Investigating the Relationship Between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from Emerging Economy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between sustainability reporting practices and firm performance. This study covers seventy-four BSE-listed companies from various industries that have been reporting on sustainability metrics according to the GRI principles for the financial years 2014-2015 to 2021-2022. This eight-year timeframe was selected so that the study would have access to data that was fair, dependable, and up to date. Sustainability reporting disclosures on social, economic, environmental, and governance aspects are analyzed as independent variables, whereas ROA and MBR serve as proxies for firm performance. The study finds that the mean level of disclosure in selected companies is about 71.5 percent of the items specified in the GRI framework, whereas the mean qualitative disclosure is about 62.4 percent of the items in totality. Further, the study finds a significant and positive relationship between corporate sustainability reporting practices and the firm performance of the selected Indian companies.