We investigate real effects of a widespread corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting mandate. In 2014, the European Union (EU) passed Directive 2014/95 (hereafter, “CSR Directive”), mandating large listed EU firms to prepare annual nonfinancial reports beginning from fiscal year 2017...

We investigate real effects of a widespread corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting mandate. In 2014, the European Union (EU) passed Directive 2014/95 (hereafter, “CSR Directive”), mandating large listed EU firms to prepare annual nonfinancial reports beginning from fiscal year 2017...

Archival research suggests that female executives have an impact on corporate decision-making and generally finds positive associations between female board representation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance. However, archival research does not reveal why female executives...

Much thought has been given by EU institutional actors to how to encourage real change by companies around sustainability matters. This paper recognises that an important part of that jigsaw lies in the replacement of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive’s limited vision with the Corporate...

In recent years, attention for corporate governance has not only increased but the notion has also broadened considerably, and started to cover some aspects traditionally seen as being part of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR, corporate governance and their interlink seem particularly...

Famous environmental claims implicating well-known corporations have already been reviewed by several publications, such as "Corporate Crime and Violence" (Russell Mokhiber, 1988). Such publications may not eventually achieve to either stress or even imply to a broader audience the relevance of...

With increasing attention to sustainable business, reporting by Multinational Corporations (MNCs) about the social and environmental dimensions of their activities - alongside their economic impacts - has become rather common. While research has documented sustainability reporting and looked at...

In this paper we explore how multinational corporations (MNCs) adopt assurance practices to develop and sustain organizational accountability for sustainability. Using a panel of Fortune Global 250 firms over a period of ten years, we document the diffusion patterns of third-party assurance of...

We examine the effects of mandatory ESG reporting on firms’ corporate performance. Using variation from Sweden’s size-based ESG reporting regulation, which requires medium private firms to start reporting ESG information from 2017 onward, we document that mandatory ESG reporting improves...

This study collates potential economic effects of mandated disclosure and reporting standards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability topics. We first outline key features of CSR reporting. Next, we draw on relevant academic literatures in accounting, finance, economics, and...