Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to analyze the effects of voting ownership concentration on the social and environmental disclosure of Brazilian companies in their Annual Financial Statements. Design/methodology/approach – Econometric models were estimated considering a sample of 1,252 annual observations of 252 companies in the period 2010-2014, and the social and environmental disclosure was measured through a lexical analysis performed by counting 75 words and key expressions related to social and environmental practices. Findings – Our findings suggest that the social and environmental disclosure of Brazilian companies is positively correlated with their voting ownership concentration. In addition, if the company is listed in the Corporate Sustainability Index or if it is in a potentially aggressive industry with respect to the environment, this also positively contributes to a higher degree of social and environmental disclosure. Originality/value – Our study contributes to the literature on social and environmental disclosure and its association with ownership structure by providing evidence in an emerging market characterized by a high concentration of control.
Highlights
Climate change, international environmental conferences, and environmental accidents have been important factors for the increase in stakeholders’ demands for firms’ social and environmental disclosure (Fernandes, 2013)
Dante Baiardo Cavalcante Viana Junior /Vicente Lima Crisóstomo disclosure, and the reality of excess power in the hands of controlling shareholders arising from a high ownership concentration, which favors the prevalence of their interests, as is the case in Brazil, this study tries to answer the following research question: What is the influence of ownership concentration on firms’ social and environmental disclosure? the objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the voting ownership concentration on the social and environmental disclosure of the Brazilian firms listed in the B3 exchange in the period 2010-2014
This study investigated the effect of voting ownership concentration on the social and environmental disclosure of Brazilian firms
Summary
International environmental conferences, and environmental accidents have been important factors for the increase in stakeholders’ demands for firms’ social and environmental disclosure (Fernandes, 2013). Many benefits are expected by firms due to the adoption of social and environmental disclosure practices, such as a reduction in cost of capital (Gamerschlag, Moller, & Verbeeten, 2011), an improvement in corporate reputation (Cardoso, De Luca, & Gallon, 2014), and a reduction in market value uncertainty (Dhaliwal, Li, Tsang, & Yang, 2011). The Legitimacy Theory suggests that voluntary disclosure practices are motivated by the pursuit of legitimacy by the firm (Suchman, 1995) In light of these theories, research has sought the determinants of social and environmental disclosure. São Paulo v.21 n.4 oct-dec. 2019 p. 906-927
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