Issue Cycles in Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Longitudinal Study. Issue 2 (17th February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pollach, Irene
• Is Part Of: Environmental communication. Volume 12:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 247
• Page End: 260
• Publication Date: 2018-02-17
• Subjects: Environmental issues -- corporate communication -- CSR -- issue-attention cycles -- computer-assisted analysis; Communication in the environmental sciences -- Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2016.1205645
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1752-4032

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Issue cycles in media reporting and in the coverage of environmental news in particular have been studied since the 1970s. This study seeks to extend existing theory on issue-attention lifecycles from the news-media domain to the corporate domain by exploring how companies operationalize environmental sustainability over time. Using computer-assisted text analysis, this study investigates 744 corporate environmental reports in a 10-year longitudinal design in order to study how the attention that companies pay to a set of 13 environmental issues shifts over this period. The results indicate discernible issue cycles for almost all of the issues studied. Some issues are in a phase of heightened awareness, others in a punctuated equilibrium following specific events, and even others in a phase of decline. The issue cycles identified suggest that companies pursue their environmental strategies consistently, but shift attention to particular issues as a response to high-profile environmental events. Policy-makers therefore need to be aware of the slowness of changes in corporate environmental strategies.