Does mandatory sustainability information foster the adoption of integrated reporting at Spanish state-owned enterprises?

The scenario created by sustainability reporting regulations has provided a special momentum for the analysis of the implementation of Integrated Reporting (IR). This study examines how sustainability regulation has fostered the implementation of sustainability reports and IR by large Spanish State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), identifying the factors that explain their varying behaviours. The content of the reports highlights areas of common concern such as protecting diversity, gender equality and the environment. The results show that mandatory non-financial and sustainability reporting, without practical performance indicators and metrics, is not enough at present to introduce homogeneous and comparable sustainability reporting and IR at SOEs. The corporate governance is also a driver of different speeds in the development of practical sustainability reporting and IR. Our approach differs from previous research by exploring the intersection between mandatory and voluntary sustainability reporting at SOEs, where coercive forces may interact with legitimacy pressures in public sector companies.