Firms’ Board Independence and Corporate Social Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of organizations' board independence on corporate social performance (CSP) using a meta-analytic approach. A sample of 87 published papers is used to identify a set of underlying moderating effects in that relationship. Specifically, differences in the system of corporate governance, CSP measurement models and market conditions have been considered as moderating variables. The results show that the independence of a company's board positively influences CSP. This is because companies with more independent directors in their boards are more likely to commit to stakeholder engagement, environmental preservation and community well-being. Interestingly, the results also show that the positive connection between board independence and CSP is stronger in civil law countries and when CSP is measured by self-reporting data. Finally, the strength of the influence of the independence of a firm's board on CSP varies significantly in different market conditions. The paper concludes by presenting the main implications for academics, practitioners and policy makers.

CEO Tenure, CEO Compensation, Corporate Social and Environmental Performance in China: The Moderating Role of Coastal and Non-coastal Areas

“…We control the percentage of independent directors observing firm performance. Independent boards are accountable for protecting the shareholders' interests, whereas organizations with an extended number of independent boards more actively execute social practices (Ortas et al, 2017). The extant literature documents a positive and significant association between ownership concentration (OWNR CONCN) and social practices (Wang et al, 2013;Lahouel et al, 2014), while previous literature further evaluates and finds a negative impact of ownership concentration on social practices (Dam and Scholtens, 2013).…”

Independent Directors and Organizational Performance: New Evidence from A Meta-Analytic Regression Analysis

“…Following Siddiqui [91] and Ortas, Álvarez, & Zubeltzu. [24] we have grouped corporate governance systems into two categories: (i) Common law systems, and (ii) civil or codified law systems. The civil or codified law system was taken as the baseline case.…”

Responsabilidad social corporativa y gobernanza: una revisión

“…El tamaño, la diversidad de género de la junta y los comités de la junta de rsc fomentan la divulgación; mientras que la independencia de la junta desalienta esta presentación de informes. También Ortas et al (2017) determinaron, desde un análisis metanalítico, que la independencia de la junta directiva influye positivamente en la presentación de los reportes de rsc. Esto se debe a que las empresas con directores más independientes en sus juntas tienen más probabilidades de comprometerse con la participación de los interesados, la preservación del medio ambiente y el bienestar de la comunidad.…”