Sustainability in businesses, corporate social responsibility, and accounting standards

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accounting, in 53 developed and emerging economies over the period 1997‐2008. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the relationship of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting using ordinary least squares estimation technique for country‐level panel data. Findings The results of the analyses provide evidence that sustainable development is strongly related to CSR and accounting standards, even after controlling for a variety of macroeconomic variables such as inflation, foreign direct investment, and unemployment. Moreover, the authors find that sustainable development is strongly and positively associated with customer satisfaction and the availability of senior managers. Practical implications Conclusions that have been drawn are important for a large group of stakeholders such as investors, companies' managers, employees, customers, suppliers, governmental and private regulatory agencies, and the general public, indicating that socially responsible firms and good accounting standards are likely to contribute to sustainable development in businesses in developed and emerging countries. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first country‐level study of its kind that attempts to explore the association of sustainable development in businesses with CSR and accounting standards.