Corporate Reporting： An Integrated Approach to Legitimacy Claims

作     者：Marianne Grove Ditlevsen Anne Ellerup Nielsent Christa Thomsen 

作者机构：University ofAarhus Aarhus Denmark 

出 版 物：《Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing》 (现代会计与审计（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2013年第9卷第12期

页      面：1637-1643页

学科分类：12[管理学] 120202[管理学-企业管理（含：财务管理、市场营销、人力资源管理）] 1202[管理学-工商管理] 080802[工学-电力系统及其自动化] 0808[工学-电气工程] 08[工学] 

主　　题：integrated corporate reporting 'social legitimacy corporate communication 

摘      要：With the increasing pressure on companies to engage in corporate social responsibility （CSR）, it is paramount for businesses and organizations to gain social legitimacy through building trust and credibility towards their stakeholders. Corporate reporting is a major tool whereby they can demonstrate their transparency and their will to contribute to society. However, reporting is often addressed as a narrow and restricted discipline based on specific areas of communication like financial and CSR communication, which potentially can lead to ＂disconnected reporting＂. The aim of this paper is to address reporting within a framework of corporate communication, introducing the concept of corporate reporting as ＂an issue of integration＂ and to discuss the opportunities and challenges of corporate reporting as a driver for gaining social legitimacy. Recent research in corporate reporting and the development of standards by distinguished reporting agencies （e.g., Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler （KPMG）, A4S, PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC）） seem to support this position, arguing that integrated reporting is ＂the way forward＂. Accordingly, the authors conclude that there is a need to include a broader range of aspects in the corporate reporting literature applying a strategic integrated approach by which corporate reporting may more explicitly help businesses and organizations gain social legitimacy towards their internal and external stakeholders.