The role of human and social board capital in driving CSR reporting

Bel‐Oms³

2019

Bus Strat Env

Previous empirical evidence has shown the effect of most corporate governance mechanisms on corporate social responsibility and environmental disclosure. However, there is scant empirical evidence that examines the influence of liberal countries, developed market economies, and board structures on environmental disclosure.Thus, this research aims to explore how liberal and developed countries and board structures affect environmental reporting. We hypothesise a linear and positive association between companies located in countries with liberal and developed market economies and environmental reporting. Moreover, we hypothesise that one-tier board structures negatively affect environmental disclosure. Focusing on 13,100 companies domiciled in 39 different countries from 2005 to 2015, it is established that those companies located in liberal and developed economies are more likely to disclose environmental information, whereas one-tier boards have a negative effect.

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 80%

Board structures, liberal countries, and developed market economies. Do they matter in environmental reporting? An international outlook

Bel‐Oms³

2019

Bus Strat Env

“…The environmental items were focused on innovation, resource use, and emissions, whereas the social items refer to four fields: human rights, product responsibility, workforce, and community. The second dependent variable was board‐specific skills, denoted by B_SPECI_SKILLS, representing the percentage of board members with an industry‐specific background (Ramón‐Llorens, García‐Meca, & Pucheta‐Martínez, ). The third dependent variable used was the proportion of female board directors, labelled as WBOARD.…”

Section: Empirical Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varieties of capitalism, corporate governance mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement: An overview of coordinated and liberal market economies

Corp Soc Responsibility Env

Bel‐Oms

2019

This paper examines those aspects of national institutions that affect corporate governance mechanisms at international level. The study uses the “varieties of capitalism” approach, which is concerned with the way companies interact strategically to solve the coordination problems arising from their activities. This research is based on a sample of countries operating in coordinated market economies and liberal market economies. The data were collected from the Thomson Reuters database. The findings suggest that the institutional context is associated with several corporate governance mechanisms. Specifically, our results find that the proportion of female directors on boards and the presence of corporate governance committees are higher in firms operating in liberal market economies than in those domiciled in coordinated market economies. Regarding the disclosure of corporate social responsibility information, the evidence shows that it is not affected by the varieties of capitalism measured, whereas board‐specific skills are higher in the latter than in the former. This paper offers empirical evidence at international level for the varieties of capitalism that contribute to better corporate governance structures. With regard to managerial implications, our findings show that belonging (or not) to a specific variety of capitalism impacts various mechanisms of corporate governance.

“…The variable of female directors is denoted by FMLEBOARD and is measured as the ratio between the total number of women directors on a board and the total number of directors on that board (e.g., Grosvold & Brammer, ). The variable of board members with specific skills is labelled as B_SPECI_SKILLS and is measured as the proportion of directors on a board who have an industry‐specific background or industry‐specific skills (Ramón‐Llorens, García‐Meca, & Pucheta‐Martínez, ). Our two moderating variables will result from the product of CME with FMLEBOARD (CME × FMLEBOARD) and CME with B_SPECI_SKILLS (CME × B_SPECI_SKILLS).…”

Section: Empirical Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental strategy in the global banking industry within the varieties of capitalism approach: The moderating role of gender diversity and board members with specific skills

2019

Bus Strat Env

This research sets out to analyse environmental disclosure in the banking industry by considering the varieties of capitalism framework. This approach is concerned with the way companies interact strategically to resolve coordination issues arising from their operations, and it is supported by prior research. This is a fruitful perspective for exploring the association between country-level factors and disclosure by firms, such as environmental reporting. This research is based on an international sample of countries operating in coordinated market economies (CMEs) and liberal market economies (LMEs). The results obtained show that financial institutions operating in CME countries are involved in more environmental matters than banks domiciled in LME countries. As regards the moderating variables, the evidence shows that women on the boards of banks in CME countries encourage the reporting of environmental information, as predicted. Nonetheless, and contrary to our expectations, members with specific skills on boards within CME cultures do not favour greater disclosure of environmental information compared with those on boards of banks operating in LME contexts. KEYWORDSbanking industry, board members with specific skills, coordinated market economies, environmental disclosure, gender diversity, liberal market economies, varieties of capitalism