From CSR Claims to Legitimacy Gaps: Abductive Topic Modeling of Fashion Communication Across the Fashion Supply Chain

ABSTRACT Fiber‐Textile‐Apparel‐Retail (FTAR) firms communicate their fashion corporate social responsibility (fCSR) efforts to stakeholders to obtain operational legitimacy. However, little is known about the extent to which fCSR disclosures align with stakeholder expectations and sustainability principles. To address this gap, this study integrates legitimacy and stakeholder theories, legitimacy gaps, and the Triple Bottom Line‐Sustainable Development Goals (TBL‐SDG) framework. fCSR disclosures from 297 webpages of 80 FTAR firms were analyzed and interpreted using an abductive topic modeling approach. The results yielded three topics and six subtopics, revealing an underrepresentation of environmental sustainability. Legitimacy gaps were also identified between conformance claims and outcome evidence, stakeholder recognition and participation, and information disclosure and its evidence of usefulness, indicating that communicated fCSR remained insufficiently substantiated across legitimacy dimensions. FTAR firms can address these gaps by complementing standards, targets, and governance disclosures with verified outcomes, meaningful stakeholder participation, and evidence that disclosures provide practical benefits.