Integrated Reporting of corporate financial and nonfinancial data: Delivering on its promise to contribute to sustainable development?

Table of Contents

1. THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IN SOCIETY AND THE EMERGENCE OF CSR

1.1 FROM SMITH TO LIPPMANN

1.2 THE BEGINNINGS OF CSR

1.3 CORPORATE SCANDALS AND MATURING OF CSR

1.4 CONTEMPORARY CSR

1.4.1 CSR AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1.4.2 CONTEMPORARY CSR DEFINED

1.4.3 CSR IN PRACTICE: MEASUREMENT OF CORPORATE FOOTPRINT

2. CSR AND INTEGRATED REPORTING

2.1 THE EMERGENCE OF A CONCEPT

2.2 INTEGRATED REPORTING AND ITS RELATION TO CSR

2.3 KEY CONCEPTS OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

2.3.1 THE CONTENT OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

2.3.2 THE MEASUREMENT OF NONFINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

2.4 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

2.5 THE DESIRED EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

3. NEOLIBERAL PROPERTY ECONOMY: INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS, ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES AND INSTRUMENTALITY OF CSR

3.1 INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ECONOMY

3.2 ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES OF PROPERTY REGIMES

3.3 REGULATION AND CORPORATE INTERESTS IN PROPERTY REGIMES

3.3.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF MNC REGULATION

3.3.2 (SELF-) REGULATION AND CSR

3.3.3 (SELF-) REGULATION AND INTEGRATED REPORTING

3.4 INSTITUTIONAL LIMITS OF CSR AND INTEGRATED REPORTING

4. INTEGRATED REPORTING FOR “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”? A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ITS CHANCES AND LIMITATIONS

4.1 WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

4.1.1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN LINE WITH CAPITALIST RATIONALE

4.1.2 ECO-SOCIAL VIEW OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

4.1.3 CSR, INTEGRATED REPORTING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

4.2 THE LIMITATIONS OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

4.2.1 FAILURE TO CRITICALLY ASSESS THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF SUSTAINABILITY CRISES

4.2.2 FAILURE TO ASSESS UNDERLYING INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS OF THE NEOLIBERAL, PROPERTY-BASED ECONOMIC SYSTEM

4.2.3 FAILURE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF CORPORATE ACTION

4.2.4 FAILURE TO CRITICALLY ASSESS THE CAPACITY OF THE MARKET ECONOMY TO SOLVE SUSTAINABILITY CRISES

4.3 THE CHANCES OF INTEGRATED REPORTING

5. CONCLUSIONS

Research Objectives and Key Topics

This thesis investigates whether Integrated Reporting of corporate financial and nonfinancial information can genuinely contribute to sustainable development, or if it serves as an instrumental corporate tool within a neoliberal property-based economy. It critically evaluates the origins of CSR strategies and the institutional constraints that limit corporate ability to internalize externalities through voluntary reporting mechanisms.

• The relationship between CSR strategies and Integrated Reporting.
• Institutional foundations and economic imperatives of neoliberal property regimes.
• Critical appraisal of Integrated Reporting’s ability to foster a sustainable economy.
• The dichotomy between capitalist economic rationality and an eco-social view of sustainable development.
• The role of mandatory regulation versus voluntary corporate self-regulation.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

1. THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IN SOCIETY AND THE EMERGENCE OF CSR: This chapter traces the historical development of business responsibility and the emergence of CSR as an instrumental corporate response to public pressure regarding externalities.

2. CSR AND INTEGRATED REPORTING: This chapter defines Integrated Reporting as the latest evolution of CSR and examines the frameworks used by corporations to report nonfinancial performance alongside financial data.

3. NEOLIBERAL PROPERTY ECONOMY: INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS, ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES AND INSTRUMENTALITY OF CSR: This chapter provides an economic analysis of how property-based economies and capitalist growth imperatives force corporations to resist mandatory regulation and prioritize profit.

4. INTEGRATED REPORTING FOR “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”? A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ITS CHANCES AND LIMITATIONS: This chapter critically evaluates whether Integrated Reporting can bridge the gap between corporate interests and true eco-social sustainability, concluding that its voluntary nature is a significant limitation.

5. CONCLUSIONS: The final chapter summarizes that Integrated Reporting currently functions as a tool for corporate self-regulation that does not challenge the underlying institutional causes of environmental and social degradation.

Keywords

Integrated Reporting, CSR, Sustainable Development, Externalities, Neoliberalism, Property Economy, Capitalization, Sustainability, ESG performance, Corporate Responsibility, Economic Imperatives, Institutional Constraints, Market Economy, Self-Regulation, Environmental Impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core focus of this Master Thesis?

The thesis examines whether the practice of Integrated Reporting—combining financial and nonfinancial corporate disclosure—truly contributes to sustainable development as its proponents claim, or if it is merely a strategic response to protect corporate interests within a neoliberal economic framework.

What are the primary thematic areas covered?

The work covers the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the institutional roots of the neoliberal economy, the specific nature of property-based economic imperatives, and a critical analysis of current sustainability reporting standards.

What is the primary research question?

The research question asks if Integrated Reporting of corporate financial and nonfinancial information can genuinely contribute to sustainable development, or if it is fundamentally constrained by the capitalist imperatives of the current economic system.

What scientific methods are applied in the thesis?

The author employs a critical institutional analysis, utilizing property economics and concepts from evolutionary economics to evaluate the institutional foundations of the economy and the inherent limitations of corporate voluntary reporting.

What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?

The main body treats the history of the relationship between business and society, the transition from philanthropic CSR to systematic ESG measurement, the institutional mechanisms of the property economy, and the critical shortcomings of voluntary reporting frameworks in addressing sustainability crises.

Which keywords characterize the work?

Key terms include Integrated Reporting, CSR, sustainable development, externalities, neoliberalism, and property economics.

How does the author define the relationship between property regimes and externalities?

The author argues that externalities are not accidental but a structural byproduct of property-based economies, where corporations are under constant pressure for exponential growth and profit, incentivizing them to shift social and environmental costs onto third parties.

What is the author's conclusion regarding Integrated Reporting?

The author concludes that while Integrated Reporting is a "sound and promising idea" for increasing transparency, it fails in its current voluntary form to address the systemic causes of sustainability crises, necessitating mandatory government regulation to align corporate actions with genuine eco-social sustainability.