Corporate life cycle and sustainability disclosure in 10-K filings: average signaling, local legitimacy

Purpose This study examines how firm life-cycle stages shape sustainability disclosure behavior and investigates whether competing disclosure logics, signaling theory and legitimacy theory, operate differently across stages of corporate development. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of US listed firms from 2009 to 2019, we analyze sustainability-related language embedded in mandatory 10-K filings. Firm life-cycle stages are proxied using both retained earnings to total assets (RE/TA) and cash-flow–based classifications. Sustainability disclosure intensity is measured through textual analysis of 10-K reports, while sustainability performance is captured using ESG scores. We estimate baseline regressions with industry and year fixed effects and conduct robustness analyses, including alternative life-cycle proxies, propensity score matching, and heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors. Findings The results show that mature firms exhibit higher sustainability disclosure intensity, consistent with signaling theory: firms with stronger sustainability performance disclose more to credibly convey their quality. However, further analysis reveals meaningful heterogeneity across life-cycle stages. Growth-stage firms display relatively higher sustainability disclosure despite weaker sustainability performance, a pattern consistent with legitimacy-driven communication. Sensitivity analyses based on cash-flow life-cycle classifications further indicate that while legitimacy considerations dominate in specific stage contrasts, signaling incentives prevail at the aggregate level. Practical implications The findings suggest that sustainability disclosure should be interpreted considering firms' life-cycle positions. Similar disclosure levels may reflect different underlying motivations and economic fundamentals, which has implications for investors, regulators, and other stakeholders. Originality/value This study integrates firm life-cycle theory with disclosure theories and shows that signaling and legitimacy operate jointly but unevenly across stages of corporate development, offering a dynamic perspective on sustainability disclosure behavior.