The presumed poor performance in terms of sustainability commitments and Sustainability Reporting Quality (SRQ) of quoted companies have incentivized stakeholders' agitation relating to the Economic, Environmental, and Social (EES) impacts of companies' operations. Business activities have generated several threats in the form of climate change, pollution, GHG emission as well as natural disasters, and several other problems that have negatively affected the environment and stakeholders. Companies are expected to report their sustainability performance to stakeholders. However, the quality of such sustainability reports has been critically criticized as they are mostly assumed to fall below stakeholders' expectations. This study aims to conceptually examine the association between board governance mechanisms and SRQ in Malaysia. The method adopted by this study is the review of previous literature on sustainability reporting practices and

PurposeThis study empirically investigates the role of product market competition and mature-stage firm life cycle on the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and market performance in an emerging market context – Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe authors construct a comprehensive CSR index toward the economy, environment and society (EES) and apply both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) instrumental variables (IV) approaches to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsThe authors find that EES-based CSR generally enhances firms' market performance; however, the level of product market competition undermines the market performance of socially and economically responsible firms. In addition, the study results indicate that mature-stage firm life cycle with more involvement in CSR activities shows better market performance. However, the endogeneity check of CSR suggests that both CSR and mature-stage firms are mutually exclusive in influencing market performance. The study findings are robust to alternative measures and different identifications of high and low default risk situations of sample firms.Practical implicationsThis study carries practical policy implications for the listed firms, regulators and stakeholders in general. For example, regulatory bodies may promote greater involvement in CSR activities by listed companies in the Malaysian stock market. Investors and other market participants should be aware of factors influencing socially responsible firms' market performance such as the corporate life cycle and the level of competition in product markets.Originality/valueThis research work responds to the call of regulatory bodies in Malaysia at a time when the Malaysian economy is under threat of environmental distraction practices by the palm oil industry and import ban by the largest export market, i.e. the European Union by 2030. The study also contributes to the theoretical literature by refining the moderating role of product market competition and mature-stage life cycle on the relationship between CSR and market performance from the perspectives of resource-based and stakeholder theories in emerging economy settings.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of corporate integrity and external assurance on Sustainability Reporting Quality (SRQ) of Malaysian public listed companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a longitudinal sample of 2,463 firm-year observations of non-financial firms listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia from 2015 to 2019. The study employed panel regression that is, Fixed Effect (FE) Robust Standard Error estimation technique to test its hypotheses.FindingsThe panel regression results reveal that corporate integrity and external assurance positively and significantly influence the quality of sustainability reporting. Though the positive association shows an improvement in the SRQ of the sampled firms, it needs an improvement as the disclosure is more general and qualitative than quantitative. The present improvement in SRQ might result from some regulatory changes like the Sustainability Practice Note 9 Updates of Bursa Malaysia 2017 and the Revised MCCG Principle A to C within the same period.Research limitations/implicationsThe study adopts a purely quantitative approach and call for a qualitative investigation in the area in the future.Practical implicationsThe study has policy implication for the government and regulators to strengthen compliance with the sustainability reporting guide and the Practice Note 9 Updates. It also has implication for corporate integrity and external assurance for companies, to enhance SRQ and achieve sustainable development.Originality/valueThe study bridged literature gaps by offering new insights and empirical evidence on the role of corporate integrity in SRQ, which has received no empirical attention in the Malaysian context.