Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the level of social and environmental information disclosure practices in websites of companies listed on Bahrain Bourse, also to determine the influence of firm size, profitability, financial leverage, firm age and audit firm size on the level of social and environmental information disclosures under legitimacy theory. To achieve the aims of this study, content analysis and statistical analysis were used. Content analysis by word count is used to determine the level of social and environmental disclosures on websites of Bahraini companies. To determine the factors that explain the level of social and environmental information disclosures, descriptive statistics and multiple regressions analysis were used. The findings indicate that 57.57% of the sampled listed companies provided social and environmental information in their 2012 annual reports and their websites. Commercial banks and insurance companies made the most disclosure of social and environmental information, while the least disclosure was made by companies in the hotels and tourism sector and industrial sector. Multiple regression analysis revealed that financial leverage and audit firm size had a significant relationship with the level of social and environmental information disclosure.
Highlights
Social and environmental reporting is commonly referred to as corporate social responsibility reporting (Deegan, 2007)
Branco and Rodrigues (2008), found out that the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and leverage may be significant in the case of the internet, in which, companies that were highly leveraged did established a closer relationship with their creditors and adopted alternative means to publish their social responsibility disclosure
According to the descriptive results the extent of social and environmental information disclosure on websites of Bahraini listed companies on average is 101.63 words, and the standard deviations indicate that there are wide variations in the level of social and environmental information disclosure between the listed companies and sectors. This result is supported by other previous empirical studies performed in developing countries (e. g., Naser et al, 2006 in Qatar; and Dutta and Bose, 2007 in Bangladesh), which found a wide variations in the level of corporate social responsibility reporting disclosure between companies and sectors
Summary
Social and environmental reporting is commonly referred to as corporate social responsibility reporting (Deegan, 2007). Organizations having the most active role in the market economy, cannot confine their attention to economic goals only, but must focus on a more extended qualitative approach and pay attention to their environmental and social responsibility practices through internal and external reporting (Guthrie and Farneti, 2008). The development of these practices in early and mid 1990s had a trend taking the form of disclosure within annual report. The most well-known and widely used media are annual reports and websites
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
