Sustainability disclosures, ceo characteristics and firm performance: a study on construction listed companies in Malaysia.

Recently, sustainability reporting has been recognised as a common practice for companies around the globe. There is inconclusive evidence to suggest that sustainability disclosure improve financial performance. The objectives of this study are (i) to examine the extend of sustainability disclosures among public listed construction ompanies in Malaysia, (ii) to investigate the relationship between sustainability disclosures, CEO characteristics, and financial performance of public listed construction companies in Malaysia at the year end of 2018. Three models were established based on three dependent variables which are Returns on Assets (Model 1-ROA), Returns on Equity (Model 2-ROE) and market performance (Model 3-Tobin’s Q) using three underpinning theories which are agency theory, legitimacy theory and critical mass theory. Based on GR4 reporting guidelines, on carbon emission and energy consumption, on average about 12.2 per cent construction companies reported important information regarding carbon emission and energy consumption. The results show that sustainability disclosures are only supported in Model 3. CEO gender has a positive influence on firm performance based on Model 1. The results in models 1 and 2 support that long serving CEO in the sample firms are entrenched CEO which lead to lower performance in ROA and ROE. While the results also support that matured or older CEO tend to improve performance due to his or her good track record and long serving experience which ultimately enhance performance. The results have implications for policymakers, such as the Securities Commission, investors, and other market participants in improving the sustainability disclosures and firm performance. Policymakers and companies may use these findings to recognise areas in sustainability disclosure, CEO characteristics that can further enhance firm performance