Social and Environmental Accounting Disclosures and Legitimacy Theory

This reflection essay explores the motivation behind social and environmental accounting disclosures, focusing on the application of legitimacy theory. The essay summarizes the key issues, such as the challenges in establishing a coherent framework and the potential for manipulation of social perceptions through CSR reporting. It references relevant sources like journal articles and textbooks to support its arguments. The author reflects on their developing comprehension of the subject, acknowledging both the advantages and disadvantages of using legitimacy theory to explain social and environmental accounting disclosures. The essay concludes with a balanced perspective on the theory's application within the field of corporate social responsibility.

Running head: SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURES
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURES
Name of the student
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Author note

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SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING
In the earlier days, most researchers studying the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
have depended on the use of stakeholder theory for the explanation of corporate social and
environmental disclosures. However, recent studies have indicated that the legitimacy theory is
most suitable for explaining the social and environmental disclosures in corporate field (Ogiri,
Samy & Bampton, 2012). As we know, legitimacy theory is the theory that encourages
organizations in their implementation and development of intentional environmental and social
disclosures to accomplish their social and environmental objectives. Consistent with the idea of
the theory, organizations search for gaining, maintaining or repairing their legitimacy with the
use of social and environmental reporting. Nonetheless, several issues have been found in the use
of legitimacy theory for social and environmental accounting disclosures (Cuganesan, Ward &
Guthrie, 2007). One is the lack of a coherent framework of the theory. Without a coherent
framework, organizations might find it difficult to prove their legitimacy even if they disclose
their social and environmental report.
According to my view, the CSR is one crucial aspect of any organization that gives it the
opportunity to prove its legitimacy. The social and environmental accounting disclosures are a
practice that companies use to prove their credibility (Islam, 2017). the fact that the legitimacy
theory focuses on the extent of disclosures made by companies, gives me the idea that it is
extremely helpful in examining which companies are serious about their CSR role and which are
not. However, I have observed that companies use the legitimacy strategy to manipulate social
perceptions about their product or service. In this case, it needs I must state that the legitimacy
theory should also explain the threat of using CSR reporting for manipulation by the companies.
Therefore, as per my understanding, using legitimacy theory to explain the social and
environmental accounting disclosures has both advantage and disadvantage.

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SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING
References:
Cuganesan, S., Ward, L., & Guthrie, J. (2007, July). Legitimacy theory: A story of reporting
social and environmental matters within the Australian food and beverage industry. In 5th
Asian Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting (APIRA) Conference (pp. 8-10).
Islam, M. A. (2017). CSR reporting and legitimacy theory: Some thoughts on future research
agenda. In The Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility (pp. 323-339). Springer,
Cham.
Ogiri, I. H., Samy, M., & Bampton, R. (2012). Motivations of legitimacy theory for CSR
reporting in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: a theoretical framework. African Journal
of Economic and Sustainable Development, 1(3), 265-283.