Institutional isomorphism effects on the disclosure of environmental and social information online: evidence from Italian organisations

tools, including disclosing information on their websites. This is an informal disclosure of information that can be accessed by any stakeholder interested in strategies and practices adopted by these organisations. Conversely, the type of environmental and social information that organisations disclose online has not been identified. In addition, the characteristics of the organisations that most disclose this type of information is unknown, namely industry group and business model adopted. This research is aimed at identifying the type of environmental and social information disclosed online; the correlation between the disclosed information and organisation’s characteristics; and the specific characteristics of the organisations that most disclose information online. This study investigates if institutional pressures contribute to voluntarily disclose environmental and social information online. Information about seven indexes were assessed: corporate social responsibility, emissions, supply chain, waste, water, circular economy, and production design. This type of information provides stakeholder groups with insights on which strategies and practices are being adopted and disclosed. Organisations located in five Italian regions were used as case study. Results show that the online disclosure of environmental and social information is still low. Corporate Social Responsibility is among the information most disclosed. There is an association between consumer goods industries and disclosure of supply chain related information. Institutional isomorphism do not seem to play a major role in the disclosure of environmental and social information online. This research shows that there is still a reserved attitude towards disclosure of environmental and social information online by organisations, providing little information to stakeholders. This is particularly significant to stakeholders for whose online information is the main basis of involvement with the organisation. Yet, there is a positive tendency towards disclosing environmental and social information, especially related to corporate social responsibility.