Financial Management Perspective

Financial Management Perspective

Sustainability Disclosure and Corporate Financial Flexibility: Moderating Role of Economic Policy Uncertainty

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Mohammed Obaid Almasoodi 1
Mahdi Kazemioloum 2
Mohsen Khotanlou 3
1 Ph.D. Student in Accounting, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran,
10.48308/jfmp.2026.244149.1586
Abstract
Abstract

Purpose: Corporate sustainability reporting, which involves disclosing the outcomes of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities, has become increasingly important over the past two decades. Consequently, studying the causes and financial consequences of corporate sustainability reporting has also grown significantly within the fields of finance and accounting. The disclosure of this information, which is generally non-financial, has influenced corporate characteristics and investor decision-making, thereby becoming an interdisciplinary research area. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between sustainability (activities) disclosure and corporate financial flexibility, with an emphasis on the moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty.

Methodology: The target statistical population was selected under certain conditions for statistical analysis, consisting of 101 companies over the period from 2013 to 2024 (1392–1403 in the Persian calendar), totaling 1,212 firm-year observations. Multiple regression models were used to test the hypotheses. The models were estimated using a cross-sectional fixed-effects approach as the primary method, and a complementary approach using year- and industry-fixed effects with cluster correction (to mitigate the effects of heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation on the calculation of regression coefficients) was employed as a robustness check.

Findings: The results of the statistical analyses of the hypotheses showed that sustainability disclosure (ESG) has a direct and significant relationship with the level of corporate financial flexibility. Furthermore, the findings confirmed the significant moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty on the relationship between sustainability disclosure and financial flexibility, such that economic policy uncertainty weakens the relationship between sustainability disclosure and the level of financial flexibility. The findings from additional tests also support the main results and confirm the robustness of the findings.

Conclusion: The findings of this study, while confirming a positive and significant relationship between sustainability disclosure (ESG) and financial flexibility, show that economic policy uncertainty significantly weakens this relationship. This result is of double significance from a theoretical perspective. On the one hand, it supports signaling theory and instrumental stakeholder theory, according to which the disclosure of sustainability information increases a firm's financial resources by reducing information asymmetry and gaining stakeholder trust. On the other hand, the weakening effect of economic policy uncertainty aligns with real options theory, which predicts that under conditions of high uncertainty, firms tend to postpone investments in long-term projects, including sustainability activities, and preserve their liquidity. From a practical perspective, these results warn corporate managers that during periods of high economic uncertainty, relying solely on sustainability disclosure to improve financial flexibility is insufficient, and complementary strategies such as increasing cash reserves and diversifying financing sources must also be pursued. Furthermore, for investors and financial analysts, this finding indicates that under conditions of economic recession or instability, strong ESG performance alone cannot guarantee a firm's financial flexibility, and simultaneous assessment of environmental uncertainty indicators is essential. At the policy level, governments and regulatory bodies should be aware that promoting sustainability disclosure during periods of economic instability, without concurrently reducing policy uncertainty, may not lead to desirable outcomes. Thus, by revealing the weakening role of economic policy uncertainty, this study expands the existing knowledge frontiers in corporate sustainability and opens new avenues for future research on the interaction between macroeconomic risks and firm-level strategies.
Keywords
Sustainability Disclosure
Financial Flexibility
Economic Policy Uncertainty
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