Communication Strategies for the 2030 Agenda Commitments: A Multivariate Approach

Companies are fully aware of the importance of including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, and of the importance of ensuring that the information disclosed allows groups to be identified. The business contribution to the 2030 Agenda is of interest, as it entails an accurate representation of company identity and is congruent with its contribution to the 2030 Agenda. For it, a content analysis of the business communication of 69 Spanish companies with their stakeholders was carried out in order to identify the possible existence of impression management practices. The evidence obtained indicates that although certain companies have adopted strategies to legitimise their contribution through self-promoting information or terms that allow diverting attention from irresponsible behaviour, companies that show a commitment to the 2030 Agenda do not make use of the information disclosed to manage stakeholder perceptions. Theoretically, our research contributes to increasing current knowledge about corporate communication strategies related to non-financial information, and identifying strategies to legitimise and manage impressions in the information related to the SDGs initiatives.