Table 1.

Theories used in Sustainability Reporting research and their SDG relations.

Theories	Scope of the perspectives	Focal point	Rationale of actions	Significant works	SDG relation
Stakeholder theory	“Internal and external stakeholder groups”	How does an organization fulfill the demands of diverse stakeholders?	To get approval from influential stakeholders.	[14,[30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40]]
Legitimacy theory	“Social value system”	If an organization's value system consistent with society's value system?	To fulfill social obligations and achieve social approval.	[39,[41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47], [48]]
Institutional theory	“Institutionalized social structures”	How to fit in with the norms that are already in place at other similar social organizations.	To conform to the standard and expectations of society.	[24,38,[49], [50], [51]] [[52], [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58], [59], [60], [61]]
Agency theory	“Principal-agent Relationship”	How to handle the agency issue?	To decrease agency expenses and maximize organizational value.	[62,41,43,[63], [64], [65]]
Signaling theory	“Signaler-receiver Relationship”	How to leverage an organization's performance to its advantage in the marketplace?	To reduce knowledge asymmetry and increase organizational value.	[34,41,45,56,63,[66], [67], [68], [69], [70], [71]]

Source: Authors' compilation.