Selectivity and Measurement Distortion of Graphs in Sustainability Reports: A Comparative Study

This work studies the use of graphs, the selection of variables to graph and the construction of graphs in the sustainability reports of a sample of Italian, Spanish and UK companies quoted in the STOXX 600. The purpose is to verify if companies adopt impression management strategies in their disclosure of information with graphs. Two main interpretative shading devices are analysed, i.e. selectivity and measurement distortion. In the specific, chapter oneexplores the role of graphs in companies‟ disclosure, with a particular attention to graphs‟ characteristics and correct construction. Chapter two provides an exhaustive description of the field of study called impression management, presenting examples and examining why this strand of financial disclosure has been so widely used by companies‟ management. Moreover, the theoretical background gives a picture of the various branches of impression management, its different perspectives of investigation and the related theories, with a particular focus on presentational management. The chapter finally shows a few examples of pictures‟ use in the financial statements of some large companies and with a brief presentation of the core of this research, i.e. interpretative shading in graph‟s disclosure, an argument that is widely examined in chapter three. In particular, this chapter analyses the diverse manifestations of interpretative shading in the financial graphs, and for each form of graphical distortion a review of the empirical studies is provided: the evidence is that the various authors share the same basic theoretical assumptions, but obtain different results in their empirical researches. Chapter four discuss the ascent of sustainability reports in the last years as a new form of information disclosure adopted by the corporations. The companies‟ motivations for reporting on their environmental, social or sustainability policies are investigated, and the concept of legitimacy theory is introduced. In addition, the chapter includes a theoretical background on impression management in sustainability reports, in order to understand how the environmental and social disclosure is affected by management‟s interests in showing to the public a positive image of the company. The work is concluded with chapter five, which regards the empirical study conducted on the sustainability reports of the companies of the sample. This chapter is divided in two parts: the first part is about theformulation of the hypotheses (selectivity in the use of graphs and distortion in the construction of graphs) and the descriptive analysis of the results, which provides evidence of the extent use of graphs and examines their characteristics; in the second part instead the hypotheses are tested, the results are discussed, and ultimately the final conclusions are drawn.