Determinants of voluntary external assurance on corporate sustainability reports: A comparison between Europe and North America
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2016-06-28
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en
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Abstract
Companies increasingly demand voluntary external assurance on corporate sustainability reports (CSR). Evidence is gathered regarding the increase in corporate sustainability reporting disclosure and assurance demand over the years (2009-2014). This paper seeks to understand the emerging voluntary assurance market and therefore, investigates which publicly-listed companies demand assurance and which companies do not demand assurance. The aim of the paper is to explain the assurance variation by examining firm-specific and country-level determinants. The main focus is on environmental and social firm-specific performance. By making use of a sample containing 656 European companies and 179 North American companies, a multilevel panel data logistic regression analysis is executed. The main findings show support for a higher likelihood of CSRA demand if companies: (1) have superior social and environmental performance; (2) are domiciled in stakeholder-oriented countries; and (3) are domiciled in countries with weaker legal enforcement mechanisms. Results are controlled for socially and environmentally sensitive industries. Stakeholders, international standard setters and regulators, and assurance providers can take advantage of the outcomes.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen