CSR Motivations in Voluntary Non-Financial Disclosures: The Preparers’ Voice

Abstract

CSR reports are communication tools, appropriate for informing stakeholders of the CSR practices conducted by organizations. This article aims to explore the reasons why complex organizations have adopted on purpose the CSR report to meet their needs and to discover why they have chosen to adopt the integrated report as an alternative to the sustainability report. This study is based on an explanatory case study of two healthcare organizations that have exactly implemented Integrated Reporting (IR), instead of Sustainability Reporting. The research method used is the field study. This work points out how organizations create and use CSR reports, even if they are not mandatory. If the IR looks like a “managerial innovation”, there is always a risk that the diffusion of these tools could simply be the latest popular trend, followed by internal or external proponents, rather than a rational decision-making process. The study has implications for the policymakers, the organizations, and their integrated report. The policymakers can understand if this tool can be useful for the organizations, to promote internal CSR. The study contributes to literature about the willingness to publish CSR reports, as an expression of the internal and external factors that influence voluntary reporting choices.