Does CSR governance matters for corporate value creation: exploring the nexus between corporate sustainability governance and investment efficiency of acquirers in Pakistan.

This study examines the potential effects of corporate sustainability governance on the investment efficiency of asset acquirers. Using secondary data gathered from the annual reports of sample firms and the global reporting initiatives data repository from 1991-2021, the study results indicate that the provision of sustainable governance better facilitates the efficient allocation of capital and acquirer's value creation. Subject to the individual effects, we find that the economic sustainability disclosure, social sustainability disclosure, and environmental sustainability disclosure have positive and significant effect on the investment efficiency of acquirers that increases the competitiveness of a company's investment. Outcomes further revealed that market risk disclosure and shareholder activism have a strong moderating impact on the relationship between sustainability governance and acquirers efficiency, which significantly complements the acquirer's value. The study findings put forward policy directions that the enforcement of persistent sustainability governance practices has more potential to maximize acquirer's investment.

Does foreign ownership affect corporate sustainability disclosure in Pakistan? A sequential mixed methods approach.

The objective of this study is to investigate the potential impacts of foreign ownership on the corporate sustainability disclosure of leading non-financial companies in the context of an emerging economy of Pakistan. The study employed data from the year 2006 to 2018 gathered from the Pakistan stock exchange. Further, the data on foreign ownership and corporate sustainability disclosure obtained from the firm's annual reports and the global reporting initiatives (GRI) database. This study employed a sequential mixed methods technique. The empirical results indicate that foreign ownership has a significant impact on total sustainability disclosure (TCSRI). Whereas having an individual assessment, we found that foreign ownership is positively associated with each component (economic, social, and environmental) disclosure respectively. Moreover, our findings prove that firm size and growth are positively related to foreign ownership, TCSRI, and its aspects. In contrast, the study reveals a negative relationship among financial leverage, TCSRI, and economic, social, and environmental sustainability exposure. Summing up, the study indicates that foreign ownership effectively improves sustainability governance mechanism, and at the same time, it is also found that higher financial leverage restricts the sustainability disclosure capacity of firms. Results from this study have technical, theoretical, and policy implications for regulatory institutions, corporate management, and investors in emerging economies. Hence, we put forward the policy implications that the regulatory institutions need to reconsider the policy guidelines subject to diversification of ownership and activism of foreign shareholders in both small/large size firms to enhance the sustainability disclosure practices. Also, reduce the increasing level of financial leverage, which is curbing the firm's economic, social, and environmental reporting activities.