Corporate Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of the United Kingdom.

Abstract

The primary aim of the study is to explore corporate reporting practices on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), drawing upon evidence from listed companies in the United Kingdom (UK). This overarching aim is delineated into three distinct sub-objectives, with each objective examined within three original research essays on corporate SDGs reporting. In the first article, the study reviews and critiques the prevailing literature on corporate SDGs reporting to map how the field has developed and identify a future research agenda. Based on a structured review of 65 empirical articles, the results reveal that current SDGs reporting literature is under- theorised, overly focuses on publicly listed companies and succinctly describes organisations’ engagement as superficial. Surprisingly, regions such as North America, the UK and other emerging economies have received less attention from scholars. Although there is an increasing number of accounting scholars developing research within this field, the prevailing research is concentrated on corporate SDGs engagement, drivers of SDGs reporting and scope of SDGs reporting. This calls for interventionist research a modification to the current approaches and research methods to advance this field further. The second article analyses how Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 companies disclose their contributions to the SDGs and examines whether these disclosures reflect the outcome of genuine accountability to stakeholders, or merely represent impression management. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of legitimacy and impression management, the study relies on prior narrative disclosure research to develop a typology of impression management strategies and a disclosure framework to capture the thematic content (what and volume of disclosure) and disclosure quality (how it is disclosed). The study provides evidence that corporations are increasingly referencing the SDGs in corporate sustainability performance reports. Nevertheless, the disclosures are largely limited with the majority of companies primarily aligning their existing sustainability activities with several SDGs, suggesting a symbolic approach to the SDGs. Regarding impression management, the evidence reveals the extensive bias of SDG-related disclosures towards positive and optimistic language as well as self-serving assertive attributional strategies. The paper offers novel insights into this emerging reporting practice and results will be valuable to researchers and other stakeholders. Grounded in both agency and upper echelons perspectives, the third paper examines the effects of CEO narcissism and power on corporate reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We theorise that CEOs’ narcissistic tendencies and power will influence their firms’ SDGs engagement and reporting practices. We also examine whether SDGs reporting affects firm performance. Based on a sample of FTSE 100 companies for the period 2018-2022, we test our ideas using generalised estimating equations. The results show that CEO narcissism is positively related to SDGs reporting; however, this effect is weaker in firms led by older narcissistic CEOs. Further, CEO power is negatively associated with SDGs reporting, suggesting that firms led by powerful CEOs are reluctant to integrate the SDGs. Finally, corporate SDGs reporting lacks any value-enhancing effect on firm performance, supporting the symbolic perspective of sustainability management. Our results contribute to the literature on SDGs accounting and enrich our understanding of the underlying dynamics shaping corporate disclosure practices.