This study investigates the relationship between dividends and ownership structure for a panel of 330 large quoted UK firms. Controlling for unobserved firm-specific effects, results indicate a negative relationship between dividends and ownership concentration. Ownership composition also matters, with a positive relationship observed for shareholding by insurance companies, and a negative one for individuals. These results are consistent with agency models in which dividends substitute for poor monitoring by a firm's shareholders but can also be explained by the presence of powerful principals who are able to impose their preferred payout policy upon firms.

Although the relationship between board gender diversity and a firm’s financial performance has been investigated before, the current study provides a valuable contribution by exploring the complex phenomenon of the mediating impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance on a firm’s financial performance. The current study aims to explore whether corporate social responsibility (represented by the proxy variable of CSR reporting) mediates the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and firm performance. We use the pooled ordinary least square (OLS) regression to examine the above relationship by using data from 2008 to 2015. To control the likelihood of endogeneity we also use one-year lagged and two-stage least square (2SLS) regression models. Our results show that boardroom gender diversity is significant, positively correlated with firm performance, and CSR fully mediates the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and firm performance. In addition, four control variables (independent director, Chief executive officer (CEO power), board member meeting frequency, Big4, and leverage) have some influence on firm performance. These findings hold for a set of robustness tests. Our findings have the implication for the investors and regulators. For investors, our results show that the existence of female directors on the board can improve the firm performance. For regulators, our results advise the worldwide policy maker to give the importance to boardroom gender diversity. The paper contributes to the existing studies, by pioneering the investigations of the mediating role of CSR in the relation between boardroom gender diversity and firm performance in Chinese context.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance and the moderating role of earnings management on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study used the updated data set (3,481 unbalanced observations for period 2009–2015) from Chinese listed companies on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. The generalized method of moments (GMM) statistical approach has been used for the analysis. The authors utilized STATA to test GMM on a sample of Chinese listed firms data over the period 2009–2015. The unbalanced sample obtained 3,481 observations from China stock market and accounting research database and CSR ratings provided by Rankins (RKS). Findings The results demonstrated that CSR has a positive and significant relationship with firm’s performance; also, earnings management has a negatively moderate relationship between CSR and firm performance. These results imply that a high value of earnings management, which results in high level of symbolic CSR, converts to low firm performance of the Chinese firms. CSR actions (only as symbolic measures) promoted by managers as a means to cover their profit management incite an adverse effect on the company’s performance. This study has highlighted the impact of two different corporate social responsibilities: substantive and symbolic (genuine CSR vs greenwashing) on firm performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this investigation will be of distinct interest to company owners who wish to ascertain the effectiveness of the sustainability decisions of directors and managers, and also to investors and public authorities to estimate the positive relationship between CSR and company’s reputation and image, and thus, the positive influence on firm performance. Originality/value Previous studies have generally focused on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. This study provides the impact of earnings management (measurement of both aspects of accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management) on this relationship. Furthermore, this study examines the state of CSR in the Chinese market and provides empirical evidence of this relationship in emerging markets.

This study aims to investigate whether firm performance influences corporate social responsibility reporting of Chinese listed companies. We have used the sample of all A-share listed firms on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges for the period 2008 to 2015. The authors used pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression as a baseline methodology. To control the possible problem of endogeneity we use one year lagged and two-stage least squares regression. We find that firm performance has a statistically significant impact on CSR reporting. Moreover, we see that firms with high performance are more likely to report CSR activities than low-performance firms. Additionally, five of the control variables (board size, CEO power, SOE, firm size, and Big4) have some influence on CSR reporting. These findings hold for a set of robustness tests. Our results have implications for the development of CSR reporting in developing countries like China. Our research suggests that, in China, companies with better financial performance undertake more CSR reporting. The paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating the effect of firm performance on CSR reporting of Chinese listed companies. Additionally, this paper enriches the current literature on CSR reporting and highlights the importance of a firm's financial performance for better environmental performance and reporting.