Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Amongst Petrochemical Firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Practice and perception

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to look into the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSRD) in the context of petrochemical companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In doing so, it responds to a gap in the literature by addressing four main research questions including: 1) In the Saudi petrochemical companies' annual reports, what is the extent and nature of CSRD ?. 2) To what extent did CSRD increase in volume over the period 2012-2017 in the annual reports of the Saudi petrochemical companies? 3) What are the institutional drivers which may drive trends of CSR disclosure in KSA petrochemical sector? 4) What is the relationship between CSRD of petrochemical companies operating in KSA and firm performance? The study is the first to examine the Islamic context, particularly the link among CSRD and company performance in the context of the Saudi petrochemical sector to see how the study assess the patterns, drivers and implications of CSR disclosure in KSA petrochemical sector.