Determinants and contradictions of non-financial disclosure: opportunities and risks of green and social washing

Abstract

The thesis focuses on the mechanisms which influence how firms disclose non-financial information. To provide a comprehensive discussion of the topic, the first and second chapter analyze the drivers of non-financial disclosure quality, whereas the third chapter identifies the factors which could limit the spread of malpractices linked to non-financial disclosure as greenwashing and social washing. The first chapter aims to analyze the current state of research on the determinants of non-financial disclosure quality (NFDQ). The systematic literature review analysis (SLRA) applied in the study is based on the systematic literature review (SLR) principles, and on bibliographic analysis (BA) and manual content analysis (MCA) instruments to highlight the key factors that have been studied for their impact on NFDQ. The second chapter aims to explore how sustainable governance variables, identified by the SLRA among the main determinants of NFDQ, influence sustainability materiality disclosure quality (MDQ) in the context of Italian listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Finally, the third essay explores whether sustainable governance mechanisms mitigate the contradictions of non-financial disclosure, as represented by greenwashing and social washing. In particular, the analysis is based on a panel dataset ranging from 2013 to 2021 in the context of S&P US 500 firms.