What does the notion of legitimacy and social contract have to do with corporate disclosure policies?

What does the notion of legitimacy and social contract have to do with corporate disclosure policies? Introduction In recent years, corporations have increasingly used their annual reports to voluntarily report information relating to their social actions, particularly those concerning the natural environment (Gray et al.1995). More specifically, corporations have been changing their disclosure policy towards the "triple bottom line reporting", where in addition to economic performance, social and environmental issues of the company's performance are …

…through increased corporate environmental reporting: an exploratory study. Interdisciplinary Environmental review. Vol. 1. No. 1. pp. 63-99 Patten, D. (1992). Intra-Industry environmental disclosures in response to the Alaskan oil spill: A note on legitimacy theory. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 17(5). 471-475. Puxty, A. G. (1986), "Social Accounting As Immanent Legitimation. A Critique of A Technicist Ideology". Advances in Public Interest Accounting, vol. 1, pp. 95-111. Suchman, M., (1995) "Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches", Academy of Management Review, Vol.20, No. 3, pp.571-610.