Hofstede cultural dimensions and sustainable development goals disclosure: Evidence from Europe

This study examines whether national culture is associated with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) disclosure among 1650 firms in 21 EU countries over 2019–2024 (9900 firm-year observations). SDG disclosure is measured as a provider-coded indicator of disclosure breadth: the share of the 17 SDGs that Refinitiv/LSEG codes as addressed in firms' reporting, while culture is captured using Hofstede's six dimensions. Pooled OLS with year and industry fixed effects is complemented by firm- and country-clustered inference, wild-cluster-bootstrap tests and multiple robustness analyses. Indulgence shows the most consistent positive association with SDG disclosure and is the only dimension that remains significant under country-clustered inference after a Holm adjustment for testing six dimensions, although not under the wild-cluster bootstrap. Masculinity is negatively associated and uncertainty avoidance positively associated under firm- and country-clustered inference, but neither survives the wild-cluster bootstrap. Power distance, individualism and long-term orientation show weaker, specification-sensitive associations. Disclosure is also highly persistent over time. The evidence is therefore suggestive rather than robust, and is consistent with persistent cultural heterogeneity in SDG disclosure under increasingly common European reporting pressures. The findings also show the importance of matching statistical inference to the country level at which cultural variables vary and caution against treating disclosure breadth as equivalent to sustainability performance.