Sustainability reporting standards: Challenges for data sourcing and information infrastructure

Information infrastructure plays a critical role providing the necessary information to achieve compliance with sustainability reporting standards, however, there remains limited understanding of the reciprocal relationship between these two activities. In this study, using a qualitative research methodology, we have investigated the nature of adaptation and development of information infrastructure and the variations in the data-sourcing practices firms engage while complying with different reporting standards. We found institutional pressures that drive the decision to report can influence the development of new infrastructure and that how the standard addresses data-sourcing practices plays an important role in the relationship between reporting and infrastructure. We further observe that standards focusing on the information needs of external stakeholders may inadvertently decouple reporting from the management of sustainability challenges. JEL Code: M41, O33, Q56