Regulating Corporate Social Responsibility reporting in the European Union: back to the drawing board

Abstract: This Master Thesis in Sociology of Law is a case study, which explores the corporate social responsibility reporting practices of companies located in two different Member States of the European Union. More specifically, the research reviews how the implementation of a European Union Directive is going to affect the corporate social responsibility reporting practices of these companies. Through content and thematic analyses, based on stakeholder and legitimacy theories, it is shown that when comparing the current corporate social responsibility reporting practices and the incentives for reporting to the demands of the European Union Directive, a remarkable improvement cannot be identified. The results indicate that the European Union Directive fails to provide further incentives for corporates to engage in and to further develop their corporate social responsibility reporting. The socio-legal part of this Thesis explores how the European Union Directive on corporate social responsibility matters might not be used as effectively, as a stricter and more straightforward regulation would, when aiming to improve more sustainable and transparent business practices within the European Union. The methodological part suggests a method for identifying the setbacks of the European Union Directive in relation to corporate social responsibility reporting practices using a combination of thematic analysis and content analysis. The work retains a socio-legal focus intent on exploring the process of the stakeholder influence as well as issue of legitimacy when implementing a legislative measures into social context.