The Impact of Environmental, Social and Governance Performance on the Quality of Financial Reporting Emphasis on Product Market Competition

Authors

  • Saeed Noormohammadi * Department of Accounting, Shams Institute of Higher Education in Science and Technology, Tabriz, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22105/tqfb.v2i3.71

Abstract

Environmental, social and governance performance, as one of the key axes of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), plays an important role in improving the transparency and quality of financial reporting. However, product market competition may affect the sustainability performance of companies. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of environmental, social and governance performance on the quality of financial reporting, emphasizing the moderating role of managerial myopia in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The research data includes financial and non-financial information of 120 companies in the period 2019-2024, which were analyzed using the mixed data method and Eviews software. The results show that higher environmental, social and governance performance is significantly associated with improved financial reporting quality. Thus, improved sustainability reporting improves the quality of accounting reports. Furthermore, the results showed that increased product market competition weakens the positive relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and financial reporting quality. These findings are consistent with agency and legitimacy theories and highlight the importance of simultaneously addressing sustainable development and improving managerial behaviors. The limitations of Iran’s institutional environment, including weak corporate governance and economic volatility, may limit the generalizability of the results. This study emphasizes that to improve the quality of financial reporting, companies should pay attention to issues related to product market competition in addition to increasing ESG performance.  

Keywords:

Financial reporting quality, Environmental and social performance, Product market competitiveness

References

  1. [1] Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Management science, 60(11), 2835–2857. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1984

  2. [2] Dechow, P., Ge, W., & Schrand, C. (2010). Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences. Journal of accounting and economics, 50(2), 344–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2010.09.001

  3. [3] Biddle, G. C., Hilary, G., & Verdi, R. S. (2009). How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency? Journal of accounting and economics, 48(2), 112–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2009.09.001

  4. [4] Xu, S., Li, H., Chen, J., Huo, J., & Kuang, X. (2024). Sustainable competitiveness through ESG performance: An empirical study on corporate resilience. Journal of competitiveness, 16(3), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2024.03.03

  5. [5] Li, J., Li, W., & Chen, S. (2023). The impact of esg information disclosure quality on firm value. SHS web of conferences (Vol. 154, p. 2001). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202315402001

  6. [6] Healy, P. M., & Wahlen, J. M. (1999). A review of the earnings management literature and its implications for standard setting. Accounting horizons, 13(4), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.2308/acch.1999.13.4.365

  7. [7] Laverty, K. J. (1996). Economic “Short-termism”: The debate, the unresolved issues, and the implications for management practice and research. Academy of management review, 21(3), 825–860. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1996.9702100316

  8. [8] Graham, J. R., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2005). The economic implications of corporate financial reporting. Journal of accounting and economics, 40(1), 3–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2005.01.002

  9. [9] Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2019). The consequences of mandatory corporate sustainability reporting. Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility (pp. 1–49). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198802280.013.20

  10. [10] Dhaliwal, D. S., Li, O. Z., Tsang, A., & Yang, Y. G. (2011). Voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the cost of equity capital: The initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting. The accounting review, 86(1), 59–100. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.00000005

  11. [11] Abu Afifa, M., Nguyen, N. M., & Bui, D. Van. (2025). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure quality in developing countries: Evidence from the ASEAN region. Corporate governance, 25(7), 1728–1754. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-02-2024-0102

  12. [12] Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business horizons, 34(4), 39–48. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/66961771/0007-6813_2891_2990005-g20210504-32440-14h6rri-libre.pdf?1620145571

  13. [13] Porter, M. E., & Strategy, C. (1980). Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. In Competitive Strategy (pp. 1-30). The Free Press. https://kniga.biz.ua/pdf/250-competitive-strategy.pdf

  14. [14] Raith, M. (2003). Competition, risk, and managerial incentives. American economic review, 93(4), 1425–1436. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803769206395

  15. [15] Yucel, M., Yanik, G., Dayi, F., & Benek, A. (2025). Strategic management of environmental, social, and governance scores and corporate governance index: A panel data analysis of firm value on the Istanbul stock exchange. Sustainability, 17(11), 4971. https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i11p4971-d1666766.html

  16. [16] Fu, T., & Li, J. (2023). An empirical analysis of the impact of ESG on financial performance: The moderating role of digital transformation. Frontiers in environmental science, 11, 1256052. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1256052/full

  17. [17] Soltani, E., Syed, J., Liao, Y. Y., & Iqbal, A. (2015). Managerial mindsets toward corporate social responsibility: The case of auto industry in Iran. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(4), 795-810. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2137-4

  18. [18] Rezaei, Z., Tamoradi, A., & Sepehri, E. (2024). Investigating the relationship between environmental information disclosure and research and development expenses with emphasis on the moderating role of board political connections. Accounting & auditing studies, 12(47), 91-112. (In Persian). https://www.magiran.com/paper/2656418/

  19. [19] Tahriri, A., & Afsay, A. (2021). The effect of environmental, social and governance disclosure on auditor effort and audit quality. Accounting knowledge, 3(12), 69-88. (In Persian). https://www.sid.ir/paper/964224/fa

  20. [20] Ashraf Talesh, S. H., Amanollahi, G., Keyghabadi, A., & Lashkari, Z. (2011). The effect of environmental performance and social responsibility on market value: The mediating role of firm age. Financial accounting knowledge, 8(3), 229-267. (In Persian). https://www.sid.ir/paper/1046225/fa

  21. [21] Botosan, C. A. (1997). Disclosure level and the cost of equity capital. The accounting review, 72(3), 323–349. http://www.jstor.org/stable/248475

  22. [22] GRI, G. R. I. (2002). Global reporting initiative (GRI). Sustainability reporting guidelines. https://p.urbanpro.com/tv-prod/documents/null-GRI.(1).pdf

  23. [23] Kothari, S. P., Leone, A. J., & Wasley, C. E. (2005). Performance matched discretionary accrual measures. Journal of accounting and economics, 39(1), 163–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2004.11.002

  24. [24] Wan, H. (2013). Does incorporating non-linearity into discretionary accrual models improve their performance? Advances in accounting, 29(1), 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adiac.2013.03.008

  25. [25] Balboa, M., López-Espinosa, G., & Rubia, A. (2013). Nonlinear dynamics in discretionary accruals: An analysis of bank loan-loss provisions. Journal of banking & finance, 37(12), 5186–5207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.05.020

  26. [26] Hou, K., & Robinson, D. T. (2006). Industry concentration and average stock returns. The journal of finance, 61(4), 1927–1956. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2006.00893.x

  27. [27] Peress, J. (2010). Product market competition, insider trading, and stock market efficiency. The journal of finance, 65(1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2009.01522.x

  28. [28] Irvine, P. J., & Pontiff, J. (2009). Idiosyncratic return volatility, cash flows, and product market competition. The review of financial studies, 22(3), 1149–1177. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhn039

  29. [29] Jensen, M. C. (1986). Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers. The American economic review, 76(2), 323–329. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818789

  30. [30] Francis, J., LaFond, R., Olsson, P., & Schipper, K. (2005). The market pricing of accruals quality. Journal of accounting and economics, 39(2), 295–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12033

  31. [31] Chtourou, S. M., Bedard, J., & Courteau, L. (2003). Corporate governance and earnings management. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.275053

Published

2025-06-15

How to Cite

Noormohammadi, S. (2025). The Impact of Environmental, Social and Governance Performance on the Quality of Financial Reporting Emphasis on Product Market Competition. Transactions on Quantitative Finance and Beyond, 2(3), 189-202. https://doi.org/10.22105/tqfb.v2i3.71

Similar Articles

1-10 of 40

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.