Environmental Disclosure and Legitimation in the Annual Report
Environmental Disclosure and Legitimation in the Annual
Report - Evidence from the Joint Solutions Project
Dr. Nancy Higginson,
Northern State University,
Aberdeen, U.S.A.
Dr. Cynthia Simmons, and Dr. Hussein Warsame
University of Calgary,
Calgary, Canada
Summary
Findings from earlier legitimacy based accounting studies provide
evidence that firms respond to threats to their perceived legitimacy
by increasing communication to the public. This communication
is meant to demonstrate that their actions are commensurate with
the values and norms of relevant stakeholder groups. Questions
remain, however, as to whether it is merely a form of impression
management or a reflection of the congruent activities of the firm.
In the late 1990s, a unique situation arose in British Columbia’s
coastal forestry industry that enabled us to examine this issue. For
many years, this industry had been the target of environmental
non-government organisations’ (ENGOs) campaigns to influence
change in forest management practices and conserve the coastal
rainforests. In late 1999, a subset of the industry responded by
forming a coalition with key ENGOs. The aim of the coalition
was to develop a consensus package of recommendations for the
Government of B. C. founded on eco-system based forest
management practices. Facing threats to their critical export
markets, the firms viewed this initiative as their best chance for
long-term survival. We found that during this period of time there
was an increase in the amount of environmental disclosure in
The Journal of Applied Accounting Research 1