The impact of regulatory reforms on corporate climate-related environmental reporting in China

PurposeThis study examines how China’s first and only nation-wide institutional reforms, Open Government Information (OGI) and Open Environment Information (OEI), both effective in 2008, influence the change in corporate climate-related environmental reporting (CER). It explores the role of institutional pressures in moderating the relationship between company characteristics and information disclosure.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses multivariate regression analysis with general estimating equations to analyse 471 annual and CSR reports from 100 Chinese companies. Data were collected for three key years: 2006 (pre-reform), 2008 (immediate post reform-implementation), and 2010 (extended post reform-implementation). The study assesses the impact of regulatory reforms on overall reporting and category-specific reporting on climate-related environmental information in the short and medium term.FindingsThe findings reveal a significant increase in environmental reporting post-reform. Coercive institutional pressures from OGI and OEI moderate the relationship between Chinese company characteristics, such as political connections, ownership structure, and international operations, and reporting practices. Distinct drivers were identified for category and overall disclosures, highlighting the role of even voluntary regulatory reforms in shaping reporting behaviour.Practical implicationsThe study offers policymakers insights into designing effective regulatory frameworks to enhance corporate transparency.Originality/valueThis study uniquely evaluates the moderating effects of OGI and OEI on the relationship between Chinese company characteristics and CER across overall and six category-specific disclosures. By addressing critical gaps, it captures the nuanced variability of factors influencing disclosure practices. The study also contributes a dynamic empirical model, resolving a long-standing issue of a “stable” functional relationship between company characteristics and CER. These insights deepen understanding of regulatory impacts on the change in corporate behaviour.