The Impact of Social and Economic Development on Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure in Hong Kong and the U.K.

Abstract

This study compares corporate social and environmental disclosure (CSED) in Hong Kong (HK) and the U.K. through a content analysis of 334 annual reports prepared by 69 listed companies over the period of 1993–1997. We find that U.K. and HK companies differed in the amount, theme and location of CSED, and that there was an upward trend in the amount of CSED in both U.K. and HK firms during the five-year period, although U.K. firms increased more than HK firms. We argue that HK and U.K.'s different stages of social and economic development, by creating differential pressures and demand for CSED and exposing companies to differential political costs and legitimacy threats, contributed towards these differences in CSED.