The Determinants of Adoption, Quantity and Quality of Sustainability Reports: Using Systematic Review

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Accounting, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Financial and Banking Department, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allame Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Since the late 1990s, sustainability reporting has become an increasingly important topic, with a growing body of research emerging in recent years. Nevertheless, due to the limitations of early studies and their often contradictory findings, decision-making based solely on these results remains challenging. Accordingly, the primary objective of the present study is to identify and synthesize the key determinants of sustainability reporting based on prior research findings.
Method: This study adopts a systematic review approach to extract relevant determinants. The sample comprises 49 articles published between 2013 and 2022 in reputable business, management, and accounting journals, indexed in the ScienceDirect database. The PRISMA checklist was employed to develop the review protocol, and the CASP checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the selected studies.
Results: The results indicate that firm size, financial and non-financial performance, research and development activities, corporate reputation, and analyst coverage are among the most significant determinants of sustainability reporting. However, the literature reveals inconsistent findings regarding other determinants, such as market competition, growth opportunities, stock liquidity, and financial leverage.
Conclusion: The divergent findings concerning certain determinants can be interpreted in light of managerial incentives, organizational structures, and institutional factors influencing firms. This highlights the limitation of applying uniform sustainability reporting standards across firms operating in heterogeneous institutional environments.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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  • Receive Date: 18 October 2023
  • Revise Date: 02 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 08 January 2024

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