Meilani Intan Pertiwi, Linda Agustina, Indah Fajarini Sri Wahyuningrum, Nur Arifah, Ardhana Reswari Hasna Pratista
This study investigates how firm-specific characteristics influence Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure among publicly listed companies in Indonesia as a representative developing-country context. The inquiry is motivated by the persistently low and uneven level of ESG reporting among public companies despite the existence of regulatory frameworks, raising the question of which internal firm attributes are associated with greater sustainability transparency. The study adopts a quantitative correlational design and utilizes secondary panel data from LSEG, focusing on Indonesia firm issuers over the 2020–2024 period with an unbalanced panel structure to maximize available observations. The final dataset comprises 263 firm-year observations out of 4,377 firm-year observations during 2020–2024. Most excluded observations reflect firm-years in which companies did not disclose ESG information and therefore had no ESG score available in the LSEG database. ESG disclosure is proxied by the ESG score. Independent variables capture key firm-specific characteristics: firm size, profitability, board size, and firm age. Model selection is performed using Chow and Hausman tests, indicating that a fixed effects specification is most appropriate; estimation is conducted via multiple regression in EViews. Results indicate that firm size and firm age are positively and significantly associated with ESG disclosure, implying that larger and more established companies tend to provide more extensive sustainability information. Profitability shows a statistically significant negative association with ESG disclosure, suggesting that stronger profit orientation may coincide with lower emphasis on sustainability transparency. Board size is not a significant predictor, indicating that the mere number of directors does not necessarily translate into more robust ESG reporting. The findings offer implications for regulators and firms, capacity-building and targeted guidance may be especially relevant for smaller and younger issuers. While companies may need to institutionalize ESG reporting processes beyond short-term performance considerations to strengthen disclosure consistency in emerging markets. © 2026, Malque Publishing. All rights reserved.
Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia; Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
