Does board composition have an impact on CSR reporting?

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting plays a key role in management control, particularly in light of the increased demand for non-financial reporting after the financial crisis of [2008][2009]. This literature review evaluates 47 empirical studies that concentrate on the influence of several board composition variables on the quantity and quality of CSR reporting. The author briefly introduces the research framework that underpins current empirical studies in this field. This is followed by a discussion of the main variables of board composition: (1) committees (audit and CSR committees), (2) board independence, (3) board expertise, (4) CEO duality, (5) board diversity (gender and foreign diversity), (6) board activity, and (7) board size. The author, then, summarizes the key findings, discusses the limitations of the existing research and offers useful recommendations for researchers, firm practice and regulators.

Gender policies on board of directors and sustainable development

“…The number of board meetings, denoted by Nmeeting , is a common variable used in empirical research (Velte, ) as a proxy for board activity. A higher activity might lead to greater attention to CSR problems and could therefore facilitate a correct response to the company's negative social and environmental impact.…”

“…Some of them found a negative relationship between gender diversity and CSR performance (Darus, Isa, Yusoff, & Arshad, ; Fauzi & Locke, ; Majeed, Aziz, & Saleem, ), whereas others found no significant link (Jhunjhunwala & Mishra, ). However, most of them proved that increasing female representation in management positions has a positive influence on CSR performance (Ben‐Amar et al, ; Ciocirlan & Pettersson, ; Dienes & Velte, ; Fernandez‐Feijoo, Romero, & Ruiz‐Blanco, ; Francoeur et al, ; Kyaw et al, ; Liao, Luo, & Tang, ; Liao, Zhang, & Wang, ; Wu, Guang, Xu, & Wang, ), as shown by recent meta‐analysis (Rao & Tilt, ; Velte, ).…”

Board Composition Diversity and Corporate Social Reporting: An Empirical Study in Bangladesh Perspective

“…Frequency of board meeting is used as a common proxy to measure board activity (Velte, 2017). In financial industry like banking sector, it is not clear whether board activity influences CSR reporting.…”

“…in CSR research (Velte, 2017). But board expertise can be logically linked with CSR strategy formulation and implementation.…”

“…Increasing CSR regulation in developed countries (EU or USA) has led to growing research interest on corporate governance issues like board composition in developing countries e.g. Bangladesh, Malaysia (Velte, 2017). This study is aimed to investigate how diversity of board composition with multiple characteristics determines the nature and extent of CSR disclosures in Bangladeshi banking firms.…”