CSR reporting: The mastery of the internal dynamics

Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior managers, this study tries to reveal the reasons behind both the presence and the absence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the annual reports of Belgian listed companies. Using a neo-institutional theory lens, the narratives indicate that although companies might feel some institutional pressures to report CSR information, ‘institutional isolating mechanisms’ might hinder companies to include this type of information in their annual reports. A conservative attitude towards reporting in general appears to constitute an institutional isolating mechanism in the context of CSR reporting.