Accountability and Sustainability Reporting in a Post-Conflict Region: The Case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
type: CreativeWork
description: Sustainability reporting as a practice has gained considerable global recognition and is designed to promote corporate transparency and accountability. However, critics argue that multinational corporations operating in developing societies adopt Western notions of accountability when preparing sustainability reports. Such reports, they claim, fail to consider local conceptualisations (grounded in local beliefs and values) of accountability and thus fail to achieve meaningful accountability to local communities. This challenge is particularly evident in post-conflict regions, where fragile, complex, and often volatile political, social, and institutional realities dictate corporate disclosure practices. This research, guided by accountability theory and using an interpretive qualitative design, explores the relationship between sustainability reporting and accountability in the KRI. Data comprised 46 semi-structured interviews, including citizens, tribal leaders, mukhtars (government-appointed officials who act as intermediaries between villagers/local communities and the government), non-governmental organisation representatives, local workers, and managers of foreign oil companies (FOCs). Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns and locally grounded conceptualisations of accountability. In addition, 18 corporate reports published in 2023, including seven sustainability reports and eleven annual reports from FOCs operating in the KRI, were analysed using qualitative content analysis. These reports were examined to assess the extent to which corporate disclosures align with locally defined accountability dimensions, such as Islamic and tribal accountability. Notably, local oil companies (LOCs) do not engage in sustainability reporting in any form, whether through standalone sustainability reports, annual reports, or corporate websites. Thematic analysis guided the analysis of the data collected. The findings reveal that local sta…
abstract: Sustainability reporting as a practice has gained considerable global recognition and is designed to promote corporate transparency and accountability. However, critics argue that multinational corporations operating in developing societies adopt Western notions of accountability when preparing sustainability reports. Such reports, they claim, fail to consider local conceptualisations (grounded in local beliefs and values) of accountability and thus fail to achieve meaningful accountability to local communities. This challenge is particularly evident in post-conflict regions, where fragile, complex, and often volatile political, social, and institutional realities dictate corporate disclosure practices. This research, guided by accountability theory and using an interpretive qualitative design, explores the relationship between sustainability reporting and accountability in the KRI. Data comprised 46 semi-structured interviews, including citizens, tribal leaders, mukhtars (government-appointed officials who act as intermediaries between villagers/local communities and the government), non-governmental organisation representatives, local workers, and managers of foreign oil companies (FOCs). Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns and locally grounded conceptualisations of accountability. In addition, 18 corporate reports published in 2023, including seven sustainability reports and eleven annual reports from FOCs operating in the KRI, were analysed using qualitative content analysis. These reports were examined to assess the extent to which corporate disclosures align with locally defined accountability dimensions, such as Islamic and tribal accountability. Notably, local oil companies (LOCs) do not engage in sustainability reporting in any form, whether through standalone sustainability reports, annual reports, or corporate websites. Thematic analysis guided the analysis of the data collected. The findings reveal that local sta…
author: Khudir, Ibrahim
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:45:53Z
provider: AUT University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: AUT University