Purpose: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important aspect of business
society. As such, companies have shown a growing interest in reporting their social and
environmental initiatives. This study aims to explore social responsibility reporting of fullfledged
Islamic banks in two developing countries, namely Indonesia and Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis of the annual reports for three full-fledged
local Islamic banks in Indonesia and three Islamic banks in Malaysia was carried out for the
period of 2007 to 2011.
Findings: Results of the study revealed that corporate social responsibility disclosure of
Islamic banks has generally grown both in Malaysia and Indonesia. More specifically, it was
found that workplace and community dimensions were the most highly disclosed areas by the
Islamic banks in both countries.
Research limitations/implications: The current study provides a cross-cultural perspective
on social responsibility disclosure in Islamic banks across two countries. The study is limited
by investigating a 5-year time frame.
Practical implications: By discussing the findings according to the stages of growth model
for corporate social responsibility, we suggest that Islamic banks can enhance their
responsiveness, and transform their role from being CSR reporters of social responsibility to
responders.
Originality/value: While the tenets of CSR have a lot in common with Islamic moral law
(Shariah), little is known about CSR disclosure of Islamic banks