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Previous research has explored the link between sustainability disclosure and reputation but produced contradictory results. This study aims to clarify the sustainability disclosure–reputation relationship through a quantitative analysis of the correlations between these variables reported in empirical research papers. The second objective was to determine how various moderators affect the sustainability disclosure–reputation link.

The meta-analysis was based on a systematic review of the literature covering empirical research on the corporate sustainability disclosure and reputation relationship. A total of 92 articles were meta-analyzed to compile their findings on four extrinsic moderators: company size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.

The findings confirm that a significant positive correlation exists between corporate sustainability disclosure and reputation. The moderator analysis also revealed that companies’ different characteristics can explain researchers’ divergent results.

The results have considerable practical relevance for organizational management. First, they can motivate managers to improve and disclose their company’s social and environmental impacts to strengthen their reputation, which in turn will help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the findings can ensure organizations develop disclosure and reputation management strategies adapted for each firm’s size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.

The results have considerable practical relevance for organizational management. First, they can motivate managers to improve and disclose their company’s social and environmental impacts to strengthen their reputation, which in turn will help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Second, the findings can ensure organizations develop disclosure and reputation management strategies adapted for each firm’s size, ownership, stock listing status and activity sector.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this meta-analysis is the first to clarify the link between disclosure and reputation, which makes a unique contribution to the field of social and environmental accounting. A larger sample of primary research was collected, and key extrinsic moderators were examined to explain prior studies’ contradictory findings.

This study highlights the influence of non-financial sustainability reporting and firm reputation (FR) on the China Stock Exchange. The study is based on the components of sustainability reporting that influence FR.

A simple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model is initially run to test the hypotheses. Advanced econometric methods are used to detect the presence of heteroskedasticity. The study utilizes fixed-effect, two-stage least squares (2SLS) and two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) regression models to address endogeneity issues.

Findings suggest that NFSR has a negative influence on FR. Conversely, environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability reporting exhibited positive associations with a FR in fixed-effect, 2SLS and GMM results.

This study has limitations, and data collection is restricted to the period from January 2018 to June 2023, limiting the scope of findings due to data constraints. Brand equity measurement is considered only one aspect of a company's activities, and other methods can also be considered for measuring brand equity. Another limitation is a standardized method for measuring NFSR. While this study used the Arianpoor and Salehi (2021) model to measure sustainability reporting in the Chinese market, future research could explore different methods.

The findings of this study have important practical implications for corporate management, highlighting reputation challenges and the strategic importance of sustainability. Managers are encouraged to use NFSR strategically to enhance their reputation and corporate strategy.

The social implications highlight ownership and regulatory structures, promoting enhanced sustainability reporting in China's business culture. This insight informs policymakers, businesses and stakeholders regarding the importance of sustainability reporting, guiding decisions on corporate reputation and sustainability regulations.

The research indicates the importance of context-specific sustainability reporting for enhancing reputation. It provides insights into sustainability's impact on a company's reputation, promoting responsible practices for a sustainable global economy. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research that utilizes the NFSR frameworks and a sample of firms in China to discuss sustainability reporting with different guidelines.

This study aims to examine the effect of social reputation on the relationship between boards and foreign ownership on the quality of sustainability disclosure.

The sample of this study consists of publicly-traded primary and secondary sector companies in Indonesia for 12 years, from 2009 to 2020. This study uses panel model regression to generate its results. The disclosure data are hand-collected data sourced from annual financial and company sustainability reports.

Higher foreign board component companies report lower quality of sustainability disclosure, whereas companies that possess foreign ownership components report a higher quality of sustainability disclosure. This result is strengthened by obtaining consistent results tested with economic, social and environmental disclosure components. In addition, if the company has a good social reputation, it will strengthen the relationship of foreign ownership to the quality of sustainability disclosure.

These findings are relevant for policymakers, professional organizations and practitioners in Indonesia and other developing countries.

The moderating effect of social reputation on the relation of the foreign board and foreign ownership-quality of sustainability disclosure as this study does remain rare in developing countries. This study complements various research conducted in developing countries, such as Indonesia, by offering a new dimension. The results indicate that social reputation has a moderating role in determining the impact of foreign ownership on the quality of sustainability disclosure.

This study aims to examine the impact of environmental sustainability, social sustainability and corporate reputation on the business performance of energy companies operating in an emerging market.

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 400 managers in top and middle-level positions in energy companies located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were collected through an online survey. These managers had a strong understanding of the operational aspects of the companies and possessed good knowledge of the company’s performance. The collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis to assess the hypothesized relationships.

The findings reveal significant influences of corporate reputation, environmental sustainability and social sustainability on the business performance of energy companies operating in an emerging market. Notably, corporate reputation emerges as the primary predictor, underscoring the significance of emphasizing the fundamental aspects of companies such as superior products or services, effective management practices and investment quality. A strong reputation is essential for attracting investors, customers and other stakeholders by meeting their expectations for high-quality products or services. It serves as a crucial factor in establishing trust and credibility, which are vital for sustained success in the market.

Energy companies should proactively integrate corporate reputation into their operational strategies to enhance business performance. Furthermore, they should develop and execute comprehensive environmental and social sustainability initiatives within their organizations. By doing so, they can effectively enhance both financial and non-financial performance while fostering a culture of employee engagement aimed at further enhancing productivity.

This study stands out as a unique and significant contribution to theory by using the triple bottom line framework as the underlying theory and integrating corporate reputation into the proposed framework. It represents a novel approach, particularly within the context of energy companies operating in an emerging market. This research serves as a valuable complement to prior studies primarily conducted in developed (Western) economies, expanding the knowledge base in this field.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of sustainability reporting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Twenty unstructured interviews were conducted to understand thoroughly the determinants and motivations of sustainability reporting among Saudi petrochemical shareholding companies.

This study finds that cultural aspects, compliance with international best practice, competitiveness, reputation and legitimacy are common motivations for sustainability reporting in KSA.

This study has significant implications for industry, especially petrochemical and other highly polluting industries, and for policymakers. There are economic benefits to industry in adopting sustainability reporting, including transparency; and it is suggested that policymakers encourage industries to give more attention to sustainability reporting.

This study provides an original contribution to the extant literature on sustainability reporting, and incrementally adds to knowledge on sustainability reporting in KSA, Gulf cooperation council and Middle East North Africa region countries.

This study aims to examine the roles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), green innovation (GI) and knowledge management (KM) in boosting sustainable practices (SPs). It also investigates the mediating effect of green innovation and the moderating effect of KM in the relationship between CSR and SPs.

Using measurement scales adapted from existing studies, a quantitative methodology with causal and deductive reasoning was used on data from an online survey with 322 respondents in manufacturing firms in the United Arab Emirates.

There was no direct significant positive relationship between CSR and SPs; the mediating role of GI was evident, whereas the moderating role of KM was not present.

Only manufacturing enterprises are considered in this study, with a single geographical case study highlighting CSR efforts.

The findings reveal the positive influence of GI on CSR and SPs. This study contributes to the understanding of the influence of green processes and product innovation on applying social, environmental and sustainability practices to enhance the overall productivity, compliance, performance and well-being of the community.

This study collectively explores the causal relationships between these factors, besides offering new insights into the manufacturing industry in an emerging market.

Consumer perception of corporate brand equity has primarily focused on product brand dimensions, neglecting considerations at the firm analysis level. Assessing corporate brands requires different criteria relevant to the competitiveness of companies, such as their prominence, management and meeting society’s demands. In this sense, this study aims to develop and validate a scale of corporate brand equity founded on consumer perceptions, transcending industry boundaries and comparing its relationship with companies' market share.

The authors used an integrative approach to clarify the construct’s domain, building on previous measures. They took several steps to select appropriate items, refine the measure, validate it through reliability tests and convergent and discriminant analyses, test the validity of the second-order formative structure of corporate brand equity and assess associations between first-order factors, the second-order factor and market share.

The model identifies three first-order dimensions of corporate brands (presence, outstanding management and responsible) that shape the second-order factor (corporate brand equity). They are directly related, but not proportionally, to market share, contributing to the general and joint assessment of the company’s competitive performance considering the consumer.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to develop a comprehensive measurement model of corporate brand equity that considers the firm level of analysis, combines metrics from previous research on corporate brand evaluation criteria and includes consumer perceptions of the company’s competitiveness, unifying branding theory with the theory of the marketing firm.

The concept of banking reputation has gained significant attention due to its relevance in the banking industry. A strong reputation has become crucial for a bank’s success, as it affects trust, credibility and stakeholders' perceptions. However, understanding and managing reputation in the banking sector involves several challenges. This study aims to analyze the field of banking reputation research through bibliometric analysis.

It explores the evolution of research in this area, identifies key journals, articles and authors, examines the main research streams, and identifies research fronts and opportunities for future advancement.

The findings reveal that banking reputation research has evolved over time, with multiple perspectives and viewpoints. Key journals and authors in the field are identified, and leading research streams are highlighted. The study also uncovers the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research domain, providing insights into the complex and multidimensional nature of banking reputation. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of corporate social responsibility, sustainability practices and gender diversity in shaping a bank’s reputation. These factors play a significant role in attracting and retaining customers, accessing financial markets and securing funding.

The results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and provide researchers and practitioners with valuable insights for further exploration.

The paper concludes by outlining potential avenues for future research in the field of banking reputation.

The purpose of this paper is to test if building reputation capital through environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing can mitigate the negative effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firms’ valuation.

This study uses an unbalanced panel of 591 financial firms between 2005 and 2021 from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK) and the USA. Ordinary least square method is used in the empirical tests. To alleviate a potential endogeneity problem, robustness tests are performed using the two-stage least square approach with instrumental variables.

The results of this paper show that sustainable reporting can offset the negative effect of EPU on the valuation of financial firms. Consistent with the stakeholder-based reputation-building hypothesis, sustainability performance may have an insurance-like impact on firms’ valuation during periods of high uncertainty.

According to the findings, during high policy uncertainty periods, investors accept to pay a premium for the stocks of the firms which built social capital through environmental and social investments. Accordingly, it is suggested that regulatory bodies and governments motivate firms to increase their stakeholder orientation to attain higher reputation capital.

Managers can mitigate the negative impact of policy uncertainty on the value of their firms via building social capital, which will increase financial market stability in return, and portfolio investors may use such firms for portfolio optimization decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first to examine the mitigating role of ESG investing on EPU and firm valuation relationships for financial firms. Thus, this study provides new insights related to the impact of ESG performance on valuation during uncertain times.

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of corporate sustainability performance on financial performance and the role of agency costs and business risk in determining this effect.

This study uses the data of 83 non-financial Turkish firms listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange during the period 2014–2021. Two-step system GMM models are applied to examine the study’s hypotheses.

The results indicate a positive effect of corporate sustainability performance on financial performance, and that this effect is significant only for firms that are more likely to suffer agency costs of equity, firms with R&D expenditures and firms with lower business risk.

The results of this study confirm the importance of regulations introduced by regulators to support the sustainability initiatives for firms that have less ability to access funds required for their investments. In addition, the findings provide important insight into the role of the persistence of corporate sustainability performance in enhancing financial performance through mitigating managers' opportunistic behavior.

To the author’s knowledge, this research is one of few that examine the effect of agency costs and business risk on the corporate sustainability–financial performance relationship in emerging markets.