The Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures among Construction Companies

Abstract

"Corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) refers to the voluntary action of a company to disclose all about the sustainable development not only in financial performance but also related to the social and environmental performance that comply with the legal requirements. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of 43 construction companies listed in Bursa Malaysia and to examine the relationship of certain determinants; namely, the size of company, profitability and leverage on the total CSR disclosed from the year 2017 to 2018. Content analysis based on total number of sentences is deployed to measure the CSR disclosure. A checklist consisting of 34 items was developed based on four categories: marketplace, workplace, environment and community. The data on CSR disclosure was gathered from annual reports while the determinants’ data were collected from Thomson Reuter’s data stream. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 on a sample of 43 Malaysia construction companies. Results indicate that the size of company and leverage were found to be positively associated with CSR disclosure. The profitability variable was found to be of no association with CSR disclosure. The findings of this study would benefit the companies, relevant authorities, policy makers and stakeholders in CSR practices."