Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the pillars of sustainable development. It is the key to operationalizing the strategic role of business in contributing towards the sustainability process. The fact that firms communicate their activities about economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social equity shows their commitment to society and their stakeholders. This paper analyzes the influence exerted by the composition of boards of directors on corporate social responsibility disclosure with reference to those companies that undertook an initial public offerings (IPO) in the Spanish capital market during the period 1998–2013. The empirical evidence provided by this study shows that ownership structure and board characteristics are relevant in the context of a firm’s CSR disclosure. The independent directors, non-executive directors, and large shareholder representatives affect the way in which their companies voluntarily disclose information regarding CSR. Our results lend support for a non-linear relationship between the proportion of shares in the IPO belonging to the members of the board of directors and the level of CSR reporting. We also find that the underwriter’s reputation has a positive and statistically significant influence on CSR disclosure for Spanish IPOs.
Highlights
Corporate social responsibility ( CSR) has been the subject of numerous studies on a worldwide scale
We propose CSR disclosure as the dependent variable (namely corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD)), which takes a value of one if a company issues a report about CSR in the initial public offerings (IPO), and zero otherwise
We delve deeper than prior research because we analyze the influence of board composition and ownership structure on CSR disclosure for those companies that undertook an IPO in the Spanish capital market during the period 1998–2013
Summary
Corporate social responsibility ( CSR) has been the subject of numerous studies on a worldwide scale. Research in this field has mainly focused on the determinants of CSR, as well as on examining the effects of various aspects of corporate financial performance. The latter indicates that corporations tend to act in socially responsible ways if normative or cultural institutions are in place, creating the proper incentives to act responsibly. CSR is one of the pillars of sustainable development. It is the key to operationalizing the strategic role of business in contributing towards the sustainability process
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