Sustainability reporting in Fiji listed companies: A voluntary disclosure perspective using legitimacy theory

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Abstract

The study examined the extent of sustainability reporting practices (voluntary disclosures — VD) of Fiji listed corporations. Using a theoretical framework informed by legitimacy theory, the authors predict the extent of both narrative and non-narrative VD. The study applied a content analysis method and examined archival data such as scholarly articles and 2019 annual reports data of listed companies. The means of triangulation was further augmented by backing the results of the study with prior literature on sustainability reporting. The findings highlight that narrative VD was evident in most annual reports. Non-narrative VD was adequate with a primary focus on corporate social responsibilities. From an overall perspective, VD was found to be very limited. The study contributes to providing insights into the paucity of literature in developing nations’ context on sustainability reporting practices.

Keywords: Sustainability, Voluntary Disclosure, Narrative, Non-Narrative, Legitimacy Theory

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — S.K.R.; Methodology — M.R.A.; Investigation — S.K.R.; Resources — S.K.R.; Writing — Original Draft — S.K.R.; Writing — Review & Editing — M.R.A.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: M14, M41, Q56

Received: 25.01.2021
Accepted: 09.06.2021
Published online: 11.06.2021

How to cite this paper: Raj, S. K., & Azam, M. R. (2021). Sustainability reporting in Fiji listed companies: A voluntary disclosure perspective using legitimacy theory [Special issue]. Corporate Ownership & Control, 18(3), 410–422. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv18i3siart14