Resumo

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) continues to be an instrument for legitimizing companies. Many firms in the world not only invest their resources in CSR initiatives, but also disclose environmental information to stakeholders and their potential investors through different channels, including sustainability reports (Awaysheh et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2018).

Although some research has already analysed the effect of the institutional environment on environmental disclosure, it is still unclear how the characteristics of the type of capitalism that the country adopts influences environmental disclosure. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the characteristics of capitalism on environmental disclosure.

The characteristics of national institutions are important, since they influence business decisions, especially in relation to social responsibility practices (Ruiz-Barbadillo & Martínez-Ferrero, 2020). In liberal economies, it is more likely that companies try to satisfy shareholders and therefore prioritize the disclosure of financial and governance information. On the other hand, in coordinated economies, companies have an orientation towards stakeholders, considering the interests of workers' associations in the decision-making process. (Hall & Soskice, 2001).

We examined a sample of 3248 companies, headquartered in 16 countries, during the period 2009-2019. The countries' capitalism characteristics were measured considering five variables: economic freedom index, foreign direct investment, availability of specialized training services, corruption perception index and protection of property rights. To measure environmental disclosure, an environmental performance index was prepared, evaluating 25 environmental items, such as recycling, energy consumption, biodiversity, emissions, effluents and water, waste, spills, and environmental impacts.

After statistical tests, the results showed that in countries with greater economic freedom, more foreign investment and less protection of property rights, companies tend to have a greater engagement with environmental disclosure. The findings also show that the availability of specialized training services has a negative effect on environmental disclosure. This article supports the thesis that business behaviour in relation to environmental disclosure practices is shaped by the characteristics of countries' capitalism.

We find evidence that confirms the main thesis of the Variety of Capitalism approach: the behaviour of firms is shaped by the relations between the state and society. Certain characteristics of capitalism will have an impact on companies' environmental policies. The findings show that in more liberal countries, companies disclose more environmental information. Therefore, companies in liberal economies do more for environmental disclosure.

Carnevale, C., & Mazzuca, M. (2014). Sustainability Reporting and Varieties of Capitalism. Sustainable Development, 22(6), 361–376. Favotto, A., Kollman, K., & Bernhagen, P. (2016). Engaging firms: The global organisational field for corporate social responsibility and national varieties of capitalism. Policy and Society, 35(1), 13–27. Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. In Oxford University Press.