Acid mine drainage in South Africa: A test of legitimacy theory

Abstract

There is a large body of international literature which suggests that there is a correlation between organisational legitimacy, the nature and extent of non-financial disclosures in corporate reports, and the society’s awareness of social, governance and environmental concerns. Little studied, however, is corporate reporting in South Africa through the lens of legitimacy theory. This paper addresses this gap by exploring whether local mining companies are providing additional environmental information in their annual or integrated reports following media coverage on acid mine drainage and, if so, to what extent. A review of press articles released by the mining houses also reveals how claims to pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy are employed to mitigate negative publicity. In this way, the paper offers additional material on the role of legitimacy theory for explaining developments in corporate reporting. It also contributes to the limited body of interpretive corporate governance research in a South African context.