Title: Determinants of environment, social and governance disclosures by top Malaysian companies

Authors: Monie Ramba; Corina Joseph; Roshima Said

Addresses: Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Jalan Meranek, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia ' Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Jalan Meranek, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia ' Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 08400, Merbok, Kedah, Malaysia

Abstract: Using the resource-based view theory (RBVT) as the underlying theory, this study has aimed to determine the extent of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures and specifically, to identify the factors that influence the extent of ESG disclosures by Malaysian companies. An index which is known as the modified environmental, social, and governance index (MESGi) was developed to measure the extent of ESG disclosures in the annual reports and sustainability reports of the 67 top Malaysian public-listed companies for the year 2015. The study used hierarchical regression to analyse the relationships between firm internal factors and ESG disclosures. The findings indicated that the extent of ESG disclosures by Malaysian companies was low. The results found that the ISO certification and research and development expenditure had moderate significant relationships with the extent of ESG disclosures by Malaysian companies. The government and policy makers may consider enhancing the existing regulations by requiring the listed companies to provide more ESG disclosures to the stakeholders. It is hoped that the MESGi is able to assist the Malaysian Government to have a more comprehensive and standardised guideline in disclosing ESG information by Malaysian companies.

Keywords: environmental; social; governance; disclosure; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2021.114008

Middle East Journal of Management, 2021 Vol.8 No.2/3, pp.233 - 253

Received: 13 May 2019
Accepted: 27 Apr 2020
Published online: 06 Apr 2021 *

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