## Communicating Environmental and Ethical Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Annual Reports from 1998-2009

## Abstract

Along with the publics' increased demand for businesses to operate responsibly, more and more companies proactively publish their CSR-related principles and activities. A growing body of research is dedicated to the analysis of patterns in self-reported CSR performances; these studies use annual reports as a proxy for the social or environmental activities of the companies. Integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, the aims of this paper are twofold: First, on the basis of content analysis, we examine categories of CSR-related communication that are in a second step used in a longitudinal perspective spanning twelve years, to compare how CSR motives and activities have changed over time.

## 1. Introduction

Over  the  last  decades,  corporate  social  responsibility (CSR)  has  received  a large  amount of attention in managerial research and practice. In the context of ecological and social challenges, such as global warming,  child labour, the world fi  nancial  crisis, or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the impact that companies have on the environment and on society is becoming increasingly apparent. Along with this, empirical results indicate that consumers are infl  uenced by  CSR  initiatives of  businesses if  they  are  aware of  them  (e.g.,  Pomering/Dolnicar 2007; Vlachos et al. 2009). As a response to the growing awareness of and concern about  social  and environmental issues,  more  and  more  companies are  proactively publishing their CSR-related principles and activities. As one of the most important sources of information on corporate activities, corporate annual reports include corporations' self- reported CSR performances and provide a means of determining the quality of the corporations' commitment  to CSR  (Macleod  2001). A growing body of research  is dedicated to the analysis of patterns in or motivations  for companies'  voluntary social or environmental disclosures  (Brammer/Pavelin  2008);  these  studies  use annual reports  as  a  proxy  for  the social  or  environmental activities of  the  companies (Milne/Adler 1999). Past  research analysing annual reports or CSR reports in various national contexts (e.g., Abbott/Monsen 1979; Gray et  al.  1995; Campbell 2004) has  relied mainly on  simple measures, such as word and page counts of reports (Chen/Bouvain 2009), and has mostly failed to provide a category  scheme  that  goes  beyond  CSR-related activities.  Therefore, in this  paper, we seek to  overcome some  of these  defi  ciencies by  using  a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Our  empirical  examination aims  at CSR  from  a company's and  not  a customer's point  of view  (e.g.,  Singh  et al. 2008;  Vlachos  et al. 2009)  and encompasses a sample  including the  annual  reports  of  all  German DAX-30 companies from  1998  to  2009. We build upon and extend the insights from Cormier et al. (2005) and Beck et al. (2010), who analysed  annual reports  with  reference  to  environmental disclosure  by  German  companies.  In our  study,  we focus  not  only  on  corporate environmental disclosures but  also  on  corporate social disclosures published in the companies' annual reports. Our research aims are twofold. First, on the basis of content analysis, we examine categories of CSR-related  communication. Second,  we then  use

* Thomas Kilian Institute for Management University of Koblenz-Landau Universitätsstrasse 1 56070 Koblenz Germany kilian@uni-koblenz.de

* Nadine Hennigs Institute for Marketing and Management Leibniz University Hannover Königsworther Platz 1 30167 Hannover Germany nadine.hennigs@m2.uni-hannover.de

19

these  categories in  a  longitudinal perspective spanning twelve  years  to compare  how motives to pursue CSR and CSR-related  activities  have changed  over time.

## 2. Theoretical  background

## 2.1.  The importance  of CSR reporting

To promote an international  framework  for corporate  social responsibility in managerial practice, the European Commission (2001: 6) describes CSR as ' a concept whereby companies integrate social  and  environmental concerns in  their  business operations and  in their interaction with their stakeholders  on a voluntary  basis' .

From a managerial point  of view,  Carroll  (1979)  describes the social  responsibility of companies as a pyramid with four main layers: a) economic responsibility and the management of the core business  to provide  jobs, produce  products  and services,  and operate profi  tably;  b) legal responsibilities, as goods and services have to comply to different judicial regulations;  c) ethical responsibilities, which are based on the prevailing  values and standards of a society; and d) philanthropic responsibility in the form of voluntary actions of the company desired by society. To be considered socially responsible and accepted by stakeholders, all  of  the  layers of  responsibility within the  pyramid are  of  importance, and ' CSR should be  framed in  such  a  way  that entire business responsibilities are  embraced ' (Carroll  1991: 4).

Along with the publics' increased demand for businesses to operate responsibly, stakeholders want  to  be  informed  about  what  their  company  does  correctly  and  what  it  does incorrectly (Pomering/Dolnicar 2009). According to legitimacy theory, fi  rms act legitimately  if they comply with the values of the society in which they are embedded;  if they do not  comply, their  legitimacy is  removed by  society  (Schocker/Sethi  1974;  Dowling/Pfeffer 1975). To remain legitimate, companies communicate  topics that concern society, such as activities in CSR. However, beyond legitimisation, CSR reporting is believed to promote companies' reputation and foster competitive advantages (Kuruppu/Milne 2010).  Studies  have  shown  that  CSR  has  an  overall positive infl  uence on  a fi  rm's  fi  nancial performance (Orlitzky et al. 2003),  can  build  brand  equity  (Hoeffl  er/Keller  2002)  and can foster competitive advantages (Porter/Kramer 2002), customer loyalty and other positive post-purchase outcomes (Bhattacharya/Sen  2003).  Therefore, the  rationale for the  positive effects of  CSR is  straightforward: customers are  more likely to  be positively attracted to products or services provided by a fi  rm that is acting socially responsible, investors are  more  likely  to  buy  their  stocks,  and,  among  other  factors,  potential employees are more likely to apply for jobs. However, communicating CSR initiatives may be problematic (Pomering/Dolnicar  2007),  as consumers tend  to be sceptical  of companies that advertise their 'good deeds' (Pomering/Dolnicar 2007; Drumwright 1994). Therefore, a main challenge of stakeholders' acceptance of CSR reporting is that CSR messages  are proven  by corresponding corporate  activities.

## 3. Conceptual  framework

For the purposes of this paper,  following a comprehensive understanding of CSR  as a strategic management approach, we conceptualise CSR as illustrated in Figure 1 . This framework represents our  defi  nition  of  CSR  from  a company's point  of view,  encompassing CSR-related motives and activities and its effects on outcomes such as the company's fi  nancial performance and corporate reputation, which is moderated by fi  rm  characteristics and situational conditions. The elements  of this framework  can be described  as follows:

Figure 1. The Conceptual Model

<!-- image -->

## 3.1.  The normative  basis: CSR-related  philosophy  and motives

A normative  environment  that encourages  socially responsible  behaviour  will affect corporate responses by pressuring them into engaging in and reporting on their CSR activities (Chen/Bouvain,  2009). If companies  act on the basis of the principle  of 'doing good', this behaviour  will be spread in the organisation  and thus provide a basis for CSR practices among both  managers and  employees (Jones 1995). Therefore, CSR  should be  defi  ned within the normative  framework  of underlying  corporate  philosophical  principles  and related motives.

In  accordance with  Carroll (1979), researchers conceptualise the  concept of  CSR  and components of a CSR-related philosophy along economical, legal and philanthropic dimensions (e.g., Gupta/Pirsch  2008;  Jamali/Mirshak  2007);  some  authors  specify the  ethical  dimension  using  terms  like  'social',  'stakeholder' or  'ecological' (e.g.,  Ibrahim  et al. 2003;  Amaeshi et  al. 2006). Based on  CSR-motives (e.g.,  Siegel/Vitaliano 2007; Lougee/Wallace 2008; Idowu/Papasolomou 2007; Anselmsson/Johansson 2007) as the reasons  why companies  engage  in CSRrelated  activities,  fi  ve motives have been identifi  ed: economical, moral,  social,  ecological, and legal  motives.  For  the  purposes of  our study,  we  follow  Maignan/Ralston  (2002),  who  distinguish between  three  main  motives for  CSR:  1)  value-driven motives,  where  CSR  is  understood  as a part  of corporate  culture  or as the expression of the company's values; 2) stakeholder-driven motives, where CSR is viewed as a reaction to the pressure and control of one or more stakeholder  groups; 3) performance-driven motives,  where  CSR  is part  of  the  company's economical mission  and a means of increasing  the fi  nancial  performance  and competitive position.

## 3.2.  CSR-related  activities:  social and environmental disclosure  in annual reports

As shown in Table 1, a wide fi  eld in accounting  research is dedicated  to the analysis of annual reports  with  reference  to  social  or  environmental disclosure. In  general,  these  studies distinguish between different categories of social or environmental disclosure, such as environmental, employee and ethical disclosures  (Adams et al. 1998), deal with equal opportunity,  personnel, community  involvement  and products (Abbott/Monsen 1979), or the commitment to investors, employees, community, customers, environment and communication (Calabres/Lancioni  2008).

| Author/s (year):                                                                                                   | Categories of Social or Environmental Disclosure                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Categories of Social or Environmental Disclosure                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Categories of Social or Environmental Disclosure                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Categories of Social or Environmental Disclosure                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| research focus Ernst and Ernst (1978)                                                                              | - Theme (environment, energy, products/consumers, community, employee/human resources, fair business practices, general/other) - Evidence (monetary quantification, non-monetary quantification, both monetary and non-monetary quantification, declaration)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Theme (environment, energy, products/consumers, community, employee/human resources, fair business practices, general/other) - Evidence (monetary quantification, non-monetary quantification, both monetary and non-monetary quantification, declaration)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Theme (environment, energy, products/consumers, community, employee/human resources, fair business practices, general/other) - Evidence (monetary quantification, non-monetary quantification, both monetary and non-monetary quantification, declaration)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Theme (environment, energy, products/consumers, community, employee/human resources, fair business practices, general/other) - Evidence (monetary quantification, non-monetary quantification, both monetary and non-monetary quantification, declaration)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| Abbott/Monsen (1979): Social                                                                                       | - Environment - Equal opportunity - Personnel - Community involvement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - Environment - Equal opportunity - Personnel - Community involvement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - Environment - Equal opportunity - Personnel - Community involvement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - Environment - Equal opportunity - Personnel - Community involvement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| and Environmental Disclosure                                                                                       |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Hackston/Milne (1996): Social Environmental Disclosure Adams et al. (1998) Patten (2002): Environmental Disclosure | Products Other Mandatory disclosure (e.g., employment of disabled) Voluntary disclosure Human resource disclosure Environmental disclosure - Community disclosure Physical environment Energy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Products Other Mandatory disclosure (e.g., employment of disabled) Voluntary disclosure Human resource disclosure Environmental disclosure - Community disclosure Physical environment Energy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Products Other Mandatory disclosure (e.g., employment of disabled) Voluntary disclosure Human resource disclosure Environmental disclosure - Community disclosure Physical environment Energy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Products Other Mandatory disclosure (e.g., employment of disabled) Voluntary disclosure Human resource disclosure Environmental disclosure - Community disclosure Physical environment Energy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| Disclosure and                                                                                                     | - - - Human resources - Products - Community involvement - Environmental issues - Employee issues - Ethical issues - Environmental regulations - Firm's processes, facilities, or product innovations relative to environmental degradation. - Company's concern for the environment - Company's environmental compliance status - Capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or - Operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Costs for pollution control or abatement - Company's attitude - Environmental impact - Emissions - Pollution - Cleaning up (after pollution) - Re-landscaping - | - - - Human resources - Products - Community involvement - Environmental issues - Employee issues - Ethical issues - Environmental regulations - Firm's processes, facilities, or product innovations relative to environmental degradation. - Company's concern for the environment - Company's environmental compliance status - Capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or - Operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Costs for pollution control or abatement - Company's attitude - Environmental impact - Emissions - Pollution - Cleaning up (after pollution) - Re-landscaping - | - - - Human resources - Products - Community involvement - Environmental issues - Employee issues - Ethical issues - Environmental regulations - Firm's processes, facilities, or product innovations relative to environmental degradation. - Company's concern for the environment - Company's environmental compliance status - Capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or - Operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Costs for pollution control or abatement - Company's attitude - Environmental impact - Emissions - Pollution - Cleaning up (after pollution) - Re-landscaping - | - - - Human resources - Products - Community involvement - Environmental issues - Employee issues - Ethical issues - Environmental regulations - Firm's processes, facilities, or product innovations relative to environmental degradation. - Company's concern for the environment - Company's environmental compliance status - Capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or - Operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Costs for pollution control or abatement - Company's attitude - Environmental impact - Emissions - Pollution - Cleaning up (after pollution) - Re-landscaping - |
| Campbell (2004): Environmental Disclosure                                                                          | Energy efficiency Human resources Community involvement Consumer relations Product safety Environmental practices Stockholder rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | Energy efficiency Human resources Community involvement Consumer relations Product safety Environmental practices Stockholder rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | Energy efficiency Human resources Community involvement Consumer relations Product safety Environmental practices Stockholder rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | Energy efficiency Human resources Community involvement Consumer relations Product safety Environmental practices Stockholder rights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Freedman/Patten (2004);                                                                                            | - Non-Monetary disclosures - Company's environmental policy or concern for the environment - Company's pollution control facilities or processes -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | - Non-Monetary disclosures - Company's environmental policy or concern for the environment - Company's pollution control facilities or processes -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | - Non-Monetary disclosures - Company's environmental policy or concern for the environment - Company's pollution control facilities or processes -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | - Non-Monetary disclosures - Company's environmental policy or concern for the environment - Company's pollution control facilities or processes -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Cho/Patten (2007): Environmental Disclosure                                                                        | Specific (non-hazardous waste-related) environmental regulations or - Company's being in compliance with environmental regulations. Monetary disclosures -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Specific (non-hazardous waste-related) environmental regulations or - Company's being in compliance with environmental regulations. Monetary disclosures -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Specific (non-hazardous waste-related) environmental regulations or - Company's being in compliance with environmental regulations. Monetary disclosures -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Specific (non-hazardous waste-related) environmental regulations or - Company's being in compliance with environmental regulations. Monetary disclosures -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|                                                                                                                    | requirements Current or past years' capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | requirements Current or past years' capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | requirements Current or past years' capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | requirements Current or past years' capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| Comier et al. (2005); Aerts et                                                                                     | - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Current or past years' operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Projected future operating costs for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Current or past years' operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Projected future operating costs for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Current or past years' operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Projected future operating costs for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | - Projected future capital expenditures for pollution control or abatement - Current or past years' operating costs for pollution control or abatement - Projected future operating costs for pollution control or abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|                                                                                                                    | - Environmental expenditures and risks - Laws and regulations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | - Environmental expenditures and risks - Laws and regulations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | - Environmental expenditures and risks - Laws and regulations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | - Environmental expenditures and risks - Laws and regulations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|                                                                                                                    | -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| (2008):                                                                                                            |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|                                                                                                                    | Pollution abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Pollution abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Pollution abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Pollution abatement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| al.                                                                                                                |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|                                                                                                                    | - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|                                                                                                                    | - - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | - - -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| disclosure                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Smith et al. (2005): Social                                                                                        |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| van der Laan                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |

Table 1. Social or Environmental Disclosure in Annual Reports

| Environmental Disclosure                             | - Sustainable development - Land remediation and contamination - Environmental management.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| van Staden/Hooks (2007): Environmental Disclosure    | - Entity (Corporate profile and governance) - Management policy and systems - Environmental impacts - Stakeholders - Financial impacts                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| Brammer and Pavelin (2008): Environmental Disclosure | - Environmental policy - Environmental initiatives - Environmental improvements - Environmental targets - Environmental audit or assessment.                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| Calabrese and Lancioni (2008)                        | - Top management commitment to: - Investors - Employees - Society - Customers - Environment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Beck et al. (2010): Environmental Disclosure         | - General Environmental related - Responsibility for the implementation - Pollution related - Related to sustainability - Environmental liabilities - Environment-related activities - Business related risks - Pressure groups - Separate environmental report - Energy related - Information retrieval processes to obtain feedback |

Approaches using a questionnaire-based  methodology to conceptualise CSR differentiate between CSR activities related to a) social and non-social stakeholders, employees, customers, and the government (Turker 2009), b) the workforce, customers, stakeholders, the environment and charity  (Pedersen 2009),  c)  environmental management, employment, supply  chain  management, the local  community, controlling and  reporting,  and community  volunteering  (Perrini et al. 2007), or d) employment,  the environment,  the supply chain,  the local  community and volunteering, and  engagement/human resource  management (Russo/Tencati 2009).  In  sum,  the cited  studies  from  accounting research that  analyse social  or environmental disclosure  in annual reports fail to provide a meaningful conceptualisation or profound  category  scheme (e.g., Abbott/Monsen  1979; Adams  et al. 1998; Campbell 2004; Deegan/Gordon 1996; Gray et  al. 1995; Ingram/Frazier 1980). Because research has  so  far  been  mainly based  on  content analyses that  only  count statements of  disclosure, there  is  still  a  lack  of  research  that  attempts  to relate  the  identifi  ed codes  to  the  strategic  embeddedness of  CSR  activities  referring  to  motives  for  disclosure or the CSR-related  philosophy.

## 3.3.  CSR-related  outcomes  and moderating  effects

A number of studies have analysed CSR activities, corporate environmental and/or social disclosures and have related them to different measures such as fi  nancial and environmental performance,  stock  returns,  analysts'  forecast  accuracy,  the  effects  on potential employees, and a  fi  rm's  reputation (Aerts  et  al. 2008;  Brammer/Pavelin  2008;  Deegan/Gordon 1996; Gray et al. 1996; Campbell 2004; Hasseldine et  al. 2005; Hope/Pope 2003; Kuruppu/Milne 2010; Balsam et al. 2002; Lee/Hutchinson  2005; Patten 2002; van der Laan Smith et al. 2005). Another performance measure  that  was  found  in  the reports  are  commendations, i.e.  awards  and  the inclusion of  company stocks  in  CSR-related stock indices. The  impact of  social and  environmental disclosure on  different performance measures was  found  to  be  moderated by  variables such  as  characteristics of  the  companies (e.g.,  the  company's  size,  its stakeholder  or shareholder  orientation,  environmental  sensitivity, the  company's ownership structure,  its  proximity to  customers or  industry  specifi  cs) as  well as situational contingencies (e.g., public awareness of CSR, political and economic environment) (Aerts et  al. 2008; Brammer/Pavelin 2008; Deegan/Gordon 1996; Gray  et al. 1996;  Campbell  2004;  Hasseldine, et al.   2005;  Hope/Pope 2003;  Kuruppu/Milne 2010; Balsam et al. 2002; Lee/Hutchinson  2005; Patten 2002; van der Laan Smith et al. 2005).

## 4. Methodology

Understood as information about ' organization-society interactions relating to the natural  environment, employees,  communities and  customers '  (Gray  et  al. 1995: 48),  CSR reporting in corporate annual reports forms the basis of our study. Annual reports are considered the most  important, highly  credible  source  of  information on  corporate activities and performance  in different  fi  elds,  are sent to all shareholders  and are widely  recognised,  for instance,  by fi  nancial analysts (Adams et al. 1998; Neu et al. 1998). CSR reporting in annual reports is  not  practised systematically or  in  a  standardised way  by  companies and  remains voluntary and unaudited (Cromier et al. 2005; Beck et al. 2010). However, it can be expected that  environmental and  social  reporting will  be  regulated in  the  mid  or  long  term (e.g., Lee/Hutchinson  2005). Cormier et al. (2005) have noted that German fi  rms' environmental concerns  are higher than those in other large European  countries;  therefore,  the German  context  seems  appropriate  for the purposes  of our study. We analysed  annual reports of the DAX-30 (German Stock Index) companies  listed on the Frankfurt  Stock Exchange.  The DAX-30 is  the  leading stock  index  in  Germany and  comprises the  30  largest  companies in terms  of  turnover.  The  composition of  the DAX-30  has not been  stable  since  its introduction in 1988;  we thus concentrated  on reports from companies  represented  in the index for most of the time from 1998 to 2009. Even though DAX companies are not representative of the overall  German  economy,  they  are  leaders  of their  sectors  and  infl  uence  the  whole  economy as role models.  The companies  integrated  in our analysis  are listed in Table 2 .

Table 2. Companies  and Annual Reports  included  in the Study

| Company                            | Sector                                                               | Years     |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|
| Adidas AG                          | Sporting Goods                                                       | 1998-2009 |
| Allianz SE                         | Insurance                                                            | 1998-2009 |
| BASF SE                            | Chemical                                                             | 1998-2009 |
| Bayer AG                           | Chemical and Pharmaceutical                                          | 1998-2009 |
| BMWAG                              | Automotive                                                           | 1998-2009 |
| Commerzbank AG                     | Banking                                                              | 1998-2009 |
| Continental AG                     | Automotive Supplier                                                  | 1998-2009 |
| Daimler AG                         | Automotive                                                           | 1998-2009 |
| Deutsche Bank AG                   | Banking                                                              | 1998-2009 |
| Deutsche Boerse AG                 | Financial Services                                                   | 1999-2009 |
| Deutsche Lufthansa AG              | Aviation                                                             | 1998-2009 |
| Deutsche Post AG                   | Logistics                                                            | 1998-2009 |
| Deutsche Postbank AG               | Banking                                                              | 1998-2009 |
| Deutsche Telekom                   | Telecommunication                                                    | 1998-2009 |
| E.ON AG                            | Energy                                                               | 2000-2009 |
| Fresenius Medical CareAG& Co. KGaA | Medical Engineering                                                  | 1998-2009 |
| Henkel KgaA                        | Consumer Goods                                                       | 1998-2009 |
| Hypo Real                          | Financial Services                                                   | 2003-2009 |
| Infineon Technologies AG           | Semiconductor                                                        | 2000-2009 |
| Linde AG                           | Gas and Engineering                                                  | 1998-2009 |
| MAN AG St                          | Automotive Manufacturer                                              | 1998-2009 |
| Merck KGaA                         | Chemical and Pharmaceutical                                          | 1998-2009 |
| METRO AG St                        | Commerce                                                             | 1998-2009 |
| Muenchner Rueck AG                 | Insurance                                                            | 1998-2009 |
| RWE AG                             | Energy                                                               | 1998-2009 |
| SAP AG                             | Software                                                             | 1998-2009 |
| Siemens AG                         | Electronics, Automotive Supply, Power Plants and Medical Engineering | 1998-2009 |
| ThyssenKrupp AG                    | Steel and Armaments                                                  | 1999-2009 |
| TUI AG                             | Tourism                                                              | 1998-2009 |
| Volkswagen AG                      | Automotive                                                           | 1998-2009 |

## 5. Data analysis  and key fi  ndings

To achieve our research goals, this study uses a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach (Srnka and Koeszegi 2007). On the basis of annual reports from German DAX-30 companies from 1998 to 2009, we conducted a content analysis to quantify the constructs as presented in Figure 1 .  In  the  second  step,  we  analysed  the  data  from  a  longitudinal perspective spanning twelve years, to present  how codings  have changed  over time.

## 5.1.  Step 1: Content  analysis  using MAXQDA

To identify recurring themes in the reports, we used content analysis - a common scientifi  c research  method  in  various  disciplines such  as  psychology, sociology, and  politics (e.g., Kassarjian  1977; Krippendorf  2003). All reports  were transferred  to Rich Text Format, which  is required by  MAXQDA, the  analysis program we  employed. The  coding  was  done manually, where the  defi  ned coding unit  was  a  phrase or  a  clause. To  capture all  relevant meanings, in accordance to Beck et al. (2010),  we found  early  on in the coding  process  that more than one code was found in one sentence and that one code could be spread over several sentences. During the  coding process, we  adopted a  mixed deductive-inductive process, as suggested by Srnka  and Koeszegi (2007).  Starting  with categories, that is, common  patterns and themes identifi  ed in the literature (philosophy,  motives and activities related to CSR), we performed a pretest with 30 randomly chosen annual reports. The initial coding phase had two rounds conducted by two  authors, both  of  whom were  experienced in  content analysis. To ensure accurate coding, several decision rules  were  formulated (see Table  4) .  Finally, both authors agreed on a coding scheme, as shown in Table 3 , based on categories that are mutually  exclusive  and reliable.

Table 3. Coding Scheme

| Main Category Stated Philosophy towards CSR              | First Subcategory Environmental Responsibility (223 codings)   | Coding Example 'Ecological considerations largely determine the corporate activity of the corporations' enterprises.' (TUI 2001)                                                                                                                                                                               |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| CSR Motives                                              | Performance-Driven (94 codings)                                | 'Our key objective is profitable growth. ' (Allianz 2000) 'For us, entrepreneurial success and social responsibility belong together. ' (Daimler 2004)                                                                                                                                                         |
| CSR Motives                                              | Stakeholder-Driven (110 codings)                               | 'The MANgroup is committed to the stakeholder concept - besides the shareholders' interests, the interests of our customers, employees, suppliers, creditors and all other stakeholders are adequately taken into consideration.' (MAN 2005)                                                                   |
| CSR Motives                                              | Value-Driven (100 codings)                                     | '… is based upon the principle of sustainability and, especially in light of the difficult times our company faces, adheres to it. We consider sustainable action holistically. This includes economical standards as well as cultural, social and naturally ecological aspects.' (Münchner Rück 2002)         |
| CSR-related Internal Activities                          | Organisational Activities (701 codings)                        | 'Our Sustainability Council directs the global activities in cooperation with the operative divisions, the regional and national companies as well as the central functions. '(Henkel 2006) '… worldwide legal compliances, which oblige everyone to adhere to the laws and regulations.' (Bayer 2000)         |
| CSR-related Internal Activities                          | Products and Production (902 codings)                          | 'For newly developed products and procedures, we make sure from the very beginning that as little energy as possible is used and that the natural resources are preserved.' (ThyssenKrupp 2001) 'We create products that are safe to produce, use, recycle and dispose of.' (BASF 2000)                        |
| CSR-related Internal Activities                          | Activities in Human Resource Management (275 codings)          | 'Hence, we encourage a culture in which everyone can contribute to the success (…) regardless of nationality, culture, religion, age, sex or skin color.' (Infineon 2006) 'In 2002, Infineon has, as an incentive for its employees, launched the ESH-Award.' (Infineon 2002)                                  |
| CSR-related Activities towards                           | Guidelines (95 codings) Others                                 | 'The BMWGroup demands compliance with social and ecological standards of its suppliers too.' (BMW 2006) '…in 2002, the Volkswagen Group Award was awarded to selected suppliers for the first                                                                                                                  |
| CSR-related Activities towards Society                   | CSR-related Reports (193 codings)                              | performance, quality, environmental protection, logistics and development.' (VW 2002) 'In 2006, for the first time, DaimlerChrysler published an integrated sustainability report under the title »360 GRAD«.' (Daimler 2007) Fund                                                                             |
| CSR-related Activities towards Society                   | Neighborhood Projects (43 codings)                             | 'With our neighborly help - Good Neighbors, Good Citizen - the DaimlerChrysler and our employees contribute to the stability of the community since 1953.' (Daimler 2007)                                                                                                                                      |
| Corporate Donations, Sponsoring Charitables (in sum: 768 | Education and Research                                         | 'The focus of the commitment is on supporting disadvantaged children and teenagers.' (TUI 2005)                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| and codings)                                             | Sports and Culture                                             | 'Support programs for future conductors, dramatic advisors and directors from the music theater, support of 15 yearly scholarship holders…' (Deutsche Bank 2001) '…the foundation is committed to help people in risk situations and to improve their                                                          |
| and codings)                                             | Social Issues Environmental                                    | life situation…' (Münchner Rück 2007) 'Besides large projects, the Alianz environmental foundation also supports smaller                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| CSR-related Coope-rations                                | With other Companies (106 codings)                             | 'Together with eight further companies, BASF is founding a knowledge factory. Its two main areas are education and the support of business start-ups. ' (BASF 2005)                                                                                                                                            |
| CSR-related Coope-rations                                | With Non-Profit Organisations (391 codings)                    | 'As an active member of the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and other important associations, we take up new insights in the area of sustainable development and integrate them into our own sustainability concept.' (Deutsche Bank 2001) |
| Commen- dations                                          | CSR-related Awards (165 codings)                               | 'In June 2002, ThyssenKrupp received the Federation of German Industry Award for the Environment in the category environmentally-friendly technologies.' (ThyssenKrupp 2002)                                                                                                                                   |
| Commen- dations                                          | CSR-related Indices (243 codings)                              | 'E.ON will be included in the most important index for sustainable companies, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and as a result will be even more attractive for                                                                                                                                       |

investors who emphasize social responsibility.' (Eon 2007)

- All statements must be specifi  cally stated; they cannot be implied.
- If any sentence has more than one possible classifi  cation, more than one code is to be allocated.
- Statements relating to the quality of goods or services are not coded unless they contain a direct relation to social or environmental improvements.
- Statements relating to HRM practice, such as further training and education corporate pension plans, appraisal interviews and so on that is not CSR-related, are not to be coded.
- No activities that are based on legal requirements, such as the prevention of accidents or health prevention, are to be coded.
- Acvitities that are best attributed as graduate recruiting or campus marketing are not to be coded.
- Actitivites that are pure R & D with no relation to CSR are not to be coded.
- Codes assigned to the category Sports focus only on amateur sports and not on professional sponsorship

Table 4. Decision  rules for Coding

Based on  the  rule  that  a  theme which is  more  frequently mentioned in  the  reports is weighted more  highly, all  of  the  codes  were  summed up.  Therefore, it  is  assumed that  the signifi  cance of  a  disclosure can  be  meaningfully represented by  its  quantity. Consequently, the  relative weight  and  importance of different categories identifi  ed by  the  content  analysis was  evaluated by  the  frequency of  codes  in  all  annual  reports  (e.g.,  Campbell et  al. 2006). Some  researchers  have weighted  their codes (e.g., Beck et al. 2010);  however,  when dealing with longitudinal data, Campbell et al. (2006) found frequency to be the most powerful measure. In our study, some codes initially assigned seemed to capture not only CSR-related topics but also those that appeared to  be  mostly economically motivated, such as  college marketing. As  a  consequence, only when the  text was considered to  contain a  substantial CSR-related motivation beyond an economical one  was  it  included (see Table  4 ).  The  fi  rst two  categories  of the  overall  coding scheme  and code frequencies  for all annual  reports  from 1998 to 2009 are presented  in Table 3 . In total, eight main categories  were identifi  ed:

(1) Stated CSR-related philosophy, including statements that depict the philosophy towards CSR or  ' the  range of  business responsibilities ' (Carroll, 1991: 40) and  refer to codes  for a) economic and b)  judicial  responsibility as  prerequisites for  the  existence of  the company  and c)  ethical  responsibility, which  addresses  social  and  environmental values  and norms of  the society that  the  company is  embedded in.  For  our  analysis, we  drew on  the ethical responsibility and coded only statements that comprise a  commitment to  social or environmental  responsibility.

(2) CSR-related motives addressing the  reasons why  companies engage in  CSR  with three subcategories: a)  performance-driven  motives, which  are  mainly  economically oriented and based  on  profi  tability, b)  stakeholder-driven motives, which  acknowledge the  importance of stakeholders  for the company, and c) value-driven  motives ,  which refer to the ethical responsibilities of the business.

(3) CSR-related internal activities including a) organisational activities (i.e.,  CSR- related positions, codices, and certifi  ed management  systems), b) activities in production (i.e., effi  cient production processes and environmentally friendly or ethical products), and c) activities in human resource management (i.e., CSR-related training, education, and volunteering  programs,  diversity  management,  employee  suggestion  systems).

(4) CSR-related activities with regard to suppliers, referring to a) CSR-related guidelines like minimum requirements for  environmental and  work-related issues  that  their suppliers have  to comply with  or b)  other  CSR-related activities to  provide a  constant and lively  exchange  of knowledge,  such as by joint seminars  or workshops.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

-Stakeholder-driven

- (5) CSR-related activities towards society, such  as a)  specifi  c CSR-related reports or websites and b) neighbourhood projects to organise initiatives for community welfare, education  and job search, mostly in the region where companies  are located.
- (6) Corporate Giving, encompassing donations to education and research, sports, culture,  social  and  environmental issues.  The  category  consists  mostly  of  activities focusing on disadvantaged teenagers, which are supported by various educational projects, but scholarships  were also coded.
- (7) CSR-related Cooperation, Corporate Donations, and  Sponsoring related to  both forprofi  t and  non-profi  t organisations, such  as  cooperation with  supranational organisations like UNICEF or the UNEP  (United Nations Environment Program) to comply with  certain environmental or  social guidelines, or  cooperation with  universities to  develop responsible products or production  processes  or to support  education  and research.
- (8) Awards the company has received for its  CSR-activities as  well as CSR-related indices on which the company  is listed (e.g., the Domini 400 Social Index or the Dow Jones Sustainability  Index).

Based on this coding scheme, we used the variables of the fi  nal categories and subcategories as described  above  in the longitudinal  analysis.  Thus,  the content  analysis contributed to  the quantitative analyses, as  it translated the  raw  data  into  numbers  that  were then applied to discover  changes  over time.

## 5.2.  Step 2: Longitudinal  analysis  of CSR-related  codings

Only  a fraction  of  past  studies  are  based  on  longitudinal data,  in  which  annual  reports from more than  one  year  are  analysed, thus  aiming to  uncover trends in  CSR  reporting () (Abbott and Monsen 1979; Campbell 2004; Cho/Patten 2007; Deegan/Gordon 1996;  Campbell  2004; Campbell  et al. 2006; Cormier  et al. 2005; Gray et al. 1995).

The  comparison of  the  means of  CSR-related motives and  philosophies stated in  the annual reports  from  a longitudinal perspective spanning  the years  1998  to 2009,  revealed  the following  trends as illustrated  in Figure 2 .

Figure 2. Codes for CSR Philosophy and CSR Motives

<!-- image -->

The  codings  for  social  and  environmental CSR-Philosophy remain  more  or  less  stable over time,  but  there  is  a  rise  in  stated  stakeholder and  value-driven motives, which  can  be interpreted.  As the latter concentrate  more on stakeholder  requirements  and the ethical responsibilities of  companies as  compared to  performance-driven motives  that  argue  from  a pure  eco-

/g3

600

500

400

300

200

100

- Commendations

- Donations

nomic  base,  a shift  in  philosophy  can  be  detected;  at least  in  stated  philosophy.  In the year 2000, a drop for both CSR motives and philosophies  can be detected, as well as a smaller drop for motives  in 2009. The drop in 2000 can be attributed  to the economic  crisis following the burst  of  the  dot  com  bubble  in  March  2000.  However,  the  question,  why  the  drop  in  2009 was  smaller  than  in  2000,  remains.  One  could  argue  that  this  is  a  sign  of  a  rising  sincerity in CSR reporting in companies, as they do not forget all there social and environmental responsibilities as  crisis strikes. Nevertheless, there is  a  signifi  cant drop in  reported CSR activities  as Figure 3 shows.

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Figure 3. Codes for CSR Activities and Commendations

<!-- image -->

Overall the  codings for  CSR-related activities are  rising steadily in  a  similar pattern. However, in  2008  and  2009  all  codings  are  falling.  Obviously the  reporting of  CSR  related activities  is  not  so  important  anymore  in times  of crisis.  Commendations were  interpreted as CSR outcomes in  our  conceptual model  (see Figure  1 ).  It  is  interesting that  there  is  a  sharp drop in commendations in the years 2008 and 2009, similar to the drop in CSR-related activities.  In general,  with  regard  to  both  CSR-related motives  and  activities,  the  longitudinal analysis  of trends  in CSR reporting refl  ects  the growing  importance  of CSR in the stakeholder dialogue over time. Starting from 1998, the aggregated  number of CSR-related statements  in the annual reports  has been increasing, with the highest  ratings  in activities  in the context  of production, cooperation, the community, and the organisation as the most  important  aspects. In relation  to CSR-related motives,  the results show evidence  for a paradigm  shift over time, from primarily performance-driven motives for engaging in CSR to the increasing signifi  cance of  stakeholderdriven and  value-driven motives. Regarding all  aspects in  2008 and 2009,  there is a signifi  cant drop  in  the  number  and  extent  of  CSR-related coding.  Along with existing  research  insights (e.g., Njoroge  2009; Karaibrahimoglu 2010), a fi  nancial  crisis results in  reduced CSR budgets as  well  as  the  postponement or  cancellation of  social and ecological  projects.  This creates a dilemma, because to cope with the fi  nancial and economic downturn,  organisations  need to focus on meeting society's  needs (Wilson  2008).

## 6. Contributions and research  implications

The primary  goal of this paper  was to examine  CSR from a company's  point  of view and to analyse annual reports with reference to corporate environmental and social disclosures. Based on a sample including the annual reports of all German DAX-30 companies  from 1998 to 2009, we  specifi  cally concentrated on  the  question  of  whether  CSR statements are  mere  hypocrisy

/g3

or  sincere actions that  are  normatively embedded within  the overall CSR mission. Voluntary social and environmental reporting has been subject to criticism from scholars who have found them 'often partial, incomplete, and self-serving public  relations  exercises  that  seek  organizational legitimacy through  appearance rather  than changed behavior' (Kuruppu/Milne  2010),  or, simply  put,  'greenwashing' (Greer/Bruno 1996). Our results give evidence supporting the idea that, along with the public's increased demand for businesses to operate responsibly,  in contrast to primarily performance- driven motives, there  has  been  a  rising  signifi  cance of  stakeholderdriven and  value-driven motives  as a normative  basis  for engaging  in CSR.  This  research  is based  on  qualitative  data, and  it  can  be  argued that  content analysis in  particular lacks reliability and  validity as  an interpretative means  of analysis. However, as Deegan/Gordon  (1996) have  pointed  out, these  diffi  culties  are more  signifi  cant  when  a rather  small  sample  of documents  is examined. In our study, we have examined a quite large sample and therefore conclude that the overall measurement error is  negligible. Furthermore, one of  our study's main aims, extracting a more meaningful CSR-related category scheme from annual reports and depicting longitudinal  trends in CSR reporting,  does not rely on a precise measurement.

Overall,  with a combination of qualitative  and quantitative analyses,  this paper builds upon and extends  past research  efforts  in the fi  eld of CSR and CSR reporting,  as it provides deeper insights into qualitative, longitudinal, and quantifi  able effects encompassing a  rich category scheme that also accounts for the stated CSR-related philosophy and motives to engage in CSR, related to different  fi  elds of CSR activities.

Although  our results are only initial empirical  hints, they should  be explored  in further research in different ways. Because the national culture of the reporting company is considered  a determinant  of CSR reporting  (e.g., van der Laan Smith et al. 2005; Aerts et al. 2008), a study comparing different countries may lead to interesting results regarding differences and similarities in the defi  nition and communication of CSR. Besides, in our analyses, we did not separate home-market activities from international activities of the companies  - given their multinational  activities,  there might be differences  in their CSR commitment  in international  markets  or production  sites.  In general,  the question  of how CSR adds  value  to  the  actual  performance of  the  company, based  on  interviews with  stakeholder groups or expert judgments on fi  rm philosophy, motives, and activities, possible causal relations between CSR  and  outcomes such  as, for  example, corporate reputation, could be examined.

## 7. References

- Abbott, W.F./Monsen, R.J. 1979: 'On the Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility: Self- Reported Disclosures as a Method of Measuring Corporate Social Involvement'. In Academy of Management Journal , Vol. 22, No. 3, 501-515.
- Adams, C.A./Hill, W./Roberts, C.B. 1998: 'Corporate Social Reporting Practices in Western Europe: Legitimizing Corporate Behavior?'. In British Accounting Review , Vol. 30, No. 1, 1-21.
- Aerts,  W./Cormier,  D./ Magnan,  M.  2008:  'Corporate  Environmental  Disclosure,  Financial Markets and the Media: An International Perspective'. In Ecological Economics , Vol. 64, No. 3, 643-659.
- Amaeshi, K.M./Ogbechie, C./Adi,  B.C./Amao, O.O.  2006: 'Corporate Social  Responsibility in  Nigeria:  Western Mimicry or Indigenous Infl  uences?'. In Journal of Corporate Citizenship , Vol. 24, 83-99.
- Anselmsson, J./ Johansson, U. 2007:  'Corporate Social  Responsibility and  the  Positioning of Grocery Brands: An Exploratory Study of Retailer and Manufacturer Brands at Point of Purchase'. In International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management , Vol. 35, No. 10, 835-856.
- Balsam, S./Bartov, E./Marquardt, C. 2002: 'Accruals Management, Investor Sophistication, and Equity  Valuation: Evidence from 10-Q Filings'. In Journal of Accounting Research , Vol. 40, No. 4, 987-1012.
- Beck, A.C./Campbell, D./Shrives, P.J. 2010: 'Content Analysis in Environmental Reporting Research: Enrichment and Rehearsal of the Method in a British-German Context'. In The British Accounting Review , Vol. 42, No. 3, 207-222.
- Bhattacharya, C.B./Sen, S. 2003: 'Consumer-Company Identifi  cation: A Framework for Understanding Consumers' Relationships with Companies'. In Journal of Marketing , Vol. 67, No. 2, 76-88.

- Brammer, S./ Pavelin, S. 2008: 'Factors Infl  uencing the  Quality of  Corporate Environmental Disclosure'. In Business Strategy and the Environment , Vol. 17, No. 2, 120-136.
- Calabrese, A./Lancioni, F. 2008: 'Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Service Sector: Does Exist a Strategic Path'. In The Offi  cial Journal of the Institute of Business Re-engineering , Vol. 15, No. 2, 107-125.
- Campbell, D.A. 2004: 'A Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Analysis of Environmental Disclosure in UK Companies - A Research Note'. In The British Accounting Review , Vol. 36, No. 1, 107-117.
- Campbell, D.J./Beck, C./Shrives, P. 2004: 'The Information Content of Environmental Disclosures in UK and German  Companies Annual  Reports';  paper  presented  at  Fourth Asia  Pacifi  c  Interdisciplinary  Research  in  Accounting  Conference,  4- 6  July  2004,  Singapore [online]. http://www.smu.edu.sg/events/apira/2004/Final%20 Papers/1174-campbell.pdf (accessed 13 December 2010).
- Campbell, D./Moore, G./Shrives, P. 2006: 'Cross-Sectional Effects in Community Disclosure'. In Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , Vol. 19, No. 1, 96-114.
- Carroll,  A.B.  1979:  'A Three-Dimensional  Conceptual  Model  of Corporate  Performance'. In The Academy of Management Review , Vol. 4, No. 4, 479-505.
- Carroll, A.B. 1991: 'The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders'. In Business Horizons , Vol. 34, No. 4, 39-48.
- Chen, S./Bouvain, P. 2009: 'Is Corporate Responsibility Converging? A Comparison of Corporate Responsibility Reporting in the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 87, No. 1, 299-317.
- Cho, C.H./Patten, D.M. 2007: 'The Role of Environmental Disclosures as Tools of Legitimacy: A Research Note'. In Accounting, Organizations and Society , Vol. 32, No. 7-8, 639-647.
- Cormier, D./Magnan, M./van Velthoven, B. 2005: 'Environmental Disclosure Quality in Large German Companies: Economic Incentives, Public Pressures or Institutional Conditions?'. In European Accounting Review , Vol. 14, No. 1, 3-39.
- Deegan, C./Gordon, B. 1996: 'A Study of The Environmental Disclosure Policies of Australian Corporations'. In Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 26, No. 3, 187-99.
- Dowling,  J./ Pfeffer, J.  1975:  'Organisational  Legitimacy,  Social  Values  and  Organizational Behavior'. In Pacifi  c Sociological Review , Vol. 18, No. 6, 12-36.
- Drumwright, M.E. 1994: 'Socially Responsible Organizational Buying: Environmental Concern as a Noneconomic Buying Criterion'. In Journal of Marketing , Vol. 58, No. 3, 1-19.
- Ernst and Ernst 1978: Social Responsibility Disclosure, 1978 Survey. Ernst and Ernst, Cleveland.
- European Commission 2001: Green Paper: Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility , European Commission, Brussels.
- Gray,  R./Kouhy,  R./ Lavers,  S.  1995:  'Corporate  Social  and  Environmental  Reporting:  A Review of the Literature and a Longitudinal Study of UK Disclosure'. In Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , Vol. 8, No. 2, 47-77.
- Greer,  J./Bruno, K.  1996: Greenwash:  The  Reality  Behind  Corporate  Environmentalism .  Third World Network, Penang.
- Gupta, S./Pirsch, J. 2008: 'The Infl  uence of a Retailer's Corporate Social Responsibility Program on Re-Conceptualizing Store Image'. In Journal of Retailing and Consumer Service , Vol. 15, No. 6, 516-526.
- Hackston, D./Milne, M.J. 1996: 'Some Determinants of Social and Environmental Disclosures in New Zealand Companies'. In Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , Vol. 9, No. 1, 77-108.
- Hasseldine, J./Salama, A./Toms, S. 2005: 'Quantity Versus Quality: The Impact of Environmental Disclosures on the Reputations of UK PLCs'. In The British Accounting Review , Vol. 37, No. 2, 231-248.
- Hope,  O./ Pope, P.F.  2003:  'Disclosure  Practices,  Enforcement  of  Accounting  Standards,  and Analysts'  Forecast Accuracy: An International Study'. In Journal of Accounting Research ,  V ol.  41, No. 2, 235-272.
- Ibrahim, N.A./Howard, D.P./Angelidis, J.P. 2003: 'Board Members in the Service Industry: An Empirical Examination of the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation an Directorial Type'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 47, No. 4, 393-401.
- Idowu, S.O./Papasolomou, I. 2007: 'Are the Corporate Social Responsibility Matters Based on Good Intentions or False Pretences: An Empirical Study of the Motivations Behind the Issuing of CSR Reports by UK Companies'. In The International Journal of Effective Board Performance , Vol. 7, No. 2, 136-147.
- Ingram,  R.W./ Frazier, K.B.  1980:  'Environmental  Performance  and  Corporate  Disclosure'. In Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 18, No. 2, 614-622.

- Jamali, D./Mirshak, R. 2007: 'Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 72, No. 3, 243-262.
- Jones, T.M. 1995: 'Instrumental  Stakeholder Theory: A Synthesis of Ethics and Economics'. In Academy of Management Review , Vol. 20, No. 2, 404-437.
- Karaibrahimoglu, Y.Z. 2010: 'Corporate Social Responsibility in Times of Financial Crisis'. In African Journal of Business Management , Vol. 4, No. 4, 382-389.
- Krippendorf, K. 2003: Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology , Sage, Beverly Hills.
- Kuruppu, S./Milne, M.J. 2010: 'Dolphin Deaths, Organizational  Legitimacy and Potential Employees' Reactions to Assured Environmental Disclosures'. In Accounting Forum , Vol. 34 No. 1, 1-19.
- Lee, T.M./Hutchison, P.D. 2005: 'The  Decision to  Disclose Environmental Information: A Research Review and Agenda'. In Reckers, P.M.J. (ed.), Advances in Accounting, Vol. 21. Elsevier, Oxford, 83-111.
- Lougee, B.A./Wallace, J.S. 2008: 'The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Trend'. In Journal of Applied Corporate Finance , Vol. 20, No. 1, 96-108.
- Macleod, S. 2001: 'Why worry about CSR?'. In Strategic Communication Management , Vol. 5, No. 5, 8-9.
- Maignan,  I./ Ralston, D.A.  2002:  'Corporate  Social  Responsibility  in  Europe  and  the  U.S.: Insights from Business Self-presentations'. In Journal of Business Studies , Vol.  33,  No.  3,  497-514.
- Milne, M.J./Adler, R.W. 1999: 'Exploring the Reliability of Social and Environmental Disclosures Content Analysis'. In Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , Vol. 12, No. 2, 237-256.
- Neu, D./Warsame, H./Pedwell, K. 1998: 'Managing Public Impressions: Environmental Disclosures in Annual Reports'. In Accounting, Organizations and Society , Vol. 23, No. 3, 265-282.
- Njoroge, J. 2009: 'Effects of the Global Financial Crisis on Corporate Social Responsibility in Multinational Companies in Kenya'; Covalence Intern Analyst Papers [online]. http://www.covalence.ch/docs/Kenya-Crisis.pdf (accessed 8 January 2011).
- Orlitzky, M./Schmidt, F.L./Rynes, S.L. 2003: 'Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis'. In Organization Studies , Vol. 24, No. 3, 403-441.
- Patten, D.M. 2002: 'The Relation Between Environmental Performance and Environmental Disclosure: A Research Note'. In Accounting, Organizations and Society , Vol. 27, No. 8, 763-773.
- Perrini, F./Russo, A./Tencati, A. 2007: 'CSR Strategies of SMEs and Large Firms: Evidence from Italy'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 74, No. 3, 285-300.
- Pedersen, E.R. 2009: 'The Many and the Few: Rounding Up the SMEs that Manage CSR in the Supply Chain'. In Supply Chain Management: An International Journal , Vol. 14, No. 2, 109-116.
- Pomering, A./Dolnicar, S. 2007: 'Consumer Response to Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives: An  Investigation  of  Two  Necessary Awareness  States',  University  of  Wollongong  - Faculty of  Commerce [online]. http:// ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/422 (accessed 13 December 2010).
- Porter,  M.E./ Kramer, M.R.  2002:  'The  Competitive Advantage  of  Corporate  Philanthropy'. In Harvard Business Review , Vol. 80, No. 12, 5-16.
- Russo, A./Tencati, A. 2009: 'Formal vs. Informal CSR Strategies: Evidence from Italian Micro, Small, MediumSized, and Large Firms'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 85, No. 2, 339-353.
- Schocker, A.D./Sethi, S.P. 1974: 'An Approach to Incorporating Social Preferences in Developing  Corporate  Action  Strategies'.  In  Sethi, S.P.  (ed.), The  Unstable  Ground:  Corporate Social Policy in a Dynamic Society. Los Angeles: John Wiley & Sons, 76-80.
- Siegel, D.S./Vitaliano, D.F. 2007: 'An Empirical Analysis of Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility'. In Journal of Economics & Management Strategy , Vol. 16, No. 3, 773-792.
- Singh, J./Sanchez, M./Rodriguez, I. 2008: 'Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility and Product Perceptions in Consumer Markets: A Cross-cultural  Evaluation'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 80, No. 3, 597-611.
- Srnka, K./Koeszegi, S. 2007: 'From Words to Numbers: How to Transform Qualitative Data into Meaningful Quantitative Results'. In Schmalenbach's Business Review , Vol. 59, No. 1, 29-57.
- Turker, D. 2009: 'Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility: A Scale Development Study'. In Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 85, No. 4, 411-427.
- Van der Laan Smith, J., Adhikari, A./Tondkar, R.H. 2005: 'Exploring Differences in Social Disclosures Internationally: A Stakeholder Perspective'. In Journal of Accounting and Public Policy , Vol. 24, No. 2, 123-151.
- van  Staden,  C.J./Hooks, J.  2007:  'A  Comprehensive  Comparison  of  Corporate  Environmental Reporting and responsiveness'. In The British Accounting Review, Vol. 39, No. 3, 197-210.

- Vlachos, P.A./Tsamakos, A./Vrechopoulos, A.P./Avramidis, P.K.  2009:  'Corporate Social Responsibility: Attributions, Loyalty, and the Mediating Role of Trust'. In Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , Vol. 37, No. 2, 170-180.
- Wilson, A. 2008: 'Deepening Financial Crisis Should not Derail Corporate Social Responsibility', Special to Kyiv Post [online]. http://www.kyivpost.com/business/bus\_focus/30379  (accessed 8 January 2011).

34