Corporate social reporting preferences in a developing country : evidence from Iran

This paper provides new empirical evidence regarding corporate social responsibility information needs, perceptions and preferences in a developing country, Iran. While there is substantial research which has examined CSR practice, little reference has been made to the needs of major ‘users’ in developing countries. Results show that users of CSR information favor the corporate annual report as the primary disclosure source. They identified information about environment as the most important CSR information. While respondents believe that the level of CSR information provided is insufficient, the overall levels of understandability and credibility are acceptable. Users also indicated that they would prefer to have government as opposed to professional regulations governing CSR disclosure. This is a significant examination specifically directed at major users of CSR information in Iran; the findings presented in this paper contribute as a platform for the evolution of CSR disclosure guidelines in developing countries.