The Emergence of Triple Bottom Line Reporting in Spain

The aim of this paper is to have a better understanding of the influence of both external and internal contexts on social and environmental disclosure made by organizations, focusing on the emergence of triple bottom line reporting in Spain. More specifically, this study is based in semi-structured interviews with 30 managers of 20 Spanish organizations involved in the preparation of TBL reports. The narratives provided by the interviewees suggest that the internal (organizational and individual) and external context, is important in the explanation of social and environmental disclosure practices. One of the main findings of the study is the existence of certain assemblages of external and internal influences which could be enhancing or inhibiting the development of the TBL reports in the Spanish context