Integrated Thinking and sustainability reporting assurance: International evidence

Baboukardos, Diogenis; Mangena, Musa; Ishola, Abdullahi

Abstract

Recently, there has been increasing demand by stakeholders for firms to demonstrate how they create value within the context of their operating environment. Consequently, a new reporting approach, Integrated Reporting (IR), was conceptualised with its development linked to the firm's Integrated Thinking (IT). Yet very little is known about the effects of IT on firms' reporting decisions. Hence, we investigate whether IT influences firms' decision to publish an assured sustainability report. Using an international dataset, we find that IT is positively associated with sustainability reporting assurance. We also find that this association is moderated by the type of legal system such that for firms in code law countries, the IT effects are reduced. Nevertheless, the effects of IT remain strong indicating that IT is important for reporting decisions regardless of the firm's contextual setting. These findings have implications for policy makers and organisations interested in promoting high quality sustainability reporting.

Citation

Baboukardos, D., Mangena, M., & Ishola, A. (2021). Integrated Thinking and sustainability reporting assurance: International evidence. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(4), 1580-1597. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2695

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 5, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-05
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 6, 2023
• Journal: Business Strategy and the Environment
• Print ISSN: 0964-4733
• Electronic ISSN: 1099-0836
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 1580-1597
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2695
• Keywords: Integrated thinking; Sustainability reporting assurance; Integrated reporting; Legal systems; Stakeholder engagement
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5200502
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bse.2695
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Baboukardos, D., Mangena, M., & Ishola, A. (2021). Integrated Thinking and sustainability reporting assurance: International evidence. Business Strategy and the Environment, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2695. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.