Abstract (EN)

This paper deals with corporate social disclosure (CSD). It consists in a longitudinal study of Pechiney CSD practices. Our research aims at identifying the determinants of such practices. Particularly, we document the link between CSD practices and public's concern.Theoretical framework is derived from legitimacy theory. Based on seminal work of Lindblom (1994), Deegan, Rankin & Tobin, (2002), we argue that CSD can be considered as a legitimation strategy. Indeed, CSD is a means used by firms to inform its stakeholders and also to manage public impressions as demonstrated by Neu, Warsame & Pedwell (1998).Regarding methodology, a content analysis of newspapers and annual reports allows the measurement of respectively public impression and CSD, on a period covering the second half of the 20th century.According to our questioning, the results confirm a strong link between on the one hand public opinion and on the other hand environmental and social disclosure. So, our theoretical framework seems relevant in explaining the use of CSD as a legitimation strategy.Beyond this finding, our analysis of verbatim shows that, contrary to a widespread belief, CSD is not a new phenomenon.Considering the number of studies dealing with CSD, our main contribution consists in offering a deep investigation based on a case study of a French company. Some perspectives proceed from this work. For instance, we suggest to extend the scope of determinants including events related to firm's story.