CEO CHARACTERISTICS AND ESG DISCLOSURE

Abstract

Abstrak Background: Growing environmental, social, and governance concerns in Indonesia have increased pressure on publicly listed companies to enhance ESG transparency, yet research on how CEO level characteristics influence ESG disclosure remains limited, with prior studies predominantly focusing on firm level factors. Grounded in Upper Echelons Theory, which posits that strategic decisions reflect the personal attributes of top executives.Objective: to examine the effect of CEO characteristics include age, gender, international background, and narcissism on ESG disclosure in publicly listed companies in Indonesia during the 2021–2023 period.Research Methods: This study uses a quantitative approach with secondary data from annual reports, Refinitiv Eikon, and the Indonesia Stock Exchange, analyzed using multiple linear regression with SPSS to examine the effect of CEO characteristics on ESG disclosureResearch Results: The research results show that CEO gender, international background, and narcissism have a positive and significant effect on ESG disclosure, while CEO age has no significant effect, implying that CEO personal characteristics play an important role in shaping corporate sustainability disclosure and can be used by investors, regulators, and stakeholders to evaluate ESG transparencyOriginality/Novelty of Research: This research examining four CEO characteristics include age, gender, international background, and narcissism as determinants of ESG disclosure in the Indonesian context, extending Upper Echelons Theory to an emerging market setting where such individual level executive factors remain underexplored