article · Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal
This research investigates the reporting of Sustainable Development Goals by the top one hundred public listed companies in Malaysia between 2016 and 2020, alongside the impact of integrated reporting quality on this performance. Corporate contribution to the seventeen goals expanded significantly during this period, rising from fourteen percent of firms in 2016 to seventy-eight percent in 2020. Corporate priorities centered on decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Analysis confirmed that higher integrated reporting quality is directly linked to better disclosure of sustainable development achievements. These findings show how corporate disclosure frameworks can reflect and drive business alignment with global sustainability agendas within an emerging economy context.
Understanding how corporations disclose their environmental and social impacts helps investors, regulators, and company executives track genuine progress toward global targets. Demonstrating that integrated reporting improves disclosures offers a clear mechanism for organisations to align corporate strategy with sustainability, bringing greater transparency to corporate accountability in emerging markets.
The findings could inform corporate governance services, sustainability reporting frameworks, and compliance tools used by business executives, regulators, and investors. Because the research assesses archival corporate disclosures rather than developing a commercial product, applied use would require advisory firms or software developers to translate these reporting insights into integrated reporting evaluation tools.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Purpose This study aims to investigate the performance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of public listed companies (PLCs) in Malaysia through their SDGs disclosure. In addition, it examines the impact of integrated reporting (IR) quality on the SDGs’ performance. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected from an initial sample of Malaysia’s top 100 market-leading PLCs from 2016 to 2020. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results reveal an increasing trend in SDGs’ performance. Companies contributing toward the 17 SDGs grew from 14% in 2016 to 78% in 2020. On a priority basis, the average score of the five years showed that the Malaysian PLCs are paying more attention to SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth (53%); SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production (43%); and SDG 13 Climate Action (42%). In addition, the fixed effects regression analysis proves that companies with higher IR quality are more likely to provide better SDGs disclosure. Practical implications This study provides insights to policymakers, investors and management on the vital role of businesses in supporting the SDGs’ achievement and how IR reveals a turning point in achieving the United Nations SDGs’ agenda. Social implications This study provides a clearer understanding of the activities seeking to achieve the SDGs and the influence of IR on them. This opens the debate for future research. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a pioneer in examining whether the quality of IR influences SDGs disclosure among large companies in one of the emerging economies in Southeast Asia in its early application stage.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1108/sampj-01-2022-0029
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
