Economic Analysis of Widespread Adoption of CSR and Sustainability Reporting Standards: Structured Overview of CSR Literature

Abstract

In this appendix to Christensen, Hail, and Leuz (2018), “Economic Analysis of Widespread Adoption of CSR and Sustainability Reporting Standards,” Research report (available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3315673), we classify and briefly summarize extant academic literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reporting. Based on a systematic search and review of articles in leading accounting, economics, finance, and management journals as well as ongoing research, we identify more than 380 published articles and working papers on topics related to CSR and CSR reporting. For each academic study, we provide a summary of the research question and the variables of interest, the research design, and the main results. We also indicate the research methods applied and whether the study specifically relates to CSR reporting issues or rather to CSR activities in general. We group the studies into seven topical areas, each represented by its own summary table, and add a table containing CSR review and summary articles at the end.

Keywords: Accounting, Regulation, SASB, GRI, Standard setting, Mandatory disclosure, Sustainability, CSR, Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

JEL Classification: F30, G30, K20, L21, M14, M41, M48