SOCIAL DISCLOSURES IN SIX BRAZILIAN BANKS - AN ANALYSIS IN THE LIGHT OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to assess the extent to which accounting policies of social disclosure adopted by certain financial institutions are influenced by disclosure practices adopted by their larger peers. Thus, it was based on presumptions of the Institutional Theory [Meyer and Rowan (1977), DiMaggio and Powell (1983), and Zulker Tolbert (1999)], mainly considering the concept of mimetic isomorphism. We examined 24 social audits of the six largest Brazilian banks, during the period between 2001 and 2005. The research provides evidences of a possible isomorphic process in the adoption of social and environmental disclosure policies among the organizations studied. After all, it was shown that smaller banks tend to copy models and disclosure practices adopted by larger banks. The results confirm the hypothesis that when organizations are faced with uncertainties and significant threats to its continuity, tend to copy structures and models adopted by others who are perceived as rational and efficient in the environment which they operate. This behavior was consistent with the precepts of institutional theory.