From intention to action on sustainability reporting: the role of individual, organisational and institutional factors during war and post-war periods

This study examines the role of individual, organisational, and institutional factors in influencing the decision to engage in sustainability reporting (SR) and, how these factors change from war to post-war periods. Drawing on semi-structured interviews of Sri Lankan top and middle-level managers, the study finds that while individual and institutional factors play a role in SR, organisational factors predominate as both facilitators and inhibitors of SR in both war and post-war periods. This finding suggests the organisational level ultimately is the conduit of SR, although shaped by individuals and by institutional forces that come into confluence therein. The end of the civil war enabled the country to focus on economic and social development, a phase that witnessed the amplification of the role of organisational factors in SR. The social and economic impacts of the civil war manifested themselves contemporaneously and well after hostilities ceased; organisations experienced inflated expectations from government and communities, for example, through soldiers’ rehabilitation and infrastructure development. By employing a multi-level analysis, the study offers insights into the dynamic between individual, organisational, and institutional factors influencing SR, highlighting the merit of this research approach.