The ESG Readiness Index Based on Lewin's Field Theory: The Case of the Czech Industrial Sector

ABSTRACT The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) imposes comprehensive ESG data requirements, yet the literature predominantly evaluates ex‐post reporting quality rather than ex‐ante organizational readiness. Drawing on Kurt Lewin's Field Theory, this study develops and pilot‐tests an expert‐weighted ESG Readiness Index (ESGRI) quantifying the relationship between internal capacities and implementation barriers, with component weights derived from a 12‐member expert panel. Applied to 62 Czech industrial enterprises, the index identifies two dimensions of readiness. Internal capacity increases with enterprise size, with SMEs in particular exhibiting strategic decoupling. Implementation friction largely does not. Organizational friction declines across size classes, whereas no cohort difference was detected in methodological complexity or in data availability. Enterprise size therefore predicts the capacity to report, while no corresponding difference was detected in the availability of data to report on. Because this constraint does not diminish with firm resources, legislative postponement addresses regulatory burden but not the underlying data infrastructure gap.