“A PROPOSED ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE DISCLOSURES ON A CIRCULAR ECONOMY”

Purpose: This paper proposes an analytical framework for examining how and to what extent the circular economy concepts exist in company disclosures. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the conceptual development of an analytical framework to content analyse corporate entities' annual/sustainability or integrated reports. It is developed by combing the extant literature on circular economy development stages and the assessment of the quality of corporate sustainability disclosure. Findings: The analytical framework developed in the study suggests that corporate disclosures on the circular economy may be studied along two dimensions; a) different stages of circular economy application (eco-efficiency and product stewardship and eco-effectiveness), and b) the quality of disclosures of their reporting practice. Under the above stages, keywords about a circular economy can be evaluated under two main systems of resources and energy. Based on these, the quality of disclosure is divided into four categories: “buzzwords”, “initiatives”, “practice or reporting”, and “accounting.” Research implications: This study provides future scholars with an analytical framework for assessing company commitment to a circular economy as evidenced by disclosures that go beyond counting the number of disclosures (i.e., a dichotomous analysis). It also assists managers in identifying circular economy disclosure mechanisms to improve their reporting level and foster deeper stakeholder communication. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to propose a structured analytical framework/approach for evaluating how organisations report on their commitment to circular economy concepts. In proposing the analytical approach, it blends circular economy concepts with the quality of corporate disclosure research.