Determinants of sustainability reporting: the role of company size-a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Against the backdrop of increasingly stringent European regulation on sustainability, non-financial reporting has become a critical tool for companies and for corporate transparency. This study examines the role of company size as a determinant of the quality of ESG reporting and examines the interdependencies between financial performance indicators and transparency. This aim is to identify the intellectual structure, chronological development, and main thematic group that define this field within the Web of Science database. This study adopts a bibliometric analysis of a composite sample of primary research articles. The analysis was conducted using keywords co-occurrence and network analysis techniques with the help of Vosviewer. The data was segmented to highlight the distribution across Web of Science and the trends in the number of publications from 2020 to 2026. We conducted a systematic search of the Web of Science database using the following keywords: "sustainability reporting," "size," and "firm size", resulting in 469 articles. As a result, the temporal analysis indicates an exponential increase in interest. The bibliometric mapping also reveals several thematic clusters focused on ESG disclosure, corporate governance, transparency, and firm characteristics, highlighting the increasing importance of company size as a determinant of sustainability reporting practices. This article provided an overview of the intellectual structure of literature on sustainability reporting, highlighting the critical role that firm size plays in ensuring the quality and transparency of non-financial information.