Open AccessIssues in Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting Research: An Overview
Author(s) -
Manuel Castelo Branco,
LÃocia Lima Rodrigues
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
issues in social and environmental accounting/issues in social and environmental accounting (isea)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2460-6081
pISSN - 1978-0591
DOI - 10.22164/isea.v1i1.9
Subject(s) - environmental reporting , context (archaeology) , empirical research , sociology , accounting , business , epistemology , geography , philosophy , archaeology
This paper provides an analysis of some relevant issues in corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) research by way of review of relevant literature. Issues in the following two main areas of CSER research are identified: the methodologies used to capture empirical data on CSER; and how to theoretically interpret the trends of CSER. An overview of these issues is provided and some clues to understand what is at stake are offered. We argue that the choice of methods used to collect empirical data on CSER depends upon the context in which the organisations operate and the purpose of the study to be made. Because of the large array of factors affecting companies‟ decisions to engage in social responsibility activities and disclosure, the use of multi-theoretical frameworks is proposed.