Institutional dynamics and CSR disclosures: evidence from Latin America

Purpose This study examines how institutional mechanisms shape CSR disclosure in Latin America, by analysing the relationship between coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures outside the firm and CSR information disclosure by large quoted companies in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the four countries of the Integrated Latin American Market (MILA). Design/methodology/approach Content analysis of annual and sustainability reports was conducted, and disclosure indices were constructed for each CSR dimension. Ordinary Least Squares regressions tested the relationship between institutional quality and industry sensitivity, capturing coercive, normative, and mimetic pillars, and their interaction in shaping CSR disclosure practices. Findings Results evidence that institutional quality significantly shapes CSR disclosures, with strong institutional environments (Chile) driving higher disclosures, incomplete contexts (Colombia) fostering compensatory strategies, and captured contexts (Mexico and Peru) showing differentiated behaviour, with Mexican firms strategically using CSR disclosures while Peruvian firms disclose the least. Industry sensitivity mainly enhances Environmental disclosures, and societal pressures moderate organisational-field-specific responses in the Community dimension. Originality/value This study contributes to the under-researched area of CSR disclosure in Latin America by demonstrating how coercive, normative, and mimetic mechanisms jointly influence corporate reporting. It demonstrates a non-linear, U-shaped effect of institutional quality on disclosure, revealing how CSR acts as a mirror in strong contexts, a substitute in weak ones, and a strategic tool in captured ones, while also clarifying the role of normative and mimetic pressures through industry sensitivity.