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The purpose of this research objective was to analyse social reporting within MERCO Business companies both from the point of view of the quantity of information disclosed and the references about their quality. This approach constitutes a novelty with respect to previous literature on the subject.

This paper assesses how social reporting is being carried out by the companies included in the MERCO Corporate Reputation Business Monitor, MERCO Business, during the period 2014–2016. The methodological design include the construction of a weighted index based on two unweighted indexes related to the quantity revealed and the quality detected. In addition, this study integrates intellectual capital and social responsibility approaches in order to deep into these voluntary disclosures.

While social reporting is considerable from a quantitative point of view within MERCO Business companies, they do not reach very high levels of quality, which is good to counteract the final value of the quantity–quality index that the authors' propose.

In MERCO Business companies, quantity is not a proxy for quality within social reporting. In this sense, only considering both dimensions it will be possible to assess these disclosures in a more complete way.

This study allows a more accurate and comparable view of social reporting than those studies that only focus on how much information is disclosed. Besides, it involves an important advance in the identification of the relative quality of social reporting, opening a new line of research that will be key to comparing this type of disclosures in a more homogeneous way. Likewise, the results can be applied in future studies in the intellectual capital field given the complementarity between both types of disclosures.

Likewise, these results will be of interest for future actions aimed at regulating the improvement of the quality of social reporting in the hands of managers, investors and regulators.

The authors have tested the value of quality in social reporting using a weighted index amongst the most reputable companies in the Spanish scenario. These disclosures have been compared with and without the use of it in order to deduce its value to obtain valid conclusions about social reporting.

The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of audit committee (AC) activism and independence on the quality and quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures for energy sector firms in Australia. This paper aims to understand how AC attributes such as meeting frequency, and the number of independent directors influence the compliance with the global reporting initiative (GRI) guidelines and quantity of ESG disclosures.

Bloomberg ESG disclosure scores and company reported AC attributes are collected and analysed using the pooled ordinary least square (OLS) regression framework with Petersen’s (2009) technique by using a two-dimensional cluster at the firm and year level. Further, this paper uses a lagged independent variable and two-stage least square approach to address endogeneity concerns.

The results show a significant positive effect of AC activism and independence on the level of compliance with the GRI guidelines, indicating the favourable effect of AC attributes on ESG reporting quality. Likewise, AC attributes positively affect the quantity of ESG disclosures. Notably, the impact of AC attributes is more pronounced on environmental disclosures.

This paper validates the significance of the management control mechanism in improving the quality and quantity of ESG disclosures for an environmentally sensitive sector, hence offering a potential answer to reduce agency and legitimacy issues for the sensitive industry firms.

Motivated by the enactment of non-financial reporting regulations by the European Parliament, this paper aims to investigate the impact of European Union (EU) directive 2014/95/EU on the quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by the S&P Europe 350 index firms. This study also investigates whether the implementation of the non-financial information (NFI) reporting regulations influences the association between ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk.

To measure the impact of mandatory regulations on the quantity of ESG disclosures, this study estimates the average treatment effects using a propensity weighted sample. Then this study uses the difference-in-differences method to estimate the differences in the association between ESG disclosures and earning risk before and after implementation of the EU directive.

The results show a significant positive impact of the EU directive on the quantity of ESG disclosures for the sample European public-interest entities, which indicates that the mandatory NFI reporting requirements could boost the availability of increasingly demanded ESG related information. The enhanced association between the ESG disclosures and firms’ earnings risk during the post-directive period reveals that mandating NFI reporting also increases the quality of ESG disclosures.

Using the legitimacy and decision-usefulness theories, this study provides novel evidence concerning the impact of the EU directive on the quantity and quality of ESG disclosures.

The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of the European Non-financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU) on firms' sustainability reporting practices, especially reporting quantity (i.e. availability of information) and quality (i.e. comparability and credibility).

To test the main hypotheses, the authors select 905 treated firms from the EU 28 + 2 countries for a difference-in-differences regression analysis of dependent variables from the Refinitiv ESG database.

The results suggest that the Directive influences sustainability reporting quantity and quality. Treated firms provide around 4 percentage points more sustainability information (i.e. availability) than propensity score matched control firms and are 19 percent more likely to receive external assurance (i.e. credibility). However, we also find that the Directive is not the decisive factor in the adoption of GRI guidelines (i.e. comparability).

The analysis is restricted to large listed firms and does not account for small, mid-sized and private firms. Further, cross-cultural differences which influence sustainability reporting are controlled for but not investigated in detail. The authors derive several suggestions for future research related to the NFR Directive and its revision.

The authors’ findings have practical implications for the future development of sustainability reporting in the EU and for other regulators considering the adoption of sustainability reporting.

This study is the first to provide evidence on the NFR Directive's reporting effects across multiple countries. It adds to the growing literature on the consequences of mandatory sustainability reporting. Additionally, this paper introduces a novel measurement approach sustainability information quantity that could benefit researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reporting (SR) practices of Indian companies in terms of disclosure quantity and quality, and to investigate the differences in SR practices by SR dimension, industry, ownership structure, firm size and profitability.

Data are collected from annual reports/business responsibility reports (BRR)/CSR/sustainability reports of 60 top-listed companies in India. A comprehensive sustainability reporting index is developed. Content analysis technique is used. Inter-coder reliability is established.

Altogether, 18 items of the index are not disclosed by the majority of companies in India. SR quality is found significantly lower than the SR quantity. Moreover, SR practices significantly differ by dimension/category, industry-type and firm-size but are not influenced by ownership structure. However, the study fails to establish any conclusive relationship between SR and profitability.

The present study has several implications for corporates, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders. The findings underscore the need for amendments in the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and BRR framework of the Securities and Exchange Board of India to avoid patchy disclosures and ensure complete reporting by companies.

This study is among the foremost studies in India evaluating SR practices of top-listed companies in the wake of the mandatory BRR requirement from a quantitative as well as qualitative perspective using a multidimensional index.

This study aims to examine the impact of firm-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) governance characteristics on the extent, quality and comprehensiveness of CSR reporting of Pakistani listed enterprises.

This study used content analysis of corporate annual reports and stand-alone CSR reports available on corporate websites in 2021 to identify CSR-related governance features and to calculate CSR reporting scores. Multivariate regression is used to test relationships. In addition, the analysis tested the moderating role of profitability in these relationships.

Firm-level CSR governance characteristics contribute to the extent, quality and comprehensiveness of CSR reporting in a developing country. Further, results confirm that profitability moderates the relationship between CSR governance and the extent and comprehensiveness of CSR reporting.

This study employed cross-sectional data and focused on a single developing country. Future studies might include a cross-national sample and longitudinal data to demonstrate the broader relevance of these findings. The outcomes of this study are restricted to CSR disclosures based on CSR reports and annual reports. Future research may examine additional corporate communication channels, such as websites and social media platforms.

This research validates the important role of CSR governance mechanisms as a driver of comprehensive CSR reporting. Business leaders and policymakers can facilitate improved corporate reporting by requiring companies to implement CSR-related governance mechanisms.

This is the first study to test the influence of firm-level CSR governance mechanisms in promoting the quantity, quality and comprehensiveness of CSR reporting in a developing country.

Content analysis was used to measure corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions with robust standard errors are used to examine the relationships for a sample of 168 firm-year observations listed on the Palestine Exchange during 2018–2021. A logistic regression is also utilized as an alternative measurement for CSR quantity disclosure and to ensure the robustness of the author’s main findings.

Based on 168 observations listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX) between 2018 and 2021, this study examines the impact of women's representation on the CSR reporting of Palestinian firms' boards. Moreover, the moderating effect of ownership concentration on the relationship between BGD and CSR reporting is examined. In order to test the hypotheses, the author’s employ OLS regressions with robust standard errors. A logistic regression is also utilized as an alternative measurement for CSR quantity disclosure and to ensure the robustness of the author’s main findings.

The results reveal that Palestinian companies with more women on their boards have higher CSR practices and disclosure levels. In addition to the validity of agency, stakeholder and legitimacy theories, the findings show the relevance of gender socialization and critical mass theories in explaining the favorable influence of women's presentation on boards in promoting best practices among Palestinian firms, such as CSR disclosure.

The study contributes to the limited literature in the MENA and Arab region countries by examining the influence of BGD on CSR reporting in Palestine, an emerging economy characterized by highly political and economic instability. The study offers a novel contribution by examining the impact of BGD, on not only the CSR reporting quantity but also the reporting quality. However, the generalizability of the study is limited due to the small sample size.

The findings of the study may bring the issues of CSR disclosure and female representation on board of directors to the attention of Palestinian firms' board of directors and managers, investors, professional associations, policymakers and regulators. While listed firms are only required to provide general information that falls under the scope of CSR in their annual reports under the Palestinian code of corporate governance, women representation on boards of directors is not addressed.

This study adds to the very limited literature on the role of the BGD in promoting CSR reporting in the Middle Eastern and Arabic markets in general, and in the Palestinian context in particular. This paper not only investigates but also seeks to theorize this role.

The objective of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual reports of firms listed by market capitalisation on the Australian Stock Exchange. The periods examined were those immediately prior and subsequent to the release of the Exposure Draft Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics (CERES) Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) issued in March 1999. Using content analysis to focus on the environmental aspects, the study compared 425 annual reports over a two‐year period and 60 environmental reports, in order to explore reporting practices in the periods surrounding this intervention. The results suggest a trend to triple‐bottom reporting, and a significant change in the quality and quantity of environmental information, albeit in specific categories.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate voluntary human resources disclosure (hereinafter referred to as “HR disclosure”) by the largest companies domiciled in Czechia. The key research questions are: What is the quantity of disclosure on various topics related to HR? Is there a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies? Which factors influence the quantity of HR disclosure?

A quantitative content analysis (CA) of annual reports of the 50 largest companies domiciled in Czechia was used. An established coding scheme is used to code annual reports, and subsequently, various statistical methods (descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression) are used to answer the key research questions.

Primarily, social information is reported (what a company does for its employees) as information on the contribution of employees to the company’s value is rudimentary. Secondly, there is a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies. Finally, the findings of the regression analysis confirm the impact of presence on the stock exchange and size and on the quantity of HR disclosure.

The annual reports of 50 companies from one country are analysed. The study provides a basis for further research.

The findings of this study may inspire companies to improve their HR disclosure, while policymakers should consider imposing more concrete demands on HR disclosure.

Quantitative CA research into the HR disclosure of companies domiciled in Czechia is nearly non-existent. This study fills this gap.

Supported by the principles of the legitimacy theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship that exists between the information quality of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting provided by the most liquid companies operating in the Spanish Stock Market and their corporate reputation.

Three regression models are tested with panel data collected for a sample of the 35 most liquid companies operating in the Spanish Stock Market between 2004 and 2014.

The findings show that two axes of information quality (i.e. content and management systems) should be necessarily controlled by companies in order to improve their corporate reputation through their CSR reporting. The content axis refers to the compliance of CSR reports with the provision of qualitative, quantitative, and evaluative information concerning the impacts of the CSR of the company on society and the environment. The management systems axis refers to the compliance of CSR reports with the disclosure of details about the policies, plans, and actions that companies implement to assure an effective management of CSR initiatives.

Previous literature exploring the relationship between corporate reporting and reputation has frequently focused on either the impact of the quantity of financial and CSR information reported by companies and the role of information quality, but only in reference to a number of specific themes (environment, customers) and not to the full range of information covered by CSR reports. The authors of this paper extend on previous academic literature by empirically evaluating the relationship between two dimensions of the information quality of CSR reporting (content and management systems) and the corporate reputation of companies operating in the Spanish Stock Market.

Basándose en la teoría de la legitimidad, los autores de este trabajo exploran la relación que existe entre la calidad de la información contenida en las memorias de responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) de las principales empresas cotizadas en la bolsa española y su reputación corporativa.

Se testean tres modelos de regresión con un panel de datos recopilados entre 2004 y 2014 para una muestra de las 35 empresas más sólidas de la bolsa española.

Los resultados muestran que los dos ejes principales de la calidad de la información (es decir, contenido y sistemas de gestión) deben ser necesariamente controlados por las empresas con el fin de mejorar su reputación corporativa a través de sus memorias de RSC. El eje de contenido se refiere al cumplimiento de las memorias de RSC con el suministro de información cualitativa, cuantitativa y de evaluación en relación con los impactos de la RSC de la empresa en la sociedad y el medio ambiente. El eje de los sistemas de gestión se refiere al cumplimiento de las memorias de RSC con la divulgación de información acerca de las políticas, planes y acciones que las empresas implementan para asegurar una gestión eficaz de las iniciativas de RSC.

La literatura previa que ha explorado la relación entre la información corporativa y la reputación se ha centrado con frecuencia en (1) el impacto de la cantidad de información financiera y de RSC que generan las empresas o (2) el papel de la calidad de la información, pero sólo en referencia a una serie de temas concretos (principalmente medio ambiente y clientes) y no a toda la gama de información cubierta por las memorias de RSC. Los autores de este trabajo amplían esta línea de investigación mediante la evaluación empírica de la relación entre dos dimensiones de la calidad de la información de las memorias de RSC (contenido y sistemas de gestión) y la reputación corporativa de las empresas que operan en la bolsa española.