The transposition of Directive 2014/95/EU to Spain through Law 11/2018 of December 28 requires companies to publish information on the impact of their environmental, social, and governance activities (ESG information) in management reports or in a “non-financial statement.” This study aims to assess the readiness of IBEX35 companies to submit ESG reports through their communication and web transparency and to determine whether such ESG information is related to these companies’ financial indicators. The study is pioneering in the analysis of the transparency of non-financial information on the websites of companies listed on the main Spanish stock market index (IBEX 35). It uses exploratory and descriptive analysis to determine whether the companies with the best economic efficiency indicators are also the most transparent in non-financial indicators (ESG) and to what extent these relationships explain the dependency between the two. The findings reveal that IBEX35 companies need to improve their web transparency by presenting solid non-financial reports with ESG sustainability parameters. The results show that companies with economic profitability in Return on Assets that use their debt levels wisely disclose higher levels of ESG information. In other words, financial performance and indebtedness contribute to improving levels of ESG disclosure on the IBEX35. Companies must also improve accessibility to ESG information, update it, and classify it in accordance with current regulations.

This paper examines the sustainable financing of R&D activities in the cybersecurity industry as a long-term investment to generate future profits and protect societies from the consequences of uncertainty as an essential part of a nation’s security strategy. Since this study utilises a dynamic panel model, the hierarchy of financing sources for R&D activities is determined by controlling for specific fixed effects. The estimator's efficiency is improved by adopting the system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM), which relies on the current interaction of explanatory variables to achieve a future factor of returns using STATA. The study sample extracted from the Orbis database consists of 51 cybersecurity leaders in the US and the UK from 2016 to 2020. The findings indicate that cybersecurity leaders use external funds to finance R&D activities to achieve high future returns. Although uncertainty increases significantly in the short run, all other else being equal, average future returns are high.

This study investigates whether readability of the president's statement is linked to both company performance and factors related to corporate governance in an emerging market context. We analyse Jordanian manufacturing companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) during the period 2017–2021. An exploratory study using panel data from ASE, parametric correlations, and regression models shows the relationship between readability of the president's statement, corporate governance, and characteristics of the board of directors. The results indicate that corporate governance significantly moderates readability of the president's statement and the firm's performance. The results also show a relationship between readability of the chairman's statement and directors' accounting experience and confirm that independence of the board of directors and concentration of ownership affect readability of the accounting disclosures in the chairman's statement. Finally, poor board compliance significantly mitigates the association between board features and readability of the chairman's statement. These findings help to explain how and why firms adjust their information disclosure and transparency practices, affecting corporate reporting credibility and efficacy. This study is one of few to examine how board features affect readability of the president's statement within the Jordanian legal framework, which is plagued by poor board compliance due in part to constant amendments.

Purpose: This article aims to investigate the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure strategy and its impact on the financial performance of the top ten companies in terms of operating income/turnover volume. Methodology/Approach: The study methods used include parametric correlations and logistic regression analysis focusing on data from Spanish listed companies in 2019-2020. Findings: The findings show that IBEX35 companies need to improve web transparency in ESG reporting and a significant relationship was found between financial indicators and ESG transparency. Companies with the best positions in liquidity and return on assets rank first in non-financial indicators. Finally, it was found that the sector of the company was a significant variable. Research Limitation/Implication: The findings of this research will help define the ESG strategy and understand the relationship between ESG and financial results. One limitation is that the information on the websites changes frequently. However, the results may contribute to being a point of reference for future studies. Originality/Value of paper: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has been conducted to assess the ESG information disclosure strategy based on its web transparency and the financial performance of major Spanish companies.