Identifying the Drivers (Motivation) of Sustainable Reporting for Iran's Banking Industry

Objective: Sustainability is a topic that many researchers and business activists are looking for today, especially with the increasing number of environmental and social issues. Sustainability is not a simple word in the banking industry now, but a key concept that will shape the direction of the industry in the years to come. Today, banks are under pressure by various stakeholders to consider sustainability issues in their activities. Therefore, attention to sustainability and social responsibilities in banking is increasing daily. Considering the influential role of banks in balancing the supply and demand for available financial resources, banks must pay attention to the social and environmental aspects of the disclosure of their financing activities in addition to the financial information disclosure requirements. As a result, the main objective of the research is to identify the drivers (the motivation) of sustainability reporting in Iran's banking industry.
Method: This research is based on a realistic approach and is carried out in a deductive-inductive way. In terms of the purpose, it is an applied-developmental research, and from the point of view of the data collection method, it is a non-experimental (descriptive) research that was carried out with a cross-sectional survey method. In the first part, based on library studies and research literature, sustainability reporting indicators were identified. After the qualitative analysis stage, the questionnaire was distributed and data was collected. The community of participants includes academic staff members specializing in research and managers active in the banking industry. Sampling was done with non-probability methods and purposefully, and finally, 24 experts participated in this stage. After collecting the data, the process of processing and analyzing the data started. First, the research articles were coded using meta-composite qualitative analysis. After that, the available indicators were screened using the Fuzzy Delphi method.
Results: To conduct the research, firstly, based on library studies and meta-composite qualitative analysis, the drivers of sustainability reporting were identified. In the meta-combination method, the researcher combines the secondary data of the results of other studies to answer the results of his study and obtain new results. To achieve this goal, the meta-combination method, and the Sandelowski and Barroso Model were used. Finally, after four stages of filtering, 2 studies were removed from 36 studies and 34 studies were selected for data analysis. First, all the factors extracted from the studies were considered as identifiers, and then according to the meaning of each, the identifiers were defined in terms of a similar concept, and then similar concepts were defined in terms of explanatory categories. In the second step of the research, the Fuzzy Delphi method based on the opinion of 24 experts was used to confirm the validity of sustainability reporting drivers. First, the opinions of experts about the importance of each index were collected and fuzzified. In the next step, the opinions of the experts were collected using the Fuzzy Average Method. Then, the average of triangular and trapezoidal fuzzy numbers was summed up by a definite value which is the best corresponding average, and this operation is called de-fuzzification. After conducting several Delphi rounds in which no stimulus was removed or added, we finished the Delphi rounds, and finally, 34 sustainability reporting stimuli were identified and, based on similarity in concepts, they were placed in 4 categories of economic, social, environmental, and governmental stimuli.
Conclusion: Out of the 34 drivers identified, 9 drivers including the promotion of reputation and brand, the increase and improvement of financial performance, sustainability in risk management to build trust, competition of commercial banks, risk reduction, long-term presence of the bank in the market, maximizing financial capital and profit, the use of tax incentives and better attraction of investors in the category of economic drivers, 5 drivers including the identification of potential cost savings, reduction of costs through energy and water consumption management, being respondent to customers' needs who have environmental preferences, protection of natural resources and effective allocation of resources fall in the category of social drivers, 10 drivers including the promotion of fair business, protecting human rights, identifying the needs of stakeholders and satisfying them, reducing social inequality, increasing welfare and loyalty of employees, helping to manage the interests of stakeholders, maintaining positive social values for individuals and the society, increasing social trust, increasing the quality of people's lives and increasing the long-term trust of stakeholders fall in the category of environmental drivers and finally 10 drivers including the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage, caring for stakeholders in bank plans, gaining international trust, guiding the industry towards the best practices, continuity and sustainability of the bank, reduction of information asymmetry, better visibility of the bank from a political point of view, ability to provide transparent information to stakeholders, reliability of reports, reduction of agency cost and elimination of conflict of interests fall in the category of governmental drivers.