IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i5p7731-7752.html

Unmasking Sustainability Justice Performance to Achieve SDG 16 in MENA : Insights From Heterogeneous Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Li KaoDui
  • Maxwell Kongkuah
  • Noha Alessa

Abstract

In an era where sustainability is paramount, the role of corporate governance in promoting sustainability justice remains underexplored, particularly in emerging regions such as MENA. This study extends the literature on corporate governance and sustainability by examining the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and sustainability justice performance (SJP) in MENA firms. Drawing on agency theory and normative ethics (consequentialism), the study hypothesizes that effective governance mitigates agency conflicts and fosters ethical decision‐making, thereby enhancing sustainability justice. To test these hypotheses, we analyze a dataset of 727 listed firms in MENA from 2010 to 2022, using robust econometric techniques and instrumental variables to address endogeneity concerns. The findings show that, regarding structural attributes, board independence and board size are positively linked with SJP, whereas the board members' shareholding proportion and CEO duality show negative effects. Concerning diversity attributes, gender diversity has a positive impact on SJP, but foreign nationals negatively affect SJP. Regarding process attributes, board members' remuneration, board meetings, and board tenure all have positive links with SJP. Additionally, there is significant heterogeneity in how corporate governance impacts SJP across industries, ownership types, and dimensions of sustainability. The results are robust after rigorous checks and sensitivity analyses. Policymakers should prioritize reforms that strengthen board independence, promote gender diversity, and encourage more frequent board meetings to improve sustainability justice. Additionally, limiting shareholder power, addressing CEO duality, and aligning executive compensation with sustainability goals will enhance governance and foster long‐term positive sustainability outcomes across the MENA region.

Suggested Citation

  • Li KaoDui & Maxwell Kongkuah & Noha Alessa, 2025. "Unmasking Sustainability Justice Performance to Achieve SDG 16 in MENA : Insights From Heterogeneous Analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 7731-7752, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7731-7752
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3513
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3513
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3513?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Haiming & Chiang, Yao-Min, 2024. "Employment protection and environmental corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Nurlan Orazalin & Mady Baydauletov, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility strategy and corporate environmental and social performance: The moderating role of board gender diversity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1664-1676, July.
    3. Li, Ming & Kong, Lingyao, 2024. "Executives with financial backgrounds and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Ali Meftah Gerged & Eshani S. Beddewela & Christopher J. Cowton, 2023. "Does the quality of country‐level governance have an impact on corporate environmental disclosure? Evidence from Gulf Cooperation Council countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 1179-1200, April.
    5. Abdelfattah, Tarek & Aboud, Ahmed, 2020. "Tax avoidance, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility: The case of the Egyptian capital market," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    6. Waseem Akhter & Arshad Hassan, 2024. "Does corporate social responsibility mediate the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance? Empirical evidence from BRICS countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 566-578, January.
    7. Ying Hao & Junyi Li & Juan Ni & Danni Han, 2024. "Military experience and corporate social responsibility: evidence from china," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 50-75, January.
    8. Naiping Zhu & Ishmael Wiredu & Andrew Osei Agyemang & Abednego Osei, 2024. "Addressing corporate governance and carbon accounting disclosure gaps: A path toward firms commitment to sustainable development goal 13," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5421-5436, October.
    9. Devon Reynolds & David Ciplet, 2023. "Transforming Socially Responsible Investment: Lessons from Environmental Justice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 53-69, February.
    10. Nicolai Abramovich & Alexandru Vasiliu, 2023. "Sustainability as fairness: A Rawlsian framework linking intergenerational equity and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with business practices," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1328-1342, June.
    11. Andrew Osei Agyemang & Kong Yusheng & Abednego Osei, 2025. "Addressing Sustainability Footprint Disclosure for High Pollutant Firms in China and the US: The Roles of Firms Governance Structure, Financing Decisions, and Eco‐Technology," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(2), pages 2835-2858, March.
    12. Monica Singhania & Dimple Gupta, 2024. "Impact of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure on firm risk: A meta‐analytical review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3573-3613, July.
    13. Qiao Xu & Guy Dinesh Fernando & Richard A. Schneible, 2022. "Age diversity, firm performance and managerial ability," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 276-298, July.
    14. Qiao Xu & Guy Dinesh Fernando & Richard A. Schneible, 2022. "Age diversity, firm performance and managerial ability," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 276-298, July.
    15. Hui Xia & Shixian Ling & Zhangxin (Frank) Liu & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2024. "Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from directors' and officers' liability insurance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3006-3030, July.
    16. Musah Mohammed Saeed & Shahin Sultana Mohammed & Abiola Adeniyi & Michael Osei, 2025. "The Impact of Corporate Governance on the Contribution of Listed Firms to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Disclosures in Ghana," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 4676-4688, June.
    17. Miloud, Tarek, 2024. "Corporate governance and CSR disclosure: Evidence from French listed companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    18. Naiping Zhu & Abednego Osei & Andrew Osei Agyemang, 2024. "Do board attributes influence environmental sustainability disclosure in manufacturing firms? Evidence from sub‐Saharan Africa," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4759-4771, September.
    19. Yomna Abdulla & Ahmed Jawad, 2024. "Do MENA firms consider climate risks? Evidence from the relationship between ESG and firm performance," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 870-888, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dejun Zhou & Abednego Osei & Andrew Osei Agyemang & Ishmael Wiredu, 2026. "Strategic ESG Disclosure as Sustainability Innovation: A Diffusion Perspective on Advancing Responsible Consumption and Production Toward SDG 12," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 968-992, February.
    2. Li KaoDui & Maxwell Kongkuah, 2025. "The Strategic Role of Circular Economy Innovations and Stakeholder Engagement in Advancing Responsible Production and Consumption," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 5947-5966, July.
    3. Andrew Osei Agyemang & Abednego Osei & Maxwell Kongkuah, 2025. "Exploring the ESG‐Circular Economy Nexus in Emerging Markets: A Systems Perspective on Governance, Innovation, and Sustainable Business Models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 5901-5924, July.
    4. Joseph Owusu Amoah & Imhotep Paul Alagidede & Yakubu Awudu Sare, 2025. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Influence Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Moderating Role of Trade Openness," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.
    5. Angelina Kissiwaa Twum & Jijian Zhang & Xuhui Ding & Joana Cobbinah, 2025. "Realizing Green Growth in Belt and Road Initiative Economies: The Roles of Financial Support, Renewable Energy, and Eco-Footprint Dynamics," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(6), pages 18738-18773, December.
    6. Li, Gang & Jiang, Yongan, 2024. "Market competition and firm behavior: A comprehensive study on the impact of antimonopoly law," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    7. Khandelwal, Urvashi & Khandelwal, Chitranshu, 2025. "Board composition and climate strategy: the role of governance in internal carbon pricing adoption," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PC).
    8. Andrew Osei Agyemang & Kong Yusheng & Abednego Osei, 2025. "Driving the Sustainability Transition From Policy to Practice: Synergizing Corporate Governance and Technological Innovation to Advance Responsible Consumption and Production," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 6528-6548, October.
    9. Anurag Pahuja & Rohail Hassan & Ajay Chandel & Neeraj Kaushik & Neeraj Bhanot & Muhammad Fareed, 2025. "Domain Development and Future Research Agendas in Corporate Governance and Sustainability Research: A Review," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(S1), pages 317-338, November.
    10. Jia, Xiaofei & Zhang, Naiqian & Tong, Tong & Li, Yongna & Han, Ruixue, 2025. "Social networks, financial knowledge, and urban–rural family entrepreneurship," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Abednego Osei & Naiping Zhu & Hela Borgi & Joana Cobbinah, 2025. "Empowering Sustainable Production: Firm Governance, Finance Strategies, and Tech‐Innovation in Advancing Circular Economy for SDG 12 in the US, China and Japan," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 5282-5307, August.
    12. Ummar Faruk Saeed & Timothy Masuni Nagriwum, 2026. "Carbon Accounting and Climate Change: Leveraging Eco-digitalization and Governance Dynamics for Environmental Sustainability in Emerging Markets," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(2), pages 4843-4874, April.
    13. Joana Cobbinah & Abednego Osei & Joseph Owusu Amoah, 2026. "Innovating for a Greener Future: Do Digital Transformation and Innovation Capacity Drive Enterprise Green Total Factor Productivity in the Knowledge Economy?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(1), pages 325-363, February.
    14. Liu, Yanqiong & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Green finance policies, resource allocation, and corporate social responsibility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Xu, Jing & Wang, Lu, 2025. "Social responsibility, board composition, and corporate legal risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Adnan Ali & Qian Yang & Xu Jiang, 2026. "Promoting Sustainable Development: Green Strategies and Firm Performance in Emerging Economies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(S1), pages 719-735, January.
    17. Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey & Merve Kilic & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2021. "Board structure, financial performance, corporate social responsibility performance, CSR committee, and CEO duality: Disentangling the connection in healthcare," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1730-1748, November.
    18. Tarcia Camily Cavalcante Quezado & Nuno Fortes & William Quezado Figueiredo Cavalcante, 2022. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics on Brand Fidelity: The Importance of Brand Love and Brand Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    19. Dragana Ostic & Ummar Faruk Saeed & Angelina Kissiwaa Twum & Rahmatu Chibsah, 2025. "Transition Toward a Sustainable Circular Economy: A Perspective on Green Innovation and Governance Policy Using a Novel MMQR Approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 5719-5741, August.
    20. Helfaya, Akrum & Aboud, Ahmed & Amin, Essam, 2023. "An examination of corporate environmental goals disclosure, sustainability performance and firm value – An Egyptian evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7731-7752. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.