The intangibles awaken : “Value and value creation in the times of the double materiality and the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive”
Fernández-Aliseda Garrido, Mar (2023)
2023
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-12-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023112110123
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023112110123
Tiivistelmä
This master’s thesis explores the conceptual evolution of value and value creation within the last few years in the context of sustainability reporting and the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) framework. Special attention is paid to how intangibles such as stakeholder relationships are understood in this context and their place in the new disclosure reports agenda that CSRD brings. The new Directive will require nearly 50,000 European companies to report on sustainability matters at the same level as their financial reports, aiming to encourage transparency about their impact on people and the environment and change how companies design, implement, and evaluate their strategies.
Five one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in different fields with a direct professional relationship with CSRD or intangibles in the CSRD context. The analysis of the data gathered reveals a semantic challenge in understanding these concepts, with a diverse view on value and value creation. The study emphasizes the importance of double materiality and a double value creation mechanism, aligning with the Directive's intention to require organizations to disclose their consideration of stakeholders' perspectives. However, the unclear definition of value and value creation outside accounting raises concerns, such as misleading sustainability concepts and a lack of measurement systems. Intangibles are understood as a core part of organizations but without a precise definition, classification, or tools to consider, evaluate, and report them toward a more comprehensive value creation concept.
While the sample size of the research limits the generalizability of the results, this approach provides an insight into the current situation of how some of the key concepts of the CSRD are understood and what implications might have for all the companies having to report following the new Directive. The implementation of the new Directive in Europe will require efforts and resources, opening a wide path of opportunities for multidisciplinary research.
Five one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in different fields with a direct professional relationship with CSRD or intangibles in the CSRD context. The analysis of the data gathered reveals a semantic challenge in understanding these concepts, with a diverse view on value and value creation. The study emphasizes the importance of double materiality and a double value creation mechanism, aligning with the Directive's intention to require organizations to disclose their consideration of stakeholders' perspectives. However, the unclear definition of value and value creation outside accounting raises concerns, such as misleading sustainability concepts and a lack of measurement systems. Intangibles are understood as a core part of organizations but without a precise definition, classification, or tools to consider, evaluate, and report them toward a more comprehensive value creation concept.
While the sample size of the research limits the generalizability of the results, this approach provides an insight into the current situation of how some of the key concepts of the CSRD are understood and what implications might have for all the companies having to report following the new Directive. The implementation of the new Directive in Europe will require efforts and resources, opening a wide path of opportunities for multidisciplinary research.