Online corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the banking industry: Evidence from Poland

Idea: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, this study analyzes the extent to which banks report online their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices; second, it determines the impact of size, being listed, ownership structure, and the internationalization of banks on the level of their online CSR reporting. Data: A sample consists of 20 banks. The data were hand collected from banks' web sites during the fourth quarter of 2017. Three communication channels were explored namely information posted directly on the website, information contained in a separate CSR report and information within a management commentary or annual report or integrated report. Tools: A content analysis is used to measure the level of online CSR disclosures in four sub-dimensions, namely, environment, human resources, products and customers, and community involvement. The sample was grouped according to the criteria of size, being listed, ownership structure, and internationality. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors that influence CSR disclosure, namely size, public ownership, internationalization and foreign ownership. What's new: The results of the study show that the most disclosed dimension on the websites of the banks is community involvement. There is a lack of disclosure on items of environment. Further, the findings of the research show that size and being listed are significant in explaining online CSR disclosure level. Contribution: This study contributes to the literature by examining the online CSR disclosure practices of banks from an emerging market with different socio-economic context and regulations compared to developed market.