Determinants of corporate sustainability performance
Abstract
The paper studies the antecedents of corporate sustainability performance in a developed market, Australia. The degree of corporate sustainability performance is studied by the presence of companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Australia Index. Based on stakeholder theory, resource-based view, and slack resources perspective, the paper assesses the motivation for Australia listed companies to commit to corporate social activities. This study is based on the sample consisting of 87 public Australia companies listed on the S&P ASX 200 for 5 years from 2015 to 2019. The findings suggest that leading Australia companies are likely to have a larger size, a high level of growth options, and lower leverage ratio.
Keywords: Corporate sustainability performance; Dow Jones Sustainability Australia Index; Stakeholder Theory, Resource-based view, Slake resource perspective.