Systematic literature review of motivations, research methods, and company characteristics in annual and sustainability reporting

Abstract

The annual and sustainability reporting increased significantly across most regions, but the motivations remain unclear. The systematic literature review (SLR) is based on 77 Web of Science (WOS) publications. By evaluating publications according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the research results in 12 final publications that answer the questions of motives for reporting, research methods, and company characteristics. Nevertheless, this article identifies that motives for yearly disclosures are primarily external. The study is limited by focusing solely on an SLR and WOS. This could be solved by exploring other databases, academic fields, Institutional and Stakeholder theories, and mixed methods.