Sri Pujiningsih, Ani Wilujeng Suryani, Ika Putri Larasati, Sawitri Dwi Prastiti, Waskito Waskito, Sharifah Norzehan Syed Yusuf
Purpose Considering that the disclosure of human rights (HR) and modern slavery (MS) are still voluntary by companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), this paper aims to identify HR and MS disclosure behaviors in coercive, mimetic and normative ways, as well as their response to institutional pressure in organizational structure, policy and practices. Design/methodology/approach Institutional theory was used to analyze practices of voluntary disclosure of HR and MS for all companies listed on the IDX from various industry sectors. Content analysis was used to identify disclosure themes, institutional pressure and response to institutional pressure from 768 annual reports and sustainability reports of companies. Findings A total of 768 companies from various industry sectors with high and low risk for MS conducted disclosures of 14 themes related to HR and MS. Disclosures of the occupational safety and health theme were the most frequent compared to other themes. Mimetic behaviors (manager and stakeholder initiative) were the most frequently conducted by companies in facing institutional pressure compared to coercive (national regulation and international treaty) and normative (professional standard) behaviors. Response toward institutional pressure was most frequently made through policy compared to structure and practice. This response to the matter becomes a sign for companies to maintain sustainability of their operations and maintain their legitimacy in the face of stakeholders. Research limitations/implications This research was limited to the use of the content analysis method for disclosures of HR and MS themes without a more in-depth understanding of the disclosure quality and differentiation of high- and low-risk industry sectors toward MS. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to use moral economy and institutional theory lenses to explain corporate behavior toward institutional pressures in relation to voluntary disclosure of HR and MS, and to examine their responses to those institutional pressures through structures, policies and practices. This paper makes an important conceptual contribution to the moral role of accounting for eradicating all types of slavery in developing countries. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited
Department of Accounting, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Sociology, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; Accounting Research Institute (ARI), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia
