International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management
Quarterly Publication

Green accounting, financial slack, and firm value: The moderating role of institutional ownership

Articles in Press

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

M. A. I
L. Lindrianasari

Master of Accounting Program, School of Accounting, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasing investor attention to sustainability has intensified the need to understand how environmental practices and financial flexibility influence firm value, particularly in resource-based industries. Previous findings remain inconsistent, while the governance role of institutional ownership has not been sufficiently examined. This study investigates the effects of green accounting and financial slack on firm value and assesses whether institutional ownership strengthens these relationships.
METHODS: This study used a quantitative panel-data design covering 309 firm-year observations from 108 resource-based public companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand during 2022–2024. Data were obtained from annual reports, sustainability reports, Refinitiv, and official stock-exchange sources. Firm value was measured using Tobin’s Q, green accounting using the Environmental Pillar Score, financial slack using operating cash flow divided by total assets, and institutional ownership using the percentage of institutionally held shares. A random-effects model with firm-clustered robust standard errors was employed.
FINDINGS: Green accounting showed a positive but statistically non-significant relationship with firm value, while financial slack had a positive and statistically significant effect. Return on assets also showed a significant positive effect. Institutional ownership did not significantly moderate either the green accounting–firm value relationship or the financial slack–firm value relationship.
CONCLUSION: Financial slack appears to be a more robust determinant of firm value than green accounting. Institutional ownership alone does not necessarily strengthen governance monitoring, indicating the importance of institutional engagement quality rather than ownership proportion alone.

Keywords

Financial Slack
Firm Value
Green Accounting
Institutional Ownership
Tobin's Q
Subjects

OPEN ACCESS

©2027 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: 

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

PUBLISHER NOTE
Tehran Urban Research & Planning Centre (TURPC) takes a neutral position about claims on disputed territories, place names, international boundaries, jurisdiction in published maps, and institutional affiliations. TURPC is committed to retracting a paper after its publication if it becomes apparent that there are serious problems in its content, in terms of research and publication ethics (https://www.ijhcum.net/journal/process?ethics).

CITATION METRICS & CAPTURES

Google Scholar | DOAJ | Scopus | EBSCO | Internet Archive |Twitter |Mendeley  

CURRENT PUBLISHER

 Tehran Urban Research and Planning Center: Tehran Municipality

 

ACMF, (2021). ASEAN capital markets forum. ASEAN Capital Markets Forum, Manila, Philippines.
Al-Dhaimesh, O.H., (2020). Green accounting practices and economic value added: an applied study on companies listed on the Qatar stock exchange. Int. J. Energy Econ. Policy, 10(6): 164-168 (5 pages).
Asni, N.; Agustia, D., (2022). The mediating role of financial performance in the relationship between green innovation and firm value: evidence from ASEAN countries. Eur. J. Innov. Manage., 25(5): 1328-1347 (20 pages).
Bagh, T.; Hunjra, A.I.; Ntim, C.G.; Naseer, M.M., (2025). Capitalizing on risk: how corporate financial flexibility, investment efficiency, and institutional ownership shape risk-taking dynamics. Int. Rev. Econ. Finance, 99: 104068 (Article 104068).
Baltagi, B.H., (2021). Econometric analysis of panel data. Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland.
Barney, J., (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. J. Manage., 17(1): 99-120 (22 pages).
Block, S.; Emerson, J.W.; Esty, D.C.; de Sherbinin, A.; Wendling, Z.A., (2024). 2024 environmental performance index. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, New Haven, CT, USA.
Bourgeois, L.J., (1981). On the measurement of organizational slack. Acad. Manage. Rev., 6(1): 29-39 (11 pages).
Creswell, J.W.; Creswell, J.D., (2022). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA.
Danila, N., (2026). Do ESG factors matter? An analysis of abnormal stock returns in ASEAN-5 countries. Asian J. Account. Res., in press: 1-17 (17 pages).
Das, S., (2019). Cash flow ratios and financial performance: a comparative study. Account., 5(1): 1-20 (20 pages).
de Roo, M.; Wickert, C.; van der Laan, G.; Elfring, T.; Zapkau, F.B., (2025). Examining the financial slack-corporate social performance relationship across countries: the influence of formal institutions. J. Int. Manage., 31(6): 101278 (Article 101278).
Faria, J.R.; Tindall, G.; Terjesen, S., (2022). The green Tobin’s q: theory and evidence. Energy Econ., 110: 106033 (Article 106033) (15 pages).
Fernando, K.; Jocelyn, H.; Frista, F.; Kurniawan, B., (2024). The effect of green accounting disclosure on the firm value of listed mining and agriculture companies in Southeast Asia countries. Int. J. Energy Econ. Policy, 14(1): 377-382 (6 pages).
Ghozali, I., (2018). Aplikasi analisis multivariate dengan program IBM SPSS 25. Badan Penerbit Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia.
Gray, R.; Kouhy, R.; Lavers, S., (1995). Corporate social and environmental reporting. Account. Audit. Account. J., 8(2): 47-77 (31 pages).
Hart, S.L.; Dowell, G., (2011). Invited editorial: a natural-resource-based view of the firm. J. Manage., 37(5): 1464-1479 (16 pages).
Huang, J.; Han, F.; Li, Y., (2025). The impact of institutional investors’ ESG concerns on corporate ESG disclosure: evidence from site visits. Finance Res. Lett., 76: 106957 (Article 106957).
IFRS Foundation, (2023). Introduction to the ISSB and IFRS sustainability disclosure standards. IFRS Foundation, London, UK.
Jensen, M.C.; Meckling, W.H., (1976). Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. J. Financ. Econ., 3(4): 305-360 (56 pages).
Lu, L.-H.; Wong, P.-K., (2019). Performance feedback, financial slack and the innovation behavior of firms. Asia Pac. J. Manage., 36(4): 1079-1109 (31 pages).
Marheni; Khan, M.A.; Syahid, M.; Fadly, M.; Khusnah, H., (2026). Board independence, institutional ownership, and CEO duality as drivers of ESG performance in Southeast Asia: the moderating role of board gender diversity in strong versus weak regulatory environments. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manage., 33(3): 4383-4398 (16 pages).
Mongabay, (2024). Allegations widen against Indonesian palm oil giant Astra Agro Lestari. Mongabay, 9 July 2024.
Naseer, M.M.; Khan, M.A.; Bagh, T.; Guo, Y.; Zhu, X., (2024). Firm climate change risk and financial flexibility: drivers of ESG performance and firm value. Borsa Istanbul Rev., 24(1): 106-117 (12 pages).
PineBridge Investments, (2025). Midyear Asia equity outlook: tackling uncertainty. PineBridge Investments, New York, NY, USA.
Rizal, M.; Muftiadi, R.A.; Taryana, A., (2026). Integration of ESG principles in business law: why should Indonesian companies care? Soc. Sci. Humanit. Open, 13: 102447 (Article 102447).
Ross, S.A., (1977). The determination of financial structure: the incentive-signalling approach. Bell J. Econ., 8(1): 23-40. (18 Pages)
Salisa, M.R.; Mardiati, E.; Rahman, A.F., (2024). The influence of green accounting, corporate social responsibility, and profitability on company value moderated by good corporate governance. Int. J. Account. Bus. Soc., 32(2): 198-213 (16 pages).
Schaltegger, S.; Burritt, R.L., (2010). Sustainability accounting for companies: catchphrase or decision support for business leaders? J. World Bus., 45(4): 375-384 (10 pages).
Sukmadilaga, C.; Winarningsih, S.; Yudianto, I.; Lestari, T.U.; Ghani, E.K., (2023). Does green accounting affect firm value? Evidence from ASEAN countries. Int. J. Energy Econ. Policy, 13(2): 509-515 (7 pages).
Treepongkaruna, S.; Suttipun, M., (2026). The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting on corporate profitability: evidence from Thailand. J. Financ. Rep. Account., 24(2): 815-841 (27 pages).
Vanacker, T.; Collewaert, V.; Zahra, S.A., (2017). Slack resources, firm performance, and the institutional context: evidence from privately held European firms. Strateg. Manage. J., 38(6): 1305-1326 (22 pages).
Zhang, Y.; Sun, Z.; Sun, M., (2022). Unabsorbed slack resources and enterprise innovation: the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty and managerial ability. Sustainability, 14(7): 3782 (Article 3782).

LETTERS TO EDITOR

International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management (IJHCUM) welcomes letters to the editor for the post-publication discussions and corrections which allows debate post publication on its site, through the Letters to Editor. Letters pertaining to manuscript published in IJHCUM should be sent to the editorial office of IJHCUM within three months of either online publication or before printed publication, except for critiques of original research. Following points are to be considering before sending the letters (comments) to the editor.


[1] Letters that include statements of statistics, facts, research, or theories should include appropriate references, although more than three are discouraged.

[2] Letters that are personal attacks on an author rather than thoughtful criticism of the author’s ideas will not be considered for publication.

[3] Letters can be no more than 300 words in length.

[4] Letter writers should include a statement at the beginning of the letter stating that it is being submitted either for publication or not.

[5] Anonymous letters will not be considered.

[6] Letter writers must include their city and state of residence or work.

[7] Letters will be edited for clarity and length.

Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.
International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 07 October 2026

  • Receive Date 04 June 2026
  • Revise Date 25 August 2026
  • Accept Date 06 October 2026

Home

Authorship

Submit Manuscript

Indexing and Abstracting

Editorial Board

Unrestricted Reuse in Compliance with BOAI

Open Access Policy

Self-Archiving Policy

Privacy Statement

Publisher Business Model

Publisher and Sponsor

Contact Us