Work

Application of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Principles for Measuring Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure: Evidence from Pakistan

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: CSR Reporting is an essential mechanism for ensuring the transparency and accountability of companies towards sustainability performance. To further promote that sustainable development agenda, CSR-related regulations and policies have emerged worldwide, including in Pakistan. Therefore this study assesses the quality of corporate social responsibility in annual reports issued by firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. This study has operationalized the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles for examining the quality of CSR disclosures. The paper sample comprised 540 annual reports of 90 financial or non-financial companies from the years 2012 to 2017. Content analysis is performed to look for six quality principles and measures, i.e., balance, comparability, accuracy, clarity, reliability, and timeliness. Results suggested that most Pakistani firms provide precise and on-time information and put less emphasis on the balance of information and comparable information. Moreover, this study also highlighted that organizations should implement the GRI principle for disclosing qualitative CSR report.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su132011409

Authors: Hina Ismail, Muhammad A. Saleem, Sadaf Zahra, Muhammad S. Tufail, Rao Akmal Ali

Institutions: National University of Modern Languages, Charles Darwin University, Bahauddin Zakariya University

Language: English

Topic: Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,052

Funder: Charles Darwin University