Sustainability and Service Performance Disclosure Beyond Institutional Requirements

Abstract

This paper explores what performance indicators (PIs) Victorian and New Zealand (NZ) public universities disclose and whether reporting practices have been institutionalised by national policies and regulations. From assessing 26,597 PIs disclosed by 17 public universities across 2012 to 2021, we find a greater focus of NZ universities on service performance and compliance PIs to be consistent with national disclosure requirements and higher education strategies. The impact of national strategies on the reporting practices of Victorian universities is less pronounced. Though there is no difference in the level of sustainability PIs disclosed, NZ universities report more on diversity and equal opportunity relative to the focus on environmental performance and occupational health and safety by Victorian universities. While universities adopt a dual accountability logic, they may omit important performance measures, such as research impact, unless otherwise required. Our study contributes to the scant literature on public sector non-financial reporting, providing new insights on the state of university sustainability and service performance disclosure, and the influence of institutional requirements on disclosure practices. The findings on the effects of policies and regulations are relevant to standard-setters and regulators and can help advance public sector non-financial reporting practices.

Keywords: Accountability, Higher education, Institutional logics, Service performance, Sustainability

JEL Classification: M40; M41