Engagement with disability: analysis of annual reports of Indian organizations

Abstract

Anchored in institutional theory, our aim in the present study was to understand how large and economically successful organizations in India engage with the issue of disability within and outside of their organizational boundaries, and communicate such engagements through their annual reports. Based on a qualitative content analysis of the organizations' annual reports for the year 2009–2010, we examined if these organizations spoke about recruitment and other organizational treatment of people with disabilities (internal focus), and if they engaged with issues related to disability in the realm of corporate social responsibility (external focus). We found that, despite no institutional pressures, organizations engaged with disability-specific issues both internally and externally. While we found differences with respect to organizational age and sector (public and private sector), we did not find any differences in the engagement and communication of activities based on organizational industry type and global presence. We discuss implications for research and practice.