Stage of development of a country and CSR disclosure – the latent driving forces

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of various determinants at the country level, the industry level, the firm level and the corporate governance (CG) level on the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the group of developing and developed nations.Design/methodology/approachThe data set comprises 310 companies listed on stock exchanges of developing and developed markets (Brazil – IBrX 100, 42 companies; Russia – Broad Market Index; 48 companies; India – Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 100, 50 companies; China – Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) 180, 27 companies; South Africa – The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All Share index, 49 companies; the USA – New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 100, 47 companies; and the UK – London Stock Exchange (LSE) 100, 47 companies). CSR disclosure is measured through CSR disclosure index. Five separate regression models are run to investigate the impact of the factors that affect the extent of CSR disclosure.FindingsThe findings reveal that CSR disclosure is influenced by factors both at micro and macro levels. Governance environment, globalization and income inequality are found to be significant determinants of CSR disclosure for developing countries. International listing significantly influences CSR disclosure in the developed countries. The results also exhibit that board with large proportion of independent directors, high presence of CSR committee and environmental sensitive industries are more likely to engage in CSR disclosure practices in developing as well as in developed nations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study implicates that varied factors – at country level, industry level, firm level and CG level – need assessment to know their impact differently in countries at different stages of economic development. However, longitudinal study covering longer period would lead to better generalization of results.Practical implicationsThe findings of this present study implicate that managers must evaluate country’s political, social and economic forces and not just rely on company-level indicators affecting disclosure. Policymakers in emerging nations must emphasize on improving country governance features to enhance CSR disclosure of companies. Developing countries must respect and conform to rules and regulations while going global. More endeavors should be made to raise awareness about the benefits of CSR disclosure on reducing income inequality among companies listed on stock exchanges of developing countries. Emerging nations should follow developed nations in assuming responsibility toward stakeholders in foreign markets. This study also recommends regulatory bodies in both developing and developed countries to frame stringent policies regarding CG for improving CSR disclosure by companies.Originality/valueThis study overcomes the limitations of prior literature by considering both country- and company-specific determinants in prominent group of developing (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and developed (the USA and the UK) countries.