Choices and Drivers of Environmental, Social, and Governance Reporting Practices: A Mixed‐Methods Study of Minnesota's Fortune 500 Firms

ABSTRACT

We examine environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting practices among 16 Minnesota‐based Fortune 500 firms from 2019 to 2024. Using a mixed‐methods design, we combine longitudinal document analysis of ESG reports with grounded theory interviews of ESG practitioners. Findings reveal substantial variation in reporting continuity, framework adoption, and depth. Interviews identify eight interrelated factors shaping reporting decisions: strategic integration, organizational alignment, value creation, ethical resonance, external pressures, regulatory context, continuous learning, and forward progress. Drawing on Bounded Rationality, Political Decision‐Making Theory, and Prospect Theory, we develop a process‐oriented framework explaining how structural and contextual forces influence managerial ESG choices. This study advances ESG disclosure research by showing how reporting practices are negotiated and enacted within organizations. We propose three tiers of empirically grounded recommendations—foundational, strategic, and advanced—to guide firms seeking to strengthen ESG transparency in a dynamic institutional environment.