2026-04-27T11:48:29Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/113882026-02-19T01:05:34Zcom_10259_5238com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259_6212

Larrinaga González, Carlos 312 600 0000-0002-7000-4619 Bebbington, Jan 52a4c4f2-ac91-440a-bee2-5d4e1ac3f8d6 600 2026-02-18T07:20:43Z 2026-02-18T07:20:43Z 2021-12 0951-3574 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11388 10.1108/AAAJ-03-2017-2872 Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide an account of the period prior to the creation of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): a body that was critical to the institutionalization of sustainability reporting (SR). By examining this “pre-history,” we bring to light the actors, activities and ways of thinking that made SR more likely to be institutionalized once the GRI entrepreneurship came to the fore. Design/methodology/approach: The paper revisits a time period (the 1990s) that has yet to be formally written about in any depth and traces the early development of what became SR. This material is examined using a constructivist understanding of regulation. Findings: The authors contend that a convergence of actors and structural conditions were pivotal to the development of SR. Specifically, this paper demonstrates that a combination of actors (such as epistemic communities, carriers, regulators and reporters) as well as the presence of certain conditions (such as the societal context, analogies with financial reporting, environmental reporting and reporting design issues) contributed to the development of SR which was consolidated (as well as extended) in 1999 with the advent of the GRI. Research limitations/implications: This paper theorizes (through a historical analysis) how SR is sustained by a network of institutional actors and conditions which can assist reflection on future SR development. Originality/value: This paper brings together empirical material from a time that (sadly) is passing from living memory. The paper also extends the use of a conceptual frame that is starting to influence scholarship in accounting that seeks to understand how norms develop. The authors are grateful to three anonymous referees who pushed us to develop our thinking around this paper. The authors are also grateful for the financial assistance provided by Ministerio de Econom ıa y Competitividad, FEDER and Consejer ıa de Educaci on, Junta de Castilla y Le on (Grants ECO2012- 33121, ECO2015-65782-P and BU058P17). application/pdf eng Emerald Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. 2021, V. 34, n. 9, p. 162–181 https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2017-2872 Atribución 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Sustainability reporting Environmental reporting Normativity Responsabilidad social de la empresa Información de sostenibilidad Social responsibility of business Sustainable development reporting The pre-history of sustainability reporting: a constructivist reading info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 34 9 162 181 THUMBNAIL Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf.jpg Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf.jpg IM Thumbnail image/jpeg 4900 https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11388/4/Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf.jpg 0a7e981e78e54b32e92357827f76bcba MD5 4 LICENSE license.txt license.txt text/plain; charset=utf-8 999 https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11388/3/license.txt b295bcbce42e2caabeb0c623d3860c06 MD5 3 CC-LICENSE license_rdf license_rdf application/rdf+xml; charset=utf-8 908 https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11388/2/license_rdf 0175ea4a2d4caec4bbcc37e300941108 MD5 2 ORIGINAL Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf application/pdf 235932 https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11388/1/Larrinaga-aaaj_2021.pdf fad6eeeb86ceccbf90fbae69a6d45897 MD5 1 10259/11388 oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/11388 2026-02-19 02:05:34.779 Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos bubrep@ubu.es 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