Sustainability reporting: An overview of the recent development

Zulnaidi Yaacob,Shelly F. Kartasari,Inten Meutia

doi:10.21511/afc.03(1).2020.03

Zulnaidi Yaacob, Shelly F. Kartasari

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21511/afc.03(1).2020.03

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Abstract

This study aims to provide an extensive overview of the current state of sustainability reporting through the review studies on sustainability reports (SR) in the accounting literature for the period 2015–2020. A structured literature review (SLR) methodology is used to investigate how the SR literature develops and focuses. The study uses keywords such as “sustainability report” and “sustainability reporting” to identify studies that are relevant to a given topic. A total of 44 published studies were found. This study identifies the main directions of SR research in the 2015–2020 period and discusses several important aspects of research, namely methodology, research methods, and the theory used. To enrich the results, this study defines the scope, country of research, topics and sectors studied. The study provides insight into future SR research used by researchers to develop SR research. Several things are proposed that can be used as a guide for future SR research, such as sustainability in SMEs and the public sector. Ensuring sustainability is one of the research topics that can be a direction for researchers in the future. Theories such as contingency and source credibility can be an alternative to explaining the reality of sustainability reporting.

Highlights

Sustainability reporting (SR) is a new paradigm shift that is related to disclosure, and integrates with the communication process between companies and stakeholders
To enrich the According to Massaro et al (2016, p. 4), “...re- results of the review, this study clustered researchers use structured literature review (SLR) to map and assess the existing search countries, SR topics of research concern, intellectual territory to identify future research and sectors that were the object of research
This study systematically presents empirical research on sustainability reporting for the period 2015– 2020 and provides an overview using a qualitative approach

Summary

Introduction

Sustainability reporting (SR) is a new paradigm shift that is related to disclosure, and integrates with the communication process between companies and stakeholders. The increasing attention of companies to sustainability reporting globally has been reported by (KPMG and UNEP 2006; KPMG, 2008; Lynch et al, 2014; Anunciação et al, 2017; LarrinagaGonzalez, 2007; Adams & Frost, 2008) Scientific research in this area has developed significantly where the quality of sustainability reporting is the subject of research and benchmarking studies (Milne & Gray, 2013; Arayssi et al, 2016; Rezaee, 2016; Kolk, 2004).

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