This study was aimed at analysing the impact of corporate and board characteristics on the perceived ESG reporting within the organisation. A sample of 87 Italian companies from different sectors participated in the study through the administration of an online questionnaire. The results of the bivariate analysis performed on the collected data showed the influence of certain company characteristics (size, sector, presence of a sole administrator, presence of a CEO, actual production of an ESG report) and of the board of directors (size, gender diversity, age of members, presence of executive, non-executive or independent directors) on the perception of ESG disclosure. Small companies were found to have greater difficulties with ESG reporting, especially due to the complexity of the available frameworks, and the scarcity of financial resources and skills necessary to carry out this activity in the correct way. This work seeks to contribute to the development of research on the factors that can influence the company’s ESG reporting, offering an original point of view to deepen the knowledge of how this activity is actually perceived by the members of the organization.
Keywords: Perceived ESG reporting; Firm’s characteristics; Board of Directors characteristics; Italian firms.
