The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance on ESG performance in large publicly listed firms in Indonesia from 2016 to 2023. The study adopts both stakeholder-agency theory and resource dependency theory to explore the relationship between sustainability assurance, board governance characteristics, and the extent of ESG performance. Fixed effects regression controlling both industry and year fixed effects is used to measure the relationship between sustainability assurance, corporate governance characteristics, and ESG performance. We find a positive significant relationship between assurance sustainability reports and ESG performance. Additionally, we also document a positive association between sustainability committees and ESG performance. Adopting the Big Four auditors as a moderating variable, we find a positive relationship between gender-diverse boards and firms audited by the Big Four auditors and sustainability performance. This result suggests that firms with gender-diverse boards audited by the Big Four auditors enhance sustainability performance. Additional robustness tests using GMM estimation, conducted to address endogeneity concerns, corroborated the main test results.

Purpose: This paper aims to measure mean voluntary intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) quality score for a sample of Australian Stock Exchange-listed biotechnology firms in the 2003, 2006 and 2010 reporting periods. The aim was to use data for the same companies over the whole period to discover whether the quality of voluntary reporting practice was improving over time, measuring lagged-mean ICD quality score against possible determinants of management disclosure practice. Design/methodology/approach: Mean ICD quality score, and associated frequency data, was measured against possible determinants of managers’ disclosure practice. The dependent variable was an 18-item classification of ICD based on Sveiby’s Intangible Assets Monitor (Sveiby, 1997). Data collected from S&P Capital IQ database were used to compare ICD disclosure quality with possible drivers: competition (capital intensity); performance (profit and market returns); monitoring (audit firm and ownership); and control variables (revenue and leverage). Findings: Mean voluntary disclosures of internal capital and external capital lower the quality over time using paired sample t-test comparison against 2003 as a base year. The lowest quality disclosure was about human capital, and the highest quality was about internal capital. Individual disclosure items within internal, external and human capital classification showed that internal capital items (intellectual property, corporate culture, management processes and financial relations) and external capital item (customers) were the significant contributors. Investigation of drivers using Spearman’s correlation against lagged ICD data showed that performance (relative market returns) and monitoring (ownership diffusion) were significant drivers of voluntary ICD, both in expected and unexpected ways. Originality/value: Voluntary ICD quality and quantity are rarely measured in the same paper. The findings are unique and interesting especially for innovative Australian R&D firms when compared to recent findings for a larger sample of French companies.

The intention of this study is to investigate carbon reduction initiatives, board characteristics and sustainability assurance in large, listed firms in Indonesia from 2016 to 2023, given the significance of climate change. Based on fixed effects regression controlling industry effects, we find a positive significant relationship between multiple directorships and carbon reduction initiatives. Additionally, we find a statistically significant association between gender-diverse boards and carbon reduction initiatives, as well as a positive association between sustainability assurance and carbon reduction initiatives. When adopting multiple directorships as a moderating variable, our results reveal a positive relationship between long-tenured board members with multiple directorships and carbon reduction initiatives, suggesting that firms with long-tenured directors and multiple directorships reduce carbon footprint. Robustness checks and endogeneity tests corroborate the main results. This study has important implications for regulators, including policymakers, and contributes to theoretical applications.