Ambiguity, Learning, and the Diffusion of Reporting Practices (A07)

• Subject Area: Operations Management and Computer Science for Business Administration
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 403041268

Bormann, Hombach, and M.A. Müller (A07) study the role of ambiguity in senders’ (i.e., firms’) reporting decisions and how they cope with this ambiguity by learning. To that end, they exploit new sources of ambiguity arising from the recent and unprecedented rise in sustainability reporting, allowing them to examine firms’ learning “live” as it unfolds. Specifically, the new pressure for sustainability reporting forces firms’ learning, as firms must update their reporting practices to new reporting requirements and shifts in stakeholders’ information demand. Using survey, experimental, and archival methods, A07 will unravel the role of learning from internal and external sources for generating transparency in the presence of ambiguity.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 266: Accounting for Transparency
• Applicant Institution: Universität Paderborn
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Sara Bormann; Professorin Dr. Katharina Hombach; Professor Dr. Maximilian Müller; Professor Dr. Thorsten Sellhorn, until 6/2023