Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

The Analysis of Peer Effects in Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure: The Moderating Role of Firm Experience and Size

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hamed Parvizikia
Daruosh Foroghi
Narges Hamidian
Hasan Fattahi Nafchi
Department of Accounting, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
10.22067/ijaaf.2026.47506.1530
Abstract
This study examined the peer effect on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure in industries through imitative and reciprocal mechanisms and assessed the moderating roles of experience and company size. From 2012–2024, 117 different firms were listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, making them part of the statistical sample. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to generate the composite ESG index, and linear regression models were used to evaluate the hypotheses. A company's ESG disclosure was positively affected by its peers' ESG practices, according to the results, which showed a substantial intra-industry peer effect on ESG disclosure. The intra-industry peer impact was unexpectedly amplified by company experience. Large companies operating in the same industry showed mimetic peer influence, whereas small and large companies did not. On the other hand, whereas large and small enterprises were found to have a mimetic peer impact, small firms did not exhibit any reciprocal peer effect. This study took a fresh look at the impact of firms' size and experience as moderators of intra-industry peer effects on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure in Iran, differentiating between reciprocal and imitative dynamics. Policymakers and practitioners can use these findings to improve corporate transparency, and the literature on peer influence in ESG disclosure benefits from them as well.knowledge to enhance responsible accounting functions in the social context.
Keywords
ESG
Experience
Firm Size
Peer Effect
Subjects
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