**5. Discussion and Future Studies**

This review paper highlighted the quantitative and qualitative findings derived from the ATLAS.ti version 9. The perks of utilizing this software in conducting a thematic review are that it assists in document management and makes it easier for the researcher to identify the themes, by coding the relevant sentences relevant to answer the research question posed above. This review paper identified eight themes or patterns to answer the research question: fiduciary duties of directors, corporate accountability, disclosure approaches, stakeholder engagement, the effectiveness of regulatory interventions, the impact of regulations, Directive 2014/95/EU, and the role of different actors. The categorization of themes helps researchers perceive the popularly discussed patterns among scholars, and would assist in determining the gap in the literature relating to corporate disclosure regulations. For example, there is a lack of research into corporate disclosure laws in Southeast Asia countries. No analysis has yet been carried out on the disclosure regulations in Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, or Vietnam. Future research should address this gap. Hence, conducting studies on corporate disclosure laws in these countries would be essential. To reiterate, most of the studies relating to regulations of non-financial information were conducted in European countries and revolved around Directive 2014/95/EU. This finding emphasizes the need to conduct studies in other jurisdictions, considering that all the United Nations member states have adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, not only the European countries.

Furthermore, only two studies discussed the theme of directors' fiduciary duties, and these were in Canada and Nigeria. More research needs to be carried out to explore the extent to which a director can be made accountable regarding non-financial information disclosure, as this area is still under-explored and vague. Therefore, it is contended that future research concerning this area in other jurisdictions worldwide would be valuable to the academic world. Next, many opportunities are available to examine various concepts or theories to enhance a company's accountability. The issue of a company's accountability is an ever-revolving subject, considering that companies' conduct can affect their surroundings significantly, emphasizing the need for more studies in this area. In addition, the securities law should be examined, as it is also relevant in improving a company's responsibility.

Another possible future study based on thematic review findings would be on disclosure approaches of integrated reporting. It was found that the studies grouped under the theme disclosure-approach research focused on sustainability reporting. This finding is

intriguing, since that integrated reporting is said to be the trend for corporate reporting. Furthermore, it was found by one study that companies that publish integrated reports tend to consider the SDGs when providing non-financial information [109]. Hence, it is suggested that more studies relating to disclosure regulations should also focus on integrated reporting.

A following possible future study would be to expand the research by Cosma et al. [79] to investigate the impacts of disclosure regulations on the stakeholder-engagement process in other sectors besides the financial industry. This trend is crucial, as the other industries or sectors also impact their surroundings tremendously. Another suggestion for future studies would be to expand the research by Martin [70] by investigating the extent of companies' disclosure and discussing potential ways to address the information gap. This study would enlighten the issue of why and how a company manipulates or cherry-picks data to enhance and protect its image and, if possible, provide recommendations to address this problem. Next would be to expand the study by Kinderman [105] by exploring Southeast Asian countries' approaches and preferences in introducing regulations on nonfinancial information by companies, as most studies focused on European countries. More studies in the Southeast Asian countries would contribute to a better and more precise understanding of their approaches, and consequently provide suggestions to improve the existing model relating to attaining the SDGs, for example. Lastly, a future study could also be conducted to examine the role of industry players, NGOs, and the government towards specific non-financial disclosure regulations by furthering the research by LeBaron and Rühmkorf [53]. The comprehension of the role of different actors in facilitating compliance with non-financial information disclosure regulations would contribute significantly to the regulators' management of companies.

Our thematic analysis contributes to creating a frame of reference for the state of knowledge in this research area, and can direct researchers in the design of future studies. However, this study is subject to several limitations. First, the Web of Science and Scopus databases were used to gather the publications for the study. Without a doubt, they represent the best-indexed databases. Future studies, however, might use additional databases such as Google Scholar, Westlaw, and LexisNexis, to obtain better results. Second, the sample data spans from early 2021 to 2014. Therefore, even though the timing attempts to provide a recent account of the recent reflection, a longer term is required. Nevertheless, despite the aforementioned limitations, this paper is still relevant in contributing to the academic literature and practice. Results presented as themes in this paper can serve as a clear guideline to others for the underexplored area on the regulations of non-financial information.

#### **6. Concluding Remarks**

As an actively intensifying area for research, the reporting requirement for nonfinancial information requires a robust direction for further exploration. A thematic review paper is extremely helpful in addressing gaps to contemplate future studies. Thus, this thematic review paper on the patterns and trends in the literature relating to regulations on non-financial information in corporate reporting by companies from 2014 to early 2021 would assist other researchers in investigating more in this area, considering the heightened importance and awareness of sustainability issues globally, which is also evidenced by the SDGs 2030 Agenda. A study found that corporate involvement in contributing to the SDGs is still limited [110]. Thus, further research should also investigate this. Non-financial information disclosed in corporate reporting would enhance the transparency of companies' business models so they could be better aligned with the SDGs. Furthermore, the IIRC envisages integrated reporting, which integrates financial and non-financial information to act as a mechanism that could align corporate behavior with the SDGs [111]. Therefore, the role of non-financial reporting should not be underestimated, including the regulations governing it.

From a managerial-implication perspective, this study may be useful for companies to pursue strategies to enhance the transparency of non-financial disclosures. Managers should consider this an opportunity to boost their companies' value and ultimately assist in sustainable development. It is critical to implement SDGs into business models [112]. Companies must consider the business risks associated with failing to plan for the SDGs in the long term [113]. Furthermore, managers should be aware that disclosure could prevent companies from sanctions under mandatory non-financial information regulations. Companies must respect the laws to be considered corporate citizens [16]. In addition, due to the rising demands of stakeholders for non-financial information from companies, it is critical to meet the stakeholders' needs to maintain their respectable image and preserve trust within society. In addition, transparency of non-financial information could improve the ability to predict high-growth companies, which is essential for stakeholders such as investors who seek to invest, and the policymakers who formulate effective frameworks to support sustainable development [114].

**Author Contributions:** The whole article is the result of shared effort. Conceptualization, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A.; methodology, N.J.M.K.; software, N.J.M.K.; validation, N.J.M.K., and H.M.A.; formal analysis, N.J.M.K.; investigation, N.J.M.K.; resources, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A.; data curation, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A.; writing—original draft preparation, N.J.M.K.; writing—review and editing, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A.; visualization, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A.; supervision, H.M.A.; project administration, N.J.M.K. and H.M.A. 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:** The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

**Acknowledgments:** This article was funded by the National University of Malaysia's Research Distribution Fund project TAP-K006848, a grant programme for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers designed to increase the relevance of research and innovation at the university.

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

#### **References**


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**Akrum Helfaya 1,2,\*, Rebecca Morris <sup>1</sup> and Ahmed Aboud 3,4**


**\*** Correspondence: a.n.ekara.helfaya@keele.ac.uk

**Abstract:** The increased focus on environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) (ESG) disclosure has become a necessary step toward the integration of sustainability practices into firms' culture to meet the expectations of stakeholders. The social and environmental implications of firm activities on the environment and surrounding communities have led to the growing demand for useful nonfinancial information. This paper investigates the impacts of the board's corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and CSR orientation, GRI, and the country–cultural dimensions, based on Hofstede's measures of ESG disclosure practices within Europe. Using a European dataset from Bloomberg and Refinitiv Eikon, this paper adopts a quantitative research methodology to test the research hypotheses through a statistical analysis of 7840 observations from European companies to analyze the extent of the relationship between micro- and macro-variables and the disclosure of company ESG. Our findings suggest that both board CSR orientation and strategy and the GRI have positively and significantly affected the overall disclosure of ESG practices within Europe. When examining country– cultural dimensions, we find that individualism and feminine cultures are positively associated with increased levels of ESG disclosure. Our findings shed light on factors affecting ESG disclosure practices within Europe and could be of interest to companies, policy makers, and other stakeholders.

**Keywords:** ESG disclosure; board CSR orientation; board CSR strategy; global reporting initiative; country–cultural dimensions; Europe
