Measuring Institutional Work in Sustainability Reporting: Scale Development and Validation in the Oil and Gas Sector

Abstract

Sustainability reporting has gained significant importance in assessing and enhancing organisational sustainability performance. However, there has been limited focus on how sustainability reporting managers (SRMs) perceive and engage in the institutional work that underpins reporting practices. This study develops and validates the Institutional Work by Institutional Pillar (IWIP) scale to measure SRMs' perceived institutional work practices in the oil and gas sector. Using a mixed-methods approach, the scale items were developed through a comprehensive literature review on organisational sustainability reporting practices and semi-structured focus group interviews with industry experts. The scale was validated with data from 162 SRMs from a developing economy and examined through exploratory factor analysis for dimensionality and confirmatory factor analysis for reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. The study develops a nine-item, three-dimensional scale (regulative, normative and cognitive pillars) with satisfactory model-fit indices, reliability and validity. The higher-order (reflective-formative) model of the IWIP scale highlights the cognitive pillar as the most critical, followed by the regulative and normative pillars. This study uniquely develops a validated scale to assess SRMs' perceived practices in the context of institutional work on sustainability reporting. It provides a practical and adaptable tool for evaluating how SRMs contribute to the creation and maintenance of reporting practices, particularly in voluntary and weakly regulated environments.