Female directors on corporate boards and their impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR): evidence from China

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the determinants of the female representations on Chinese listed firm’s boards. This study also investigates the effect of gender diversity on corporate social responsibility activities. Design/methodology/approach The Tobit regression model is used because the data is censored and using ordinary least square regression can give spurious results. For robust check, the authors also used Heckman’s (1979) two-stage self-selection model to remove the sample self-selection bias. Findings The authors find that the female representations on the corporate board are positively associated with firm age, firm performance, corporate governance, family ownership, institutional ownership and managerial ownership while negatively related to firm size and state ownership. This study also incorporates predictors of the critical mass of women on the Chinese listed firm’s board. The study also tests the female-led hypothesis and concludes that the female representation increases in firms with female chief executive officer (CEO) or female chairpersons. The Chinese listed firms with gender-diverse board are socially responsible. Research limitations/implications The importance of diversity in corporate boards has been demonstrated in light of the agency theory and the resource dependence framework. The results contribute to the previous literature by documenting the determinants of female representations on board, robust by alternative measures of gender diversity, firm size, corporate governance and estimation techniques. Practical implications The economic significance of gender diversity stirred the firms to increase female representation. The policymakers can understand the reasons for female underrepresentation in Chinese boards and can reform the regulation to enhance governance quality, non-state ownership and risk aversion among the listed firms. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the key predictor of the world’s largest emerging economy, specifically the study focuses on the firm specific determinants, different governance attributes, ownership structure and firm risk measures. This study also seeks to answer if the presence of a female in the Chairperson or CEO position encourages the firms to hire more female directors or not?

Disparities in ESG reporting by emerging Chinese enterprises: evidence from a global financial center

“…With reference to agency theory, corporate governance involving gender diversity with advisory skills and professional knowledge on the board can reduce agency problems, leading to managerial accountability, effective monitoring and effective corporate decision making (Arayssi et al , 2020; Eisenhardt, 1989; Khidmat et al , 2021). Based on our findings, the presence and participation of female directors on boards positively affects ECEs’ ESG reporting in all ownership types in the Hong Kong context.…”

“…Drawing upon agency theory, gender diversity can also mitigate agency problems and managerial expropriations, leading to managerial accountability and effective monitoring (Eisenhardt, 1989; Khidmat et al , 2021). Female executives tend to be process-oriented and engage in participative communication with other stakeholders to avoid information asymmetry, thus increasing their organizations’ involvement in social activities (e.g.…”

“…During the same period, its regional rivals, such as the Singapore Stock Exchange and the Bursa Malaysia Stock Exchange, were ranked 16th and 15th, respectively (Corporate Knights, 2017). There have been various studies about MNCs and ESG reporting in developed Western countries, such as the US, the UK and France (Cho et al , 2015b; Harjoto and Wang, 2020; Tamimi and Sebastianelli, 2017), and other studies have examined the relation between SOEs and ESG disclosure in emerging Asian markets, particularly in the Chinese context (Gulzar et al , 2019; Kakabadse et al , 2010; Khidmat et al , 2021; Lu and Zhu, 2020). SOEs are often controlled and regulated by a country’s political institutions and expected to meet the pertinent compliance requirements.…”

Are the Sins of the Father the Sins of the Sons, but Not the Daughters? Exploring How Leadership Gender and Generation Impact the Corporate Social Responsibility of Franchise Firms

“…Moreover, leadership generation has been shown to be as a key factor for CSR decision-making [24][25][26]. Within the family business literature, the gender of the leader has also gained special importance in the CSR field [27,28]. Other academics such as Uhlaner et al (2004) [29] have gone a step further by analysing the gender-generation interrelationship in the field of CSR.…”

Does female representation on corporate boards boost the strengthening of internal control in socially responsible firms?

“…Indeed, it is the identification of Investment Management and Financial Innovations, Volume 19, Issue 4, 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/imfi.19 (4).2022. 24 synergistic or antagonistic relationships between various elements of management and governance of a firm that can contribute to increasing the efficiency of this activity (Nord et al, 2022;Zaman et al, 2021).…”