In recent years, the effect of disclosure on environmental and social information has been the subject of much research in an Anglo‐Saxon context. The European field, and especially the French companies, have not been sufficiently discussed. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between social and environmental disclosure and earning persistence (as a proxy of earning quality). We use the content analysis method with annual reports as a measure of social and environmental disclosure; the empirical validation is applied to the companies listed in the SBF 250 French stock market index over the 2005–2010 period. To measure earning persistence we opt for a regression of a time‐series model on panel data. The findings show that French companies are characterized by a high level of social and environmental reporting; this situation may affect positively the quality of earnings such as more persistent earnings. This means that companies with a higher level of social and environmental commitment are more likely to take benefits and to communicate more persistent earnings and be desirable to investors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of the shareholder governance on environmental sustainability by the moderating effect of some cultural factors.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have studied the extent of sustainability by continent. On the other hand, the authors have conducted three empirical models that deal with the effect of shareholder governance on environmental sustainability and also with the moderating effect of cultural factors.FindingsUsing a sample of 140 countries during the year 2018, the authors find a notable and positive effect of the shareholder governance on environmental sustainability. Regarding the role of cultural factors, the authors found that the factor gender parity is more important than other factors.Practical implicationsThe findings have policy implications for governments aiming to combat environmental sustainability and shareholder governance.Originality/valueThis research has approached cultural factors in a different context, which is an eastern country, which are completely different from those of western countries. On the other hand, the subject of sustainability is not sufficiently threated in this country (Saudi Arabia).

This paper investigates the effect of the presence of non-Saudi members on the board and committees and the relationship between green innovation and sustainability reporting. I rely on the ISO 26000 and CSR guidelines as an index of sustainability measures. Based on a sample of Saudi listed firms, for the period 2017–2020, I run a multiple regression to test the moderating role of the effect of foreigners’ presence on the link between green innovation and sustainability reporting. The main issue of the paper is to address whether the presence of foreign members on the board of directors affects the firm’s decision to voluntarily respond to major stakeholders’ demands for increased sustainability reporting in Saudi Arabia. I found that the last appearance of COVID-19 affected the level of sustainability reporting, which led to the impact on the results of the relationship between the variables as well. By using a hierarchical moderated regression analysis, my findings confirm that green innovation has a crucial role in promoting sustainability, but the presence of foreigners in different committees has no effect on the relationship.

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