**6. Conclusions**

This study investigates the effects of the board CSR orientation, board CSR strategy, the adoption of the GRI sustainability reporting framework, and country–cultural dimensions, namely, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, and uncertainty avoidance, on ESG disclosure scores. Based on a European sample of 21 countries and 784 companies, we found that board CSR orientation, board CSR strategy, and GRI are positively and significantly related to the ESG disclosure score and positively and significantly related to the individual pillars of E, S, and G. Our findings also suggest that country–cultural dimensions have mixed results within the ESG quality disclosure score. These results lend support to the theoretical frameworks of agency, stakeholder, signaling, institutional, and legitimacy theories. Furthermore, boards with higher levels of CSR orientation, CSR strategy, and adoption of the GRI sustainability reporting framework are considered unique governance mechanisms that help firms disclose high-quality information on ESG at all levels [21]. Boards seeking these levels of higher CSR initiatives seek to develop prominent levels of legitimacy and stakeholder satisfaction by increasing transparency throughout the firm at all levels [12]. Our findings also suggest that country– cultural variables, such as femininity and individualistic culture, create higher levels of disclosure of ESG, which helps firms create higher levels of quality disclosure due to institutional pressures facing firms, albeit due to different pressures and responses [58]. The research also emphasizes the key interplay between firm-level and country-level cultural dimensions, suggesting that firms are influenced by the country-level governance factors as firm behavior tends to be in line with social norms, economic patterns, and investor protection of that country [29]. Firms with an individualistic culture are seen to have higher levels of ESG disclosure quality [29]. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the importance of a prominent level of adoption for the board's CSR strategy, the CSR orientation of the board, and the adoption of GRI sustainability reporting guidelines. At the country level for the European dataset, the study highlights the importance of three key county-cultural dimensions and their importance for the degree of quality disclosure of more ESG information in the European context. From an economic perspective, firms that follow and integrate CSR strategies into their operations are more

orientated to long-term responsible investments, which align with the broader objectives of society and thus increase financial returns due to rational investors [89].

Our findings have several implications for several groups. For example, internally for corporate directors, our results suggest that firms should consider the benefits of having high levels of board CSR strategy and board CSR orientation, establishing an effective corporate boardroom that has some directors with financial experience and qualifications, and the presence of female directors on the board to create higher levels of ESG disclosure scores. The presence of females on the board also creates several advantages for companies, such as setting and adopting new sustainablility-orientated ideas to create long-term success [12,89]. The findings also disclose the main factors that are positive in the reporting of ESG. For example, following the GRI sustainability reporting guidelines, firms can increase their own ESG disclosure scores compared to their peers. Regulators and policymakers could set or reform their policies within countries that examine positively related country–cultural dimensions to introduce policies that mitigate the negative aspects of each country. This could include, within a masculine country, having more females on the board to contribute to the quality of the ESG quality reporting practices. This would potentially help mitigate the masculine characteristics of that country. For ESG and CSR scholars, the multitheoretical perspective and the European dataset used in this study could be used further to conduct further research to explore what other factors have contributed to ESG quality disclosures within Europe.

This paper is subject to a number of limitations and there are multiple avenues for future research. First, we examine a sample of 784 companies in 21 countries within Europe. Future research could examine all 44 European countries to generalize the results on a wide scale. Based on this, future research could also expand to large companies in emerging countries to determine whether micro- and macro-factors change when the sample countries change. This sample could also include country factors, such as the legal system, with a further longitudinal study. Moreover, our sample includes countries with few companies, such as Belgium and the Czech Republic, which may raise doubt about generalization in those countries. Second, in our analysis of board CSR orientation, the study uses female directors as a measure of board diversity, but this does not account for other measures of diversity within the boardroom. Diversity could be measured using other factors such as age, level of education, and ethnic group to see how this diversity plays a role in ESG disclosure [12]. Due to the growing interest in the materiality of ESG disclosure scores, further research could address this materiality as part of the quality of disclosure within firms [25]. Finally, within our research, we used only three out of the six Hofstede measures for country–cultural dimensions; in future research, all country– cultural dimensions could be used to provide more information on how culture affects ESG disclosure across different countries, rather than focusing solely on our country–culture dimensions. Moreover, endogeneity is an unavoidable issue in business research. Due to this, future research may consider an alternative research design to mitigate the potential endogeneity between ESG and governance and country-level variables.

Despite the limitations of this research, this study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that board CSR orientation, CSR strategy, and adoption of the GRI sustainability reporting framework have a significant and positive association with the quality of ESG quality disclosure scores.

**Author Contributions:** All authors (A.H., R.M., A.A.) have contributed equally to this research. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** We would like to thank the journal's academic editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. The first and third authors acknowledge the financial support provided by both Damanhour and Beni-Suef Universities, Egypt. All remaining errors are our own.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
