arnold, S. J. (1999). The role of marketing actions with a social dimension: Appeals to the institutional environment. The Journal of Marketing, 63(3), 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedberg, C.-J., & von Malmborg, F. (2003). The global reporting initiative and corporate sustainability reporting in Swedish companies. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 10(3), 153–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helsen, K., & Schmittlein, D. C. (1993). Analyzing duration times in marketing: Evidence for the effectiveness of hazard rate models. Marketing Science, 12(4), 395–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holder-Webb, L., Cohen, J. R., Nath, L., & Wood, D. (2009). The supply of corporate social responsibility disclosures among U.S. firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(4), 497–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hotchkiss, C. (1998). The sleeping dog stirs: New signs of life in efforts to end corruption in international business. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 17(1), 108–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoti, S., McAleer, M., & Pauwels, L. (2005). Modelling risk spillovers in environmental finance. In Kachitvichyanakul, V., Purintrapiban, U., & Uthayopas, P. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Simulation and Modelling (pp. 498–505).

  • Humphreys, A. (2010). Megamarketing: The creation of markets as a social process. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, M. R., & Mathur, I. (2005). Retrospective and prospective views on the marketing/finance interface. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(4), 390–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, S. P. (1995). Easy estimation methods for discrete-time duration models. Oxford Bulletin Economics Statists, 57, 129–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, M. T. (2008). Getting counted: Markets, media, and reality. American Sociological Review, 73(2), 270–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khanna, M., & Damon, L. A. (1999). EPA’s voluntary 33/50 program: Impact on toxic releases and economic performance of firms. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 37(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. G., & Whetten, D. A. (2008). Rethinking the relationship between reputation and legitimacy: A social actor conceptualization. Corporate Reputation Review, 11(3), 192–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolk, A. (2005). Environmental reporting by multinationals from the triad: Convergence or divergence? Management International Review, 45, 145–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolk, A. (2008). Sustainability, accountability and corporate governance: Exploring multinationals’ reporting practices. Business Strategy and the Environment, 17(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotha, S., Rajgopal, S., & Rindova, V. (2001). Reputation building and performance: An empirical analysis of the top-50 pure internet firms. European Management Journal, 19(6), 571–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, D. L., Brown, H. S., & de Jong, M. (2010). The contested politics of corporate governance: The case of the global reporting initiative. Business & Society, 49(1), 88–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, M., & Asaba, S. (2006). Why do firms imitate each other? Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 366–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • López, M. V., García, A., & Rodríguez, L. (2007). Sustainable development and corporate performance: A study based on the Dow Jones sustainability index. Journal of Business Ethics, 75(3), 285–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, X., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2006). Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and market value. Journal of Marketing, 70(3), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, X., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2009). The debate over doing good: Corporate social performance, strategic marketing levers, and firm-idiosyncratic risk. Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 198–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, T., Fehle, F., & Fournier, S. (2006). Brands matter: An empirical demonstration of the creation of shareholder value through branding. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 224–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maignan, I., Ferrell, O. C., & Hult, G. T. M. (1999). Corporate citizenship: Cultural antecedents and business benefits. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27(4), 455–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manetti, G., & Becatti, L. (2009). Assurance services for sustainability reports: Standards and empirical evidence. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 289–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, J. D., & Walsh, J. P. (2003). Misery loves companies: Rethinking social initiatives by business. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 268–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menon, A., & Menon, A. (1997). Enviropreneurial marketing strategy: The emergence of corporate environmentalism as market strategy. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 51–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, A. (2001). Right side up: Building brands in the age of the organized consumer. London: Harper Collins Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moneva, J. M., & Ortas, E. (2008). Are stock markets influenced by sustainability matter? Evidence from European companies. International Journal of Sustainable Economy, 1(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, Y., & Welch, E. (2008). The ISO 14001 environmental management standard in Japan: Results from a national survey of facilities in four industries. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 51(3), 421–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrini, F. (2005). Building a European portrait of corporate social responsibility reporting. European Management Journal, 23(6), 611–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, M. A., & Yuthas, K. (2008). Moral discourse and corporate social responsibility reporting. Journal of Business Ethics, 78, 47–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rindova, V. P., Williamson, I. O., Petkova, A. P., & Sever, J. M. (2005). Being good or being known: An empirical examination of the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational reputation. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 1033–1049.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rindova, V. P., Pollock, T. G., & Hayward, M. L. A. (2006). Celebrity firms: The social construction of market popularity. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 50–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, P., Donald, S. S., Amy, H., & Lorraine, E. (2006). Three lenses on the multinational enterprise: Politics, corruption, and corporate social responsibility. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(6), 733–746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenkopf, L., & Abrahamson, E. (1999). Modeling reputational and informational influences in threshold models of bandwagon innovation diffusion. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 5(4), 361–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, S. G., & Lane, V. R. (2000). A stakeholder approach to organizational identity. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 43–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, S., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2001). Does doing good always lead to doing better? Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 225–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheth, J. N., & Sisodia, R. S. (2006). Does marketing need reform? Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, R., Lilien, G. L., & Rangaswamy, A. (2002). Technological opportunism and radical technology adoption: An application to e-business? Journal of Marketing, 66(3), 47–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, R. K., Shervani, T. A., & Fahey, L. (1998). Market-based assets and shareholder value: A framework for analysis. Journal of Marketing, 62(1), 2–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strang, D., & Macy, M. W. (2001). In search of excellence: Fads, success stories, and adaptive emulation. The American Journal of Sociology, 107(1), 147–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strang, D., & Soule, S. (1998). Diffusion in organizations and social movements: From hybrid corn to poison pills. Annual Review of Sociology, 24(1), 265–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, Y., & Tinkham, S. F. (2005). Brand personality structures in the United States and Korea: Common and culture-specific factors. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(4), 334–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, L., & Coughlan, J. (2008). Do different industries report Corporate Social Responsibility differently? An investigation though the lens of stakeholder theory. Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(2), 113–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaaland, T. I., Heide, M., & Grønhaug, K. (2008). Corporate social responsibility. Investigating theory and research in the marketing context. European Journal of Marketing, 42(9/10), 927–953.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Bulte, C., & Lilien, G. L. (2001). Medical innovation revisited: Social contagion versus marketing effort. The American Journal of Sociology, 106(5), 1409–1435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vann, J. W., & White, G. B. (2004). Sustainability reporting in the accounting curriculum. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 2(12), 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verhoef, P. C., & Leeflang, P. S. H. (2009). Understanding the marketing department’s influence within the firm. Journal of Marketing, 73(2), 14–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Videras, J., & Alberini, A. (2000). The appeal of voluntary environmental programs: Which firms participate and why? Contemporary Economic Policy, 18(4), 449–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, A. M., Anderson, E., & MacInnis, D. J. (1999). Reputation management as a motivation for sales structure decisions. Journal of Marketing, 63(4), 74–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, J. C., Varadarajan, P. R., & Dacin, P. A. (2003). Market situation interpretation and response: The role of cognitive style, organizational culture, and information use. Journal of Marketing, 67(3), 63–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, A. (2003). The role of the global reporting initiative’s sustainability reporting guidelines in the social screening of investments. Journal of Business Ethics, 43, 233–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wind, J. Y. (2009). Rethinking marketing: Peter Drucker’s challenge. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(1), 28–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, F., Mahajan, V., & Balasubramanian, S. (2003). An analysis of e-business adoption and its impact on business performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(4), 425–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, B. J., & Swanson, D. (2006). Analysis of news media's representation of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Public Relations Quarterly, 51(2), 13–18.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Carmen Lages for help with the initial draft of the paper. We would also like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISCTE Business School, Lisbon University Institute, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ralitza Nikolaeva & Marta Bicho

Authors
  1. Ralitza Nikolaeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marta Bicho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ralitza Nikolaeva.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nikolaeva, R., Bicho, M. The role of institutional and reputational factors in the voluntary adoption of corporate social responsibility reporting standards. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 39, 136–157 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0214-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0214-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation