Commitment to Corporate social responsibility measured through global reporting initiative reporting: Factors affecting the behavior of companies

The increasing importance of Corporate social responsibility to entrepreneurial policies has made it a leading topic in the literature. The strategic integration of Corporate social responsibility in the business core implies the communication between a company and its stakeholders. Sustainability reports are recognized worldwide as a tool that companies use to communicate their socially responsible behavior. The way companies communicate through their reports indicates their level of commitment to Corporate social responsibility. The objective of this paper is to analyze companies' behavior towards Corporate social responsibility based on their disclosure practices. We define four possible types of behavior: Novice, Cautious, Chattering and Leading. These types are the result of the combination of two variables that measure the disclosure and credibility of Corporate social responsibility information. Our results indicate that companies listed in the stock market disclose more Corporate social responsibility information than private ones but with less credibility. European countries are leading the rankings in Corporate social responsibility information and tend to have a Cautious or Leading attitude. Finally, we report differences among industries.