The public disclosure of environmental performance information—a dual test of media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory

TLDR

The paper draws on media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory to argue that media coverage can heighten public concern about environmental performance, prompting firms to increase disclosure. The study aims to test two hypotheses linking media coverage of industry environmental effects to firms’ annual report environmental disclosures. The authors examined nine industries in Australia from 1981 to 1994, assessing media coverage and corresponding annual report disclosures. Results show that, for most industries, higher media attention is significantly associated with higher levels of environmental disclosure in annual reports.

Abstract

Abstract This paper documents the results of an empirical study undertaken within Australia of the relationship between the print media coverage given to various industries' environmental effects, and the levels of annual report environmental disclosures made by a sample of firms within those industries. The paper draws upon previous studies in media agenda setting theory and legitimacy theory to develop two testable hypotheses. Nine industries are reviewed across the period from 1981–1994. Drawing upon two theories, it is argued that the media can be particularly effective in driving the community's concern about the environmental performance of particular organisations (from media agenda setting theory). Where such concern is raised, organisations will respond by increasing the extent of disclosure of environmental information within the annual report (from legitimacy theory). The results indicate that for the majority of the industries studied, higher levels of media attention (as determined by a review of a number of print media newspapers and journals) are significantly associated with higher levels of annual report environmental disclosures.