The Impact of State Ownership on Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: A Comparison Between State-Owned and Non-State-Owned Enterprises in China

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is a communication channel between companies and stakeholders. As the literature has largely been confined to exploring privately-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises (SOEs)-a typical example of public sector organizations-warrant further investigation. This study examines SOEs' accountability structures and reporting features, which are dominated by state owners and mainly driven by non-financial objectives. Through a content analysis of the CSR reports of 49 SOEs and 111 non-SOEs in China, we analyze the stakeholders and CSR domains involved in the reporting. The findings demonstrate that SOEs disseminate the full coverage of stakeholders and a wider scope of CSR domains in disclosure. We extend the debate on CSR-reporting research by demonstrating how state ownership influences hybrid organizations' self-expression and accountability frame through our finding of a distinctive specialized sub-organization with strong ties to the state that drives CSR internally.