Finance and Accounting:
The main motivation for corporate [social and environmental] reporting … is to enhance corporate image and credibility with stakeholders” (Adams, 2002: 244-245). Do you agree? Use a variety of accounting theories to respond to Adam’s (2002) statement.
Suggested background reading:
A good starting point is the lists of references at the end of the relevant chapters in the two main textbooks. You may also want to read the following journal articles, but please bear in mind that this list is not exhaustive.
Adams, C. (2002), Internal organisational factors influencing corporate social and ethical reporting beyond theorising, Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 223-250.
Bebbington, J., Larringa-Gonzalez, C., and Moneva, J. (2008), Corporate social responsibility reporting and reputation risk management. Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 337-361.
Brennan, N. M. and Merkl-Davies, D. M. (2013), Accounting Narratives and Impression management, In: Jackson, L., Davison, J., and Craig, R. (eds.), Routledge Companion to Communication in Accounting. Routledge, pp. 109-132. (on blackboard)
Deegan, C. and Rankin, M. (1996), An analysis of environmental disclosures by firms prosecuted successfully by the Environmental Protection Authority, Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 50-67.
Hooghiemstra, R. (2000), Corporate communication and impression management New perspectives why companies engage in corporate social reporting, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 27 No. 1-2, pp. 55-68.
Mahoney, L.S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L., and LaGore, W. (2013), A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing?, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 24 No. 4-5, pp. 350-359.
Merkl-Davies, D. M. and Brennan, N. M. (2011), A Conceptual Framework of Impression Management: New insights from psychology, sociology, and critical perspectives, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 415-437.
Moir, L. (2001), What do we mean by corporate social responsibility?, Corporate Governance, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 16-22.
Thorne, L., Mahoney, L.S. and Manetti, G. (2014), Motivations for issuing standalone CSR reports: a survey of Canadian firms, Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 686-714.