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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Anim. Sci.
Sec. Animal Welfare and Policy
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1476959

Factors affecting the intention to adopt farm animal welfare disclosures in sustainability reporting: Evidence from listed food companies in Sri Lanka

Provisionally accepted
Saviesha Samaraweera Saviesha Samaraweera *Isuru Manawadu Isuru Manawadu
  • University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Animal welfare is a critical concern for the food industry, and companies must take responsibility for managing their policies and procedures to ensure the welfare of farm animals. However, many companies fail to prioritize animal welfare in their reporting. This study applies the theory of planned behavior to examine how behavioral factors-such as attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and awareness of farm animal welfare-influence the intentions of individuals involved in sustainability reporting to include farm animal welfare disclosures in the sustainability reports of listed food companies in Sri Lanka. This study focuses on individuals involved in the sustainability reporting process of publicly listed food companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Out of 124 companies which were engaged in the food sector as derived from GICS industry classification index, the study identified 61 companies by isolating companies having a farm animal footprint along its' supply chain which involved an individual analysis of the products offered by the company. The survey approach was used for this study with 110 self-administered questionnaires being distributed among individuals in the designations of CFOs, Directors, Managers, Accountants, assistant managers, Accounts assistants/executives and associates. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that only perceived behavioral control and subjective norms have a significant positive impact on the intention to adopt farm animal welfare disclosure practices among those engaged in the sustainability reporting process of listed food companies. This study is important because it highlights the need for standardized guidelines and mandatory regulations for animal welfare reporting in Sri Lanka, offering insights for policymakers and institutions to improve sustainability practices and establish stringent farm animal welfare reporting standards.

    Keywords: attitudes, Subjective norms, Perceived behavioral control, Awareness, Intention to Adopt Farm Animal Welfare Disclosures

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 28 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Samaraweera and Manawadu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Saviesha Samaraweera, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.