Research investigates how taxonomic disclosures influence ESG reporting quality, suggesting regulatory insights.
Background: ESG activities are increasingly regarded as a critical prerequisite for the long-term survival of humanity. Global and regional efforts have been undertaken to develop and control ESG activities; however, national differences (institutional and social schemes, level of economic development) are still considered to account for most of the variance in ESG performance. On this basis, a research gap was identified and verified to determine whether legal regulations have an impact on the quality of ESG reporting in Poland. The study was further extended by investigating whether taxonomic disclosures affect the quality of ESG reporting. Methods: The CATI and CAVI methods were applied, resulting in the collection of 325 valid responses. In the first stage of the research, the diversity of respondents’ answers was analyzed, according to their sector of activity, using a one-factor analysis of ANOVA variance with Welch and Brown–Forsythe corrections. In the second stage, the Games–Howell Test was employed to determine which sectoral responses differed significantly. The third stage was focused on diagnosing the impact of the sector of activity on respondents’ answers by calculating the eta-squared ratio. Results: The existence of a positive impact of ESG regulatory development on the quality of reporting disclosures was confirmed; nevertheless, this impact was assessed as moderate or weak. When more detailed taxonomic disclosures were considered, no significant influence on the quality of ESG disclosures was identified. An analysis of responses across sectors led to the conclusion that the sectoral perspective does not exert a meaningful influence on stakeholders’ opinions. Conclusions: The presented results are useful at the regulatory level, both internationally and nationally, as they partly legitimize the simplifications and exemptions currently being introduced in ESG reporting. At the same time, while highlighting the potential of the regulations under review, they point to the need for additional efforts to strengthen their impact by enhancing communication and, based on informing and promoting new solutions, emphasizing their potential positive effects and benefits, as well as considering the scope of reporting through selective application. The findings presented are also useful for educational purposes and to other researchers for comparative purposes, providing a basis for research into other determinants of ESG reporting quality.
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Szewieczek et al. (2026) studied this question.
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