Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure of Publicly Traded Manufacturing Companies in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study is aimed at analyzing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure of publicly traded manufacturing companies in Bangladesh based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and the legitimacy theory. The study used a stratified random sampling procedure to select the representative number of manufacturing companies listed in the country’s largest capital market- the Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited (DSE). The study has analyzed the annual reports of 51 companies out of 202 manufacturing companies belonging to 11 different sectors. It has used the content analysis method to identify CSR disclosures made in the corporate annual reports. Content analysis used social and environmental categories of the GRI categorization. The study has used measurement instruments and coding processes for social and environmental disclosures adapted from previous works. Findings show that the selected companies have disclosed some CSR information in their annual reports but the CSR reporting pattern as well as the extent of such reporting is diverse across different company categories. The findings also suggest that the entire manufacturing companies do not follow the GRI standard completely to disclose CSR information and tend to focus on limited aspects only. The nature of disclosure was mostly declarative statements associated with good news or self-laudatory while bad news or neutral news was scant. This self-laudatory pattern of CSR disclosure implies that companies are trying to prove their positive stance toward society and the environment, which is consistent with legitimatizing motives. The study thus provides some support for legitimacy theory to explain current CSR practices. This study recommends that policy planners in Bangladesh make it mandatory for companies to disclose socio-economic-environmental information following international best practices such as the GRI standard categories.