Legitimacy theory: a story of reporting social and environmental matters within the Australian food and beverage industry

This paper utilises legitimacy theory to explore whether a company’s level of profile is related to the company’s choice of legitimation strategies. Prior applications of legitimacy theory are extended to the examination of CSR disclosure by focusing on a single industry and customising the disclosure instrument to include industry-specific issues. The paper examines both web-based and annual report disclosures in acknowledgement that the internet has revolutionised how companies disseminate information to their stakeholders. The paper is based on two propositions. The first is that companies considered tobe more ‘high profile’ than others are likely to disclose more CSR information than those considered to be lower in profile. This was supported by the research data. The findings indicated that the level of company profile might influence disclosure levels. The second is that companies with high profiles are likely to employ more disclosure strategies relating to changing public perceptions and expectations and deflecting attention. This was also supported by the research data. The paper concludes that CSR is likely to be a feature of contemporary corporate reporting. This research provides some more evidence about why corporations voluntarily disclose. However, it also highlights possible policy implications and several possible future research issues.