Factors Influencing Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Medicine Manufacturing Industry in China

The objective of this chapter is to investigate the relationship among company characteristics (firm size and firm age), board composition (board size, board independence, and board gender diversity), audit firms, and the extent of disclosure in their sustainability reports. The study focuses on the medicine manufacturing industry, utilizing a sample of 64 Chinese publicly listed companies. The dependent variable, the degree of disclosure in sustainability reports, is quantified using a simple average disclosure index. Independent variables considered include firm size, firm age, board size, board independence, board gender diversity, and audit firms, which are hypothesized to influence the level of disclosure. Employing empirical analysis and the ordinary least squares (OLS) model, the research utilizes Stata16 to derive descriptive statistics, correlation data, and regression results. The analysis reveals a significant positive correlation among firm size, board gender diversity, audit firms, and the degree of disclosure in sustainability reports. Conversely, the other independent variables did not demonstrate a significant relationship. Despite the limitations in the scope of the independent variables examined, the findings indicate substantial potential for improvement in the sustainability report disclosures of listed companies within China’s medicine manufacturing sector. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Tarek Rana, Md Jahidur Rahman and Peter Öhman; individual chapters, the contributors.