ABSTRACT
The motivations for publishing corporate social reports (CSRs) or integrated reports (IRs) are popularly explained from a rational angle, led by the idea of legitimacy management or greenwashing. However, this study aims to identify the motivation of the Japanese IR publishers through a theory-based thematic analysis by considering an irrational motivational angle utilizing three isomorphic mechanisms of the institutional theory. Findings suggest that the strength of coercive mechanisms in explaining the motivation of the Japanese IR publishers is low, whereas normative and mimetic mechanisms have the strongest and most moderate force in rationalizing the same, respectively. These mechanisms are largely based on the sources of irrational motivation; however, the rational one, that is, legitimacy-based motivation of IR preparers can be directly tied up to mimetic isomorphism and indirectly to the other ones. This study adds value by offering an institutional framework for dissecting the motive of IR publishers; potential beneficiaries of this output are the researchers and framework setters of the CSR domain.
