Share:


Materiality and stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting: does it matter?

    Erwin Saraswati Affiliation
    ; Muhammad Alif Rumansyah Affiliation
    ; Ayu Aryista Dewi Affiliation

Abstract

Materiality analysis and stakeholder engagement are crucial processes in sustainability reports which aim to identify material issues and prioritize them based on stakeholder interests. Subjectivity in the process of determining materiality and stakeholder engagement can affect the quality of sustainability reports because management can determine the information to be published and eliminate negative information related to sustainability. This research aims to investigate the influence of board of directors’ activity, presence of independence commissioners, company financial performance, and size on materiality disclosure and stakeholder engagement in mining companies in Indonesia. Content analysis and multiple regression analysis were carried out on 70 sustainability reports. The research results show that the involvement of the board of directors and the quantity of board members have a positive and significant effect, while the presence of independence commissioners and company size do not have a significant effect on materiality and stakeholder disclosure. It is noteworthy that disclosing materiality in sustainability reports is a crucial aspect of business practices, irrespective of the company’s financial status or size. This research contributes to the disclosure of materiality and stakeholder involvement in the reporting of companies operating in Indonesia from the perspective of stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory.

Keyword : stakeholder theory, legitimacy, materiality, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting, board activity

How to Cite
Saraswati, E., Rumansyah, M. A., & Dewi, A. A. (2024). Materiality and stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting: does it matter?. Business: Theory and Practice, 25(2), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2024.19023
Published in Issue
Jul 31, 2024
Abstract Views
270
PDF Downloads
233
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abdullah, S. N., Mohamad, N. R., & Mokhtar, M. Z. (2011). Board independence, ownership and CSR of Malaysian large firms. Corporate Ownership and Control, 8(2), 467–483. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv8i2c4p5

Adhariani, D., & du Toit, E. (2020). Readability of sustainability reports: Evidence from Indonesia. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 10(4), 621–636. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAEE-10-2019-0194

Alipour, M., Ghanbari, M., Jamshidinavid, B., & Taherabadi, A. (2019). Does board independence moderate the relationship between environmental disclosure quality and performance? Evidence from static and dynamic panel data. Corporate Governance (Bingley), 19(3), 580–610. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-06-2018-0196

Amran, A., & Haniffa, R. (2011). Evidence in development of sustainability reporting: A case of a developing country. Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(3), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.672

Aniktia, R., & Khafid, M. (2015). Pengaruh Mekanisme Good Corporate Governance dan Kinerja Keuangan Terhadap Pengungkapan Sustainability Report. Accounting Analysisi Journal, 4(3), 1–10.

Anugerah, E. G., Saraswati, E., & Andayani, W. (2018). Quality of disclosure and corporate social quality of disclosure and corporate social responsibility reporting practices in Indonesia. Jurnal Akuntansi, XXII(03).

Anwar, R., & Malik, J. A. (2020). When does corporate social responsibility disclosure affect investment efficiency? A new answer to an old question. SAGE Open, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020931121

Baalouch, F., Ayadi, S. D., & Hussainey, K. (2019). A study of the determinants of environmental disclosure quality: Evidence from French listed companies. Journal of Management and Governance, 23(4), 939–971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-019-09474-0

Beske, F., Haustein, E., & Lorson, P. C. (2019). Materiality analysis in sustainability and integrated reports. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 11(1), 162–186. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-12-2018-0343

Brammer, S., & Pavelin, S. (2006). Voluntary environmental disclosures by large UK companies. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 33(7–8), 1168–1188. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5957.2006.00598.x

Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Levialdi, N., & Menichini, T. (2016). A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method to support materiality assessment in sustainability reporting. Journal of Cleaner Production, 121(10 May), 248–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.005

Calabrese, A., Costa, R., & Rosati, F. (2015). A feedback-based model for CSR assessment and materiality analysis. Accounting Forum, 39(4), 312–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2015.06.002

Calace, D. (2016). Battle of giants: GRI vs SASB vs IR. Grenbiz. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/battle-giants-gri-vs-sasb-vs-ir/

Cheng, E. C. M., & Courtenay, S. M. (2006). Board composition, regulatory regime and voluntary disclosure. The International Journal of Accounting, 41(3), 262–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intacc.2006.07.001

Dang, C., Li, Z. (F.), & Yang, C. (2018). Measuring firm size in empirical corporate finance. Journal of Banking & Finance, 86, 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.09.006

de Villiers, C., Rinaldi, L., & Unerman, J. (2014). Integrated reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 27(7), 1042–1067. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2014-1736

Dewi, A. A., Saraswati, E., Rahman, A. F., & Atmini, S. (2023). Materiality, stakeholder engagement disclosure, and corporate governance: Critical elements for the quality of sustainability reporting. Cogent Business and Management, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2175437

Dienes, D., & Velte, P. (2016). The impact of supervisory board composition on CSR Reporting. Evidence from the German two-tier system. Sustainability, 8(1), Article 63. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010063

Ezhilarasi, & Kabra, K. C. (2017). The impact of corporate governance attributes on environmental disclosures: Evidence from India. Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 10(1), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974686217701464

Farooq, M. B., Zaman, R., Sarraj, D., & Khalid, F. (2021). Examining the extent of and drivers for materiality assessment disclosures in sustainability reports. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 12(5), 965–1002. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-04-2020-0113

Fasan, M., & Mio, C. (2016). Fostering stakeholder engagement: The role of materiality disclosure in integrated reporting. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(3), 288–305. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1917

Fernandez, W. D., & Thams, Y. (2019). Board diversity and stakeholder management: The moderating impact of boards’ learning environment. The Learning Organization, 26(2), 160–175. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-12-2017-0126

Fernando, S., & Lawrence, S. (2014). A theoretical framework for CSR practices: Integrating legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory. Stewart The Journal of Theoretical Accounting, 10(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290485216

Ferrero-Ferrero, I., León, R., & Muñoz-Torres, M. J. (2020). Sustainability materiality matrices in doubt: May prioritizations of aspects overestimate environmental performance? Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 64(3), 432–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1766427

Font, X., Guix, M., & Bonilla-Priego, M. J. (2016). Corporate social responsibility in cruising: Using materiality analysis to create shared value. Tourism Management, 53, 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.10.007

Freeman, R. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder theory. Journal of Management Studies, 39, 1–24.

Frias-Aceituno, J. V., Rodriguez-Ariza, L., & Garcia-Sanchez, I. M. (2013). The role of the board in the dissemination of integrated corporate social reporting. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 20(4), 219–233. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1294

Gere, J., & Schimmack, U. (2017). Benefits of income: Associations with life satisfaction among earners and homemakers. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 92–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.07.004

Global Reporting Initiative. (2016). Sustainability Reporting Standards. GRI.

Global Reporting Initiative. (2021). GRI Universal Standards 2021. December. GRI.

Gray, R., & Milne, M. J. (2002). Sustainability reporting: Who’s kidding whom? Is the future safe in the hands of business? ResearchGate.

Hafsi, T., & Turgut, G. (2013). Boardroom diversity and its effect on social performance: Conceptualization and empirical evidence. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(3), 463–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1272-z

Herbohn, K., Walker, J., & Loo, H. Y. M. (2014). Corporate social responsibility: The link between sustainability disclosure and sustainability performance. Abacus, 50(4), 422–459. https://doi.org/10.1111/abac.12036

Hu, M., & Loh, L. (2018). Board governance and sustainability disclosure: A cross-sectional study of Singapore-listed companies. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(7), Article 2578. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072578

Islamiati, W., & Suryandari, D. (2021). The impact of firm size, leverage, and liquidity on sustainability report disclosure with profitability as moderating variable. Jurnal Akuntansi Bisnis, 18(2), Article 197. https://doi.org/10.24167/jab.v18i2.3508

Karlina, W., Mulyati, S., & Putri, T. E. (2019). The effect of company’s size, industrial type, profitability, and leverage to sustainability report disclosure. JASS (Journal of Accounting for Sustainable Society), 1(1), Article 32. https://doi.org/10.35310/jass.v1i01.68

Kaur, A., & Lodhia, K. S. (2014). The state of disclosures on stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in Australian local councils. Pacific Accounting Review, 26(1–2), 54–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/PAR-07-2013-0064

Kitsikopoulos, C., Schwaibold, U., & Taylor, D. (2018). Limited progress in sustainable development: Factors influencing the environmental management and reporting of South African JSE‐listed companies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(8), 1295–1301. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2176

Mahoney, L. S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L., & LaGore, W. (2013). A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 24(4–5), 350–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2012.09.008

Moneva, J. M., Archel, P., & Correa, C. (2006). GRI and the camouflaging of corporate unsustainability. Accounting Forum, 30(2), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2006.02.001

Muhlis, M., & Gultom, K. S. (2021). Pengaruh Pengungkapan Corporate Social Responsibility Terhadap Nilai Perusahaan BUMN Sektor Pertambangan. Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi Kesatuan, 9(1), 191–198. https://doi.org/10.37641/jiakes.v9i1.559

Ngu, S. B., & Amran, A. (2021). Materiality disclosure in sustainability reporting: Evidence from Malaysia. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 14(1), 225–252. https://doi.org/10.22452/ajba.vol14no1.9

Nguyen, T. T. D. (2020). An empirical study on the impact of sustainability reporting on firm value. Journal of Competitiveness, 12(3), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2020.03.07

Pérez, A., Salmones, M. G.-D. los, & Lopez-Gutierrez, C. (2015). Corporate reputation in the Spanish context: An interaction between reporting to stakeholders and industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(3), 733–746. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2199-3

Rehman, R. U., Ikram, A., & Malik, F. (2017). Impact of board characteristics on corporate social responsibility disclosure. Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 33(4), Article 799. https://doi.org/10.19030/jabr.v33i4.10001

Rudyanto, A., & Siregar, S. V. (2018). The effect of stakeholder pressure and corporate governance on the sustainability report quality. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 34(2), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-05-2017-0071

Russo-Spena, T., Tregua, M., & De Chiara, A. (2018). Trends and drivers in CSR disclosure: A focus on reporting practices in the automotive industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(2), 563–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3235-2

Safari, M., & Areeb, A. (2020). A qualitative analysis of GRI principles for defining sustainability report quality: An Australian case from the preparers’ perspective. Accounting Forum, 44(4), 344–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/01559982.2020.1736759

Said, R., Hj Zainuddin, Y., & Haron, H. (2009). The relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and corporate governance characteristics in Malaysian public listed companies. Social Responsibility Journal, 5(2), 212–226. https://doi.org/10.1108/17471110910964496

Shamil, M. M., Shaikh, M. J., Ho, P.-L., & Krishnan, A. (2014). The influence of board characteristics on sustainability reporting. Asian Review of Accounting, 22(2), 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-09-2013-0060

Sustainability Accounting Standard Board. (2013). Conceptual framework. https://help.sasb.org/hc/en-us

Tibiletti, V., Marchini, P. L., Gamba, V., & Todaro, D. L. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on financial statements results and disclosure: First insights from Italian listed companies. Universal Journal of Accounting and Finance, 9(1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujaf.2021.090106

Unerman, J., & Zappettini, F. (2014). Incorporating materiality considerations into analyses of absence from sustainability reporting. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 34(3), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969160X.2014.965262

Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics. A stakeholder and issues management approach (6th ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

Welbeck, E. E., Owusu, G. M. Y., Bekoe, R. A., & Kusi, J. A. (2017). Determinants of environmental disclosures of listed firms in Ghana. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2(1), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-017-0023-y

Wu, S. R., Shao, Ch., & Chen, J. (2018). Approaches on the screening methods for materiality in sustainability reporting. Sustainability, 10(9), Article 3233. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093233

Zaid, M. A. A., Wang, M., & Abuhijleh, S. T. F. (2019). The effect of corporate governance practices on corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from Palestine. Journal of Global Responsibility, 10(2), 134–160. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-10-2018-0053