Economic Sustainability Through Disclosure: Knowledge Management, Reporting Quality, and Corporate Performance in the Arab Gulf Region

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides empirical evidence on the volume-quality distinction in ESG disclosure and its differential impact on financial performance in an emerging market context.

🏢実務担当者:Highlights the risk of relying on high-volume, low-quality ESG disclosures for legitimacy; suggests investing in assurance and internal transformation for long-term value.

🏛政策担当者:Offers insights for designing mandatory disclosure standards and assurance requirements to enhance credibility of corporate sustainability communication in emerging markets.

This study examines whether sustainability information disclosure (SID) in the Arab Gulf acts as a substantive strategic tool that enhances corporate outcomes or merely serves as a symbolic gesture to maintain legitimacy. Using data from 92 listed firms across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) from 2020 to 2023, the study distinguishes between the level (volume) and quality (credibility) of disclosure. It examines their respective impacts on return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and financial reporting quality. The results reveal a consistent positive association between disclosure levels and financial performance, suggesting that volume-based corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting may support short-term legitimacy and market confidence. In contrast, disclosure quality shows weaker and less consistent effects, highlighting a potential disconnect between visibility and substance. This pattern reflects the strategic use of disclosure for symbolic compliance in the GCC, where ESG reporting is often adopted to satisfy external expectations rather than to support internal transformation or long-term value creation. The findings position sustainability disclosure as an underleveraged tool for strategic knowledge management. While current practices enhance legitimacy, they fall short of driving performance gains through internal learning or reporting integrity. Policy implications include the need for harmonised disclosure frameworks, mandatory assurance standards, and improved alignment with international ESG guidelines to strengthen the credibility and impact of corporate sustainability communication in emerging markets.

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031394first seen 2026-05-05 23:09:51