Power distance, ethical leadership and organisational justice in ESG reporting: A qualitative review of SDG-aligned practices in ASEAN financial firms

Abstract

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure quality among ASEAN financial institutions is structurally uneven, undermining regulatory credibility and weakening stakeholder confidence in sustainability reporting. In this region, cultural determinants, specifically high-power distance, intensify disclosure risks by potentially obscuring governance gaps. Although prior research acknowledges the roles of ethical leadership and organisational justice, their interaction with hierarchical cultural structures remains theoretically underdeveloped, particularly in high-power distance financial environments. This qualitative review synthesises contemporary evidence from ASEAN financial institutions to examine how power distance, ethical leadership, and organisational justice interact to influence ESG transparency. Furthermore, it evaluates how these dynamics align with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). This study adopts a structured qualitative synthesis of peer-reviewed scholarship, ESG indices, and regulatory frameworks published between 2020 and 2025. The synthesis is theoretically anchored in legitimacy theory, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, stakeholder theory, and organisational justice theory. The findings demonstrate that ethical leadership and organisational justice operate as governance mechanisms that structurally attenuate the constraining effects of hierarchical cultures on ESG disclosure integrity. The review concludes that culturally informed governance reforms and robust leadership development are essential for enhancing reporting reliability. The study provides a culturally contingent governance model for strengthening ESG transparency in high-power distance financial systems.