Beyond sustainability reporting: developing a stakeholder research framework

Purpose: The challenge to look beyond corporate sustainability reporting research is the catalyst for this paper. Given the richness of the insights afforded by stakeholder theory, much of this research is concerned with the development of a stakeholder framework that is useful in attempting to understand the interplay between the various stakeholders and the management of reporting entities. Design/methodology/approach: First, revisiting the impetus for the stakeholder view as well as the corporate entities’ social responsibility and profit motives provide the justification for choosing stakeholder theory as the foundation for the framework. Next, a mapping of the relevant stakeholder literature is conducted in order to understand and incorporate the normative, instrumental and descriptive aspects of stakeholder theory into a framework. Finally, a stakeholder research framework is proposed. Findings: Corporate actions, including the provision of sustainability reports, are driven by stakeholder demands. This is in line with the basic premise of stakeholder theory which states that the firm’s success depends upon the successful management of the relationships that firms have with their stakeholders. A stakeholder research framework that considers the normative, instrumental and descriptive aspects of the theory enables a richer examination of the thought processes involved in management’s decision whether to provide/not provide sustainability reports. Originality/value: There has been a proliferation of research conducted on corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports provided by companies. A stakeholder research framework proposed in this paper broadens research perspectives thereby enabling greater insights into the interplay between various stakeholders and corporate entities.