Factors Influencing Levels of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure by Libyan Firms: A Mixed Study

Abstract

This paper explores whether company age, industry type and company size have a potential influence on levels of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD) in the annual reports of Libyan companies. In this study quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data to determine the level CSRD in Libyan firms. Hypotheses are tested using regression analysis on a sample of 40 annual reports from Libyan companies' from 2007 to 2009. In addition, thirty one of the financial managers and information managers express their perceptions about the determinants of CSRD in Libya. The quantitative findings reveal that there is a positive relationship between company age and industry type and the level of CSRD. The qualitative findings show a positive relationship between all factors influencing levels of CSRD used in this study and level of CSRD in Libyan companies.

Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: An Empirical Study of Polish Listed Companies

“…A variety of determinants can influence company CSR participation, and understanding these processes is essential [44]. The factors that influence the scope of CSR disclosures have been extensively discussed in prior literature.…”

“…The way factors from each of the above mentioned group are used in studies varies, e.g., the determinants included in Giannarakis [15] study comprised: the board meetings, average age of board members, presence of women on the board, the board's size, chief executive officer duality, financial leverage, profitability, the company's size, the board's composition, and the board's commitment to CSR. The potential influence of such determinants as the company's age, industry type, and company size on levels of CSR disclosure of Libyan companies was investigated by Bayoud et al [44], and the purpose of Siregar's and Bachtiar's [43] study was to investigate the effect of board size, foreign ownership, firm size, profitability, and leverage on CSR reporting. Less common determinants, such as media exposure, were included in Reverte's [41] and Branco and Rodrigues [52] studies, and the influence of multiple exchange listing was investigated by Hossain and Reaz [54] and Haniffa and Cooke [47].…”

“…The factors that influence the scope of CSR disclosures have been extensively discussed in prior literature. Studies we refer to in this paper often focus on one country, e.g., US (Giannarakis [8,15]), Libya (Bayoud et al [44]), Malaysia (Rahman et al [45]; Said et al [46]; Haniffa and Cooke [47]), Egypt (Hussainey et al [48]), Bangladesh (Rouf [49]; Khan [50]), Indonesia (Siregar and Bachtiar [43]), Germany (Verbeeten et al [42]; Gamerschlag et al [51]), Spain (Reverte [41]); Portugual (Branco and Rodrigues [52]), Sweden (Tagesson et al [53]), and India (Hossain and Reaz [54]). In addition, a cross-country analysis is performed by Ho and Taylor [55], who investigated the CSR disclosure of 50 of the largest US and Japanese companies.…”

“…The researchers often use content analysis and develop their own disclosure indexes in order to measure the extent of CSR disclosures (e.g., Verbeeten et al [42]; Bayoud et al [44]; Rahman et al [45]; Said et al [46]; Haniffa and Cooke [47]; Hussainey et al [48]; Rouf [49]; Khan [50]; Gamerschlag et al [51]; Tagesson et al [53]; Ho and Taylor [55]). However, Giannarakis [8,15] used as a proxy for the extent of CSR disclosure the environmental, social, and governance disclosure score calculated by Bloomberg, while Reverte's [41] data on CSR disclosure ratings come from the Observatory on Corporate Social Responsibility (OCSR).…”

The Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: The Case of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia

“…The firm size for Malaysian GLCs is a significant item to measure the disclosure of CSR information (Abd Rahman et al, 2011). Nevertheless, study by Bayoud, Kavanagh, & Slaughter (2012) found that levels of CSR disclosure do not seem to be affected by company size in Libyan companies.…”