Determinants of Sustainability Reporting: The Influence of Owner Gender and Financial Indicators

Abstract

In contemporary business conditions, sustainability reporting is becoming an increasingly important component of corporate transparency and accountability toward a wide range of stakeholders. Although the practice of preparing sustainability reports is continuously developing, significant differences still exist among companies in terms of their readiness to adopt and implement this form of reporting. Against this background, the subject of this study is to examine the factors influencing the likelihood of sustainability reporting. Particular attention is devoted to the gender of the company owner, as well as to key financial indicators reflecting liquidity, profitability, and leverage.

The aim of this study is to determine whether the financial position of a company and the gender structure of ownership represent significant determinants of sustainability reporting. The empirical analysis is based on a dataset in which sustainability reporting is treated as a binary variable, while the independent variables include indicators of liquidity, profitability, and leverage, along with the gender of the owner. Binary logistic regression is employed to test the proposed relationships.

The expected contribution of this study lies in identifying the characteristics of companies that are more inclined to adopt sustainability reporting practices, as well as in providing a better understanding of the relationship between financial performance, ownership structure, and sustainable corporate behavior. The findings of this research may be of importance to both the academic community and practitioners, including company decision-makers and policymakers aiming to promote and enhance sustainable business practices.