Socıal Sustaınability in Integrated Reporting: A Content Analysis of Integrated Reports Published in Turkey

Abstract

Today, the integrated reporting system has emerged as the last stage of corporate reporting systems that can explain how businesses can create value in the current period and in the long run, since current reporting methods are insufficient to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of all stakeholders, especially investors and shareholders. Integrated reporting, which aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of businesses, enables decision-making processes to become much faster and more effective by integrating all capital elements into business strategies in the value creation process and increases both social, environmental and financial performance of businesses. Therefore, although the concept of sustainability is evaluated more economically and ecologically, social sustainability should be considered together with all dimensions in integrated reports against human-based problems. The main purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the companies and institutions that have regularly published integrated reports in Turkey in the last three years include the concept of social sustainability in their reports and which sub-dimensions they mostly emphasize. For this purpose, 39 Integrated Reports were analyzed with the content analysis method using the MAXQDA program in the study and it was determined that the enterprises contributed the most to social sustainability in the dimensions of education and equality.