Voluntary disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals in mandatory non-financial reports: The moderating role of cultural dimension

Abstract

The Directive 2014/95/EU represents one of the main innovations introduced by the European Commission to encourage large companies to disclose their contribution to sustainable development. Since its introduction, the Directive 2014/95/EU has put into motion an intense debate about its effectiveness. Academics and policymakers agreed on the need to rethink mandatory non-financial reporting to enhance the contribution to the 2030 Agenda. In fact, despite a quantitative increase in the overall number of non-financial reports published yearly in Europe, only a limited number of companies explicitly disclose information about their contribution to the SDGs. In this sense, the disclosure of information about SDGs is driven by factors related to institutional and organizational dynamics. Building on a sample of 873 Public Interest Entities, an empirical analysis was conducted to fill the theoretical gap about the enabling role covered by cultural factors on SDG reporting. The analysis revealed that companies operating in institutional contexts characterized by long-term orientation and an adequate degree of balance between indulgence and restraints are more oriented to disclose their contributions to the SDGs. Our insights underlined the need to consider cultural dimensions in policymaking and standard-setting to encourage large companies to voluntarily disclose their contribution to 2030 Agenda.