Structure of Corporate Responsibility Reporting in Polish Organisations

Abstract

Purpose: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a long history, dating back to the 1950s and undergoing since than many changes. Although environmental responsibility is one of its fundamental paradigms, there are also other dimensions, which constitute CSR: the social dimension, focusing on people and the economic dimension. Studies suggest that organisations tend to a selective disclosure of non-financial information. This may lead to disparities in the nature of non-financial information disclosed. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to determine the structure of CSR information disclosed by Polish organisations. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis has been conducted on organisations listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. For this purpose sustainability reports made available by the organisations have been analysed using the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. The data has been analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings: The analysis shows, that organisations disclose non-financial information most specific in the category General Standard Disclosure. Within the category Specific Standard Disclosure, organisations are most likely to disclose social information followed by environmental information and economic information. However, within social information the disclosure level is not even. Most specific information is being disclosed in regard to the Labour Practices and Decent Work categories, while only a few organisations disclose Human Rights information. Research and practical limitations/implications: Due to the low number of organisations disclosing non-financial information in general, the results presented in this paper must be treated with caution, especially in regard to the attempt to show the structure of CSR reporting in particular industries. The practical implications of the results include the presentation of existing disparities within CSR reporting and thus point towards reporting areas, which need to be approached with more attention. Originality/value: Previous research relating to the disclosure of non-financial information focused mainly on selected industries. This paper evaluates CSR reporting in regard to all organisations listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Furthermore, previous research analysed mostly the disclosure level in selected categories, without showing the relation between the disclosure levels in all categories. Paper type: Research paper.