Do Board Gender Diversity and Non-Executive Directors Affect CSR Reporting? Insight from Agency Theory Perspective

Abstract

Our paper provides a valuable contribution by exploring the following complex phenomenon: Do board gender diversity and reputational incentives of non-executive directors affect corporate social responsibility(CSR) reporting? To this end, we use panel data regression (fixed effect) to examine the above relationship by using data from the 2009 to 2019 timeperiod, by using data from non-financial firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. To deal with the possibility of an endogeneity problem, we have used the two-stage least square (2SLS) regression model. Our empirical results suggest that board gender diversity positively affects CSR reporting. Our study has found that the reputational incentives of non-executive directors improve the CSR reporting. Furthermore, reputational incentives of non-executive directors (NEDs) and CSR reporting are moderated by firm size, this effect being stronger for large firms. Our findings also show that the firm size positively moderates the relationship between gender diversity in boards and CSR reporting. The control variables, namely board size, board member average tenure, leverage, “big 4” and return on assets, have an impact on the firm’s CSR reporting. Therefore, our results contribute towards new aspects in respect to the emerging literature concerning the system of non-executive directors, protection of stakeholder’s interests, and CSR reporting, especially as regards China. Furthermore, our results are robust as concerns alternative measures of variables under consideration.

Assessing the Effect of Board Gender Diversity on CSR Reporting Through Moderating Role of Political Connections in Chinese Listed Firms

“…Findings indicate that the coefficient of SI (β = 0.031, p < 0.05) in Model 1 is statistically significant and positive. These findings support H1 indicating that firms having gender diversity in boards are more likely to involve in CSR reporting and are in total alignment with studies (Hafsi and Turgut, 2013;Yasser et al, 2017;Guping et al, 2020) which also reported a positive association between firms' CSR reporting and BGD. These results imply that Chinese firms having female directors on boards are likely to disclose more CSR-related information because female directors compared to their male counterparts have different values and concerns regarding disclosure of social responsibility-related practices (Bear et al, 2010).…”

“…Besides, few studies have explored firms' CSR reporting behavior regarding BGD, and findings have been inconsistent across institutional contexts. For example, some studies evidenced a positive association between BGD and CSR reporting (Galbreath, 2011;Hafsi and Turgut, 2013;Harjoto et al, 2015;Yasser et al, 2017;Guping et al, 2020). In contrast, several studies reported a negative relationship (Zahra and Stanton, 1988;Molz, 1995), while others found no evidence in support of the BGD and CSR relationship (Coffey and Wang, 1998;Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998).…”

“…For example, Liao et al (2016) and McGuinness et al (2017) discovered that female directors increase firms' willingness to engage in CSR activities. In a recent study, Guping et al (2020) found that BGD has a positive effect on CSR reporting in Chinese firms. Most of the prior research on BGD has concentrated on the underrepresentation of female directors at various board levels.…”

Women in top echelon positions and their effects on sustainability: a review, synthesis and future research agenda

“…160 studies analyse the role of female directors (e.g. Guping et al, 2020;Pucheta-Martinez and Gallego-Alvarez, 2019;Rao & Tilt, 2016a); 24 examine the presence of female managers (e.g. J.…”

The Role of CSR and Ethical Leadership to Shape Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behavior in the Era of Industry 4.0. A Case of the Banking Sector

“…Various researchers have argued about the direct association of CSR and ethical leadership [82][83][84]. To conclude, CSR as a business system can generate real returns for all stakeholders by implementing ethical values and sustainable work practices in an organization [85][86][87][88]. This notion of a socially responsible organization which works in the larger interest of society and the environment is transmitted to the corporate leaders and they, in turn, learn this ethical behavior on their part.…”