Corporate social reporting in Malaysia: A political theory perspective / Azlan Amran and S. Susela Devi

This study explores the influence of the government in the development
Corporate Social Reporting (CSR) in the Malaysian context. It explains CSR
disclosure in annual reports of public listed companies using a political
economy theory perspective. An examination of 201 annual reports of
Malaysian companies reveals the influence of the government in CSR
disclosure. Generally, the reporting practice of the companies sampled support
political economic theory since both variables used in this study, government
shareholding and dependence on the government, were found to be significant.
The findings indicate that the government has a potential to play a significant
role in spearheading CSR practice more intensively, as companies that are
dependent on the government or with significant government shareholding
are institutionalized by the government's aspiration and vision with respect
to social and environmental issues. The findings reveal that employee and
environmental themes are the most commonly disclosed information by those
companies.