The Impact of Institutional Environment on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

This study contributes to the understanding of the influences of institutional environment on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD) in six Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. While the concept of CSRD has been reviewed from a number of theoretical underpinnings such as agency theory, stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, this study examines the effect of environmental factors on CSRD using institutional theory. It emphasizes the impact of institutional environments in which companies operate on the CSRD. For the purpose of this study, 2013 annual reports of 30 largest companies in the stock exchanges of the six countries were collected. The final sample consists of 171 companies. Multiple regression analysis was applied to examine the effect of different institutional factors, such as mandatory reporting, uncertainty avoidance dimension, masculinity dimension, the use of reporting standard and the involvement in CSR-related associations, on CSRD. Findings from our analysis indicate that mandatory reporting, uncertainty avoidance dimension, masculinity dimension and the use of reporting standard are main drivers of CSRD in these countries. The study helps to ascertain the level of CSRD in Southeast Asian countries, which will potentially support governments and statutory bodies in encourage business’s involvement in social contribution.