CEO Regulatory Focus and Corporate Sustainability Transparency: The Moderated‐Mediating Model of Board Environmental Orientation and Corporate Environmental Regulation

ABSTRACT

This study provides novel evidence on how CEOs' regulatory focus shapes corporate sustainability transparency through internal governance mechanisms and institutional context. Specifically, we examine the influence of CEO regulatory focus distinguishing between promotion and prevention orientations on sustainability transparency, with board environmental orientation as a mediating mechanism and environmental regulation as a contextual factor. Using a large sample of 18,187 firm‐year observations from non‐financial firms across the Asia‐Pacific region over the period 2018–2024, the results reveal contrasting effects: prevention‐focused CEOs significantly enhance sustainability transparency, while promotion‐focused CEOs are associated with lower levels of transparency. Further analysis shows that board environmental orientation partially mediates this relationship by translating CEOs' psychological orientations into concrete governance practices that support ESG disclosure. In contrast, environmental regulation does not exhibit a consistent direct moderating effect but operates more indirectly by reinforcing governance alignment in stricter regulatory environments. Overall, this study contributes to the sustainability governance literature by integrating managerial psychology with governance mechanisms in a pluralistic institutional context. It highlights that sustainability transparency is not only driven by external pressures but also by the interaction between executive cognition and internal governance structures.