Search results

Motivated by the dearth of studies examining how and why managers adopt sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in developing countries struggling with economic, environmental and social problems, this study aims to investigate the rationales and business management approaches for adopting and integrating SDGs in the Sri Lankan corporate context, which is gradually adopting sustainable practices and sustainability reporting.

A qualitative approach was adopted to provide deeper insights and an understanding of corporate engagement with SDGs, offering a richer analysis of rationales and business management approaches that quantitative methods may overlook. Top Management attached to the sustainability function of seven companies that had varying levels of SDG-related disclosures were interviewed based on Santos and Silva Bastos’s (2021) theoretical framework for understanding the rationale and the priority management level for SDG adoption.

The main motivation to adopt SDGs stems from contextual and ethical rationales, with the influence of the United Nations Global Compact serving as a notable contextual factor. The prioritized levels of management focus for integrating SDGs were strategic and operational focuses. SDGs enhance the existing strategic position established by the sustainability efforts of the companies. Even though strategic and operational management focuses were highlighted for integrating SDGs, the elements of sustainability were present across all the management levels (normative, strategic and operational), emphasizing that these focuses should interrelate to effectively integrate SDGs. Further analysis revealed that all three underlying rationales – ethical, contextual and economic – influence managers to integrate SDGs across different management focuses.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first few to contribute to the handful of studies holistically looking at the drivers and management approaches to engaging with SDGs from the perspective of a developing country. Furthermore, it extends the theoretical framework developed by Santos and Silva Bastos (2021) through the findings to show that all underlying rationales impact the integration of SDGs at different management focuses.

This paper aims to examine the coverage of and trends in reporting content elements in the integrated reports of the Sri Lankan companies following the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRF).

Based on a comprehensive checklist developed on the content elements of the IIRF, 171 corporate integrated reports were content-analyzed over a period of three years. The results were theorized subsequently using the legitimacy theory.

The study identifies that the extent of and trend in the coverage of content elements of the IIRF have increased during the period under consideration despite some under-addressed areas. It indicates that Sri Lankan companies are making progress in the preparation of integrated reports in line with the IIRF, which provides evidence in support of both strategic and institutional perspectives of the legitimacy theory because of the proactive actions taken by managers to acquire legitimacy along with the other normative and mimetic pressures available in the IR landscape.

This is one of the first studies that evaluate the compliance of IR adopters with the IIRF overtime in the entirety of a single country. It also develops a comprehensive index to capture the disclosure requirements of IR and extends the analysis to a voluntary context using both strategic and institutional perspectives of the legitimacy theory.

This paper aims to identify the usefulness of safety controls and accounting in corporate social sustainability management in response to various stakeholders’ demands and expectations in the mining sector.

The case study approach is followed in this study as it provides in-depth understanding of complex social phenomena. Data collection is mainly based on semi-structured interviews, on-site assessments and documentation reviews. Visits were repeated and cross-checked to ensure the validity of data collection and analysis.

The study identifies a reciprocal relationship between stakeholder management strategies and the safety control system that encapsulates a mix of leading and lagging key safety performance indicators (KSPIs). A safety control system with the right mix of KSPIs drives corporate value-creation by instigating internal organizational changes. Yet, the stakeholders’ expectations and pressures are dependent on national, historical, cultural and social settings and institutions that will impact on the safety controls and safety accounting in a substantial way.

The paper demonstrates the usefulness of safety controls and accounting in corporate stakeholder management in the mining sector in Sri Lanka. The paper, by addressing how safety control systems and accounting meet various stakeholder demands and expectations, provides new insights into corporate social sustainability performance in mining companies and the role and implications of sustainability (management) accounting.