The factors influencing corporate sustainability reporting in Sri Lanka : an application of the theory of planned behaviour

Abstract

The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the influence of managers' attitudes and other psychological factors on their intention to engage in sustainability reporting (SR) and the relationship between these intentions and the SR behaviour of Sri Lankan companies. This thesis is motivated by the need to contribute to the limited research on SR from a developing country's perspective, the need to extend research focusing on factors that motivate managers to support corporate SR, and the lack of research empirically testing behavioural models that contribute to explain SR practices and ultimately provide directions for change in this area. This thesis also investigates the suitability of Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in an organizational context. In doing so, the conceptual framework of the study is based on the TPB, which is well-established in the Psychology literature.

This study follows a mixed method research approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the influence of managers' psychological factors on corporate SR behaviour. Data was collected, using both a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews, with top and middle level managers of listed and non-listed companies in Sri Lanka. This enabled a triangulation of approaches regarding data collection. The hypotheses are tested using Partial Least Squares analysis and the interview data is analysed using NVivo 8 software.

The findings of this study indicate that psychological variables influence managers' intention to engage in SR and ultimately corporate SR behaviour. Whilst managers have intention to engage in SR, the majority of companies have not taken the next step towards SR. It was found that due to an insufficient degree of actual control by managers over the SR process and lack of stakeholder pressure, managers' intention to engage in SR were not translating into SR behaviour. For example, it was found that lack of support and commitment from the top management and staff, lack of resources, knowledge, skills and awareness of the potential benefits of SR, inhibited SR behaviour. Further, a multitude of difficulties encountered in accessing reliable data, quantification, data collation, understanding and application of certain indicators of SR guidelines inhibited SR behaviour. Finally, the results suggest the suitability of the TPB in corporate settings and show that managers' psychological factors are important in determining SR behaviour in Sri Lankan compantes.

This thesis indicates the need for Sri Lankan companies to devise more effective strategies and to design programs to promote SR by considering the role of psychological variables in the SR process. The strategies and programs could be aimed towards providing managers with a sufficient degree of actual control over the SR process. For example, strategies and programs designed to raise awareness of SR and its benefits would assist the development of greater sensitivity to SR issues and could enhance managers' support and commitment towards SR. This could precipitate the creation of organizational cultures which contribute towards the improvement of sustainable development and foster a new reporting culture, exhibiting greater transparency and accountability amongst companies. Show more