Search

Manuscript type: Research paper. Research aim: This study aims to identify the persuasive strategies applied by Bangladeshi companies in disclosing poverty related corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in their annual reports. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This study applies the discourse analysis as an approach in exploring the narratives of Bangladeshi companies' annual reports. It specifically focuses on the three classifications of Aristotle's rhetoric while explanations are also drawn from the impression management theory. Research findings: This study concludes that the disclosures of the Bangladeshi companies' CSR activities are rhetorical in nature. The analysis suggests that these companies try to portray themselves as pro-social and helpful towards the poor. Theoretical contribution/ Originality: Rather than focusing on 'what' was disclosed (which is the objective of most prior studies on CSR reporting in Bangladesh), this study highlights 'how' the disclosure was done. This study also focuses on a particular aspect which is poverty related and a linguistic analysis is used to perform the analysis which is unlike previous studies. Practitioner/ Policy implication: This study calls for the participation of regulators and stakeholders in introducing appropriate regulations that can ensure a 'balanced' disclosure of the companies' CSR activities so that stakeholders are not misled. Research limitation: The main limitation of this research is that it focuses on only one kind of impression management strategies, namely rhetorical appeals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamic concept of accountability includes full disclosure of information to wider stakeholders, be it information on companies' financial or non-financial matters. The objective of this study was to examine the differences in perception between Muslim and non-Muslim fund managers regarding the usefulness of information on the environment in investment decision making. A questionnaire survey was used and 59 responses were received. No differences were found in perception between Muslim and non-Muslim fund managers related to several companies' environmental attributes and environmental information types. This implies that the Islamic worldview is not reflected in the perception of Muslim fund managers. This study makes a significant contribution to research in environmental reporting, particularly for companies and practitioners in Malaysia in the context of accountability in Islam. The study suggests some preliminary insights into the use of environmental information by Muslim and non-Muslim fund managers in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]