Title: Antecedents of Integrated Reporting adoption: evidence from an emerging economy

Authors: Bhavna Thawani; Meena Bhatia

Addresses: Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, India ' Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, India

Abstract: This is a pioneer Indian study that examines the adoption of Integrated Reporting (IR) among the listed companies. Specifically, it studies the association of IR adoption with profitability, size, leverage, shareholding pattern (non-promoter holding from an institutional perspective), part of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Index, and board size of the company. An analysis is conducted on 94 top companies in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 100 Index for 2016-2020. Pooled logistic regression with year-fixed effects is applied, revealing a significant and positive relationship between the adoption of IR with company size and the company meeting sustainability investing criteria by being part of the ESG Index; and a negative but significant relationship with profitability and leverage. We enrich the emerging literature and provide an understanding of the conditions which motivate the adoption of IR, which has become more relevant considering the upcoming International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Keywords: environmental, social, and governance; ESG; sustainability reporting; India; IR; Bombay Stock Exchange; BSE; shareholding pattern; legitimacy theory; signalling theory; logistic regression.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMFA.2024.139516

International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting, 2024 Vol.16 No.3, pp.330 - 352

Received: 01 Aug 2022
Accepted: 20 Mar 2023
Published online: 03 Jul 2024 *

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