Addressing Sustainability Footprint Disclosure for High Pollutant Firms in China and the US : The Roles of Firms Governance Structure, Financing Decisions, and Eco‐Technology

ABSTRACT In a race toward a sustainable future, corporate actions speak louder than words but what drives firms to reveal their true environmental impact? This study uncovers how governance structures and financing decisions shape sustainability footprint disclosure (SFD) among high‐pollutant manufacturing firms in China and the US while exploring the pivotal role of eco‐technology in magnifying these effects. Drawing on agency and resource‐based theories, we dissect governance into structural, diversity, and process attributes, analyzing data from 149 Chinese firms and 158 US firms from 2000 to 2022. We found robust evidence that, regarding the structural attributes board size and CEO duality positively…