Corporate social disclosures in the knowledge-based sector in an emerging economy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by the BSE TECk Sector in the developing economy of India. Using content analysis, this study analyses the disclosures of corporate social responsibility elements by the BSE TECk Sector in the annual reports. CSR disclosures are analysed in context of sources, nature and the item of information.The findings of the study advice that all the companies in the BSE TECk index disclose social issues in their annual reports. Human resources related issues have found greater attention in annual report of the sample companies and less attention has been provided to ethical issues. The study highlights that it is important for the corporate sector to disclose CSR related matters as part of their overall corporate and business performance reporting model. The paper also provides some practical implications about reporting of socially responsible activities for knowledge based companies.