While the effect of culture on finance and management has been well documented in the literature, it is unclear whether and by which channel(s) ethnic diversity affects corporate social responsibility (CSR). Integrating social identity theory and neo-institutional theory, we investigate the ethnic diversity–CSR relation and explore potential mechanisms and boundary conditions. Based on the distribution of ethnic groups across different regions in China, We find that ethnic diversity negatively affects firms’ CSR performance. We document that social trust mediates the negative (...) ethnic diversity–CSR relationship, and linguistic diversity strengthens and marketization mitigates this relation. The results are robust for potential endogeneity and alternative measures of ethnic diversity and CSR performance. Our study highlights the impact of ethnic diversity on corporate behaviors, and provides practical and ethical implications on CSR promotion. (shrink)

Building on agency and resource-based view theories, this study investigates the level of environmental disclosure (ED) practices of family versus non-family firms and explores the moderating role of board gender diversity. We test our hypotheses on a 3-year (2018–2020) panel data sample comprising 324 observations of Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises traded on the Euronext Growth Milan. Findings show that, compared to non-family firms, companies with a family firm status are characterized by lower levels of ED. Gender diversity on the (...) board, however, moderates this relationship, reducing this gap, to the extent that the family firm status is associated with higher ED when the number of women directors is high enough to constitute a critical mass. We consequently contribute to the studies on family business, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. (shrink)

The effects of climate change are far reaching and widespread. As the issue continues to batter the world, the call for mitigation initiatives is becoming louder. In responding to this call we take a multidisciplinary approach to examining board diversity as an innovative solution in tackling climate change. Utilizing data from 69 fossil fuel organizations, our findings suggest that increasing female representation and foreign culture representation on the board can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the main contributor to climate change. (...) In part, this is achieved through responsible leadership and innovation. Our contributions reach beyond traditional board diversity literature, where the benefits of diversity are confined primarily to a discussion of corporate social responsibilities. Instead, we depict the benefits of board diversity as a direct lever in mitigating climate change. We propose that this is through the diversified board's enhanced ability to identify stakeholder needs and, subsequently, conceive of more effective and responsibly innovative solutions. (shrink)

This study investigates the influence of old directors on corporate social responsibility (CSR) using roughly 25,000 firm-year observations from 2001 to 2015 in the United States. We employ the widely used selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model from psychology to explain the CSR decisions of old directors. Our results indicate that firms with a higher percentage of old directors tend to have lower engagement in CSR activities. To address endogeneity, we adopt the difference-in-differences method and use the event of sudden (...) deaths and unexpected retirements of old directors and find that our results remain robust. Our analysis also reveals that the negative impact of old directors on CSR is more significant in firms where directors receive fewer reputational spillover benefits from CSR initiatives and/or firms exhibiting poor corporate governance. In addition, this adverse impact of old directors comes from two effects: a reduction in efforts to enhance CSR strengths and an increase in inaction to address CSR concerns. Overall, these findings suggest that the CSR decision-making process of old directors involves assessing the costs and benefits of CSR engagements, consistent with our hypothesis derived from the SOC model. (shrink)

In spite of accruing concerted scholarly and managerial interest since the 1950s in corporate social responsibility (CSR), its implementation is still a growing topic as most of it remains academically unexplored. As CSR continues to establish a stronger foothold in organizational strategies, understanding its implementation is needed for both academia and industry. In an attempt to respond to this need, we carry out a systematic review of 122 empirical studies on CSR implementation to provide a status quo of the literature (...) and inform future scholars. We develop a research agenda in the form of an integrated framework of CSR implementation that pronounces its multi-dimensional and multi-level nature and provides a snapshot of the current literature status of CSR implementation. Future research avenues relating to multi-level studies, theoretically supported research models, developing economy settings, and more are recommended. Practitioners can also benefit through utilizing the holistic framework to attain a bird’s eye view and proactively formulate and implement CSR strategies that can be facilitated by collaborations with CSR scholars and experts. (shrink)

This study provides comprehensive evidence on the link between boardroom diversity and reduction of carbon emissions. Analyzing data from a sample of 344 UK-listed non-financial and unregulated firms over the period from 2005 to 2021, our findings indicate that task-oriented (i.e., tenure) and structural (i.e., insider/outsider) board diversity are important for reducing corporate carbon emissions while relational diversity does not appear to be useful. Furthermore, the study explores the role of external carbon governance, such as the Paris Agreement, on firms (...) with weaker internal governance structures. The findings reveal that external governance plays a critical role in curbing emissions when internal governance is not effective. Overall, our research offers valuable insights for management and regulatory bodies on the interplay between various governance mechanisms internal and external to a firm. This knowledge could guide them in determining the right mix and degree of diversity in the boardroom to achieve environmental goals. (shrink)

This study investigates the pivotal policy question of whether a firm’s corporate governance influences its political spending disclosures. Using a sample of S&P 500 firms from 2011 to 2019, we find empirical evidence that a board of directors’ monitoring and resource provision roles affect a firm’s political spending disclosure. Extending agency theory-driven expectations, we provide evidence that measures of a board’s monitoring role such as female monitoring directors, shorter board tenure, audit committee size, audit committee meetings, and audit committee education (...) enhance a firm’s political spending disclosures. Second, drawing from resource dependence theory and examining a board’s resource provisions, we find evidence that female advisory directors, CEO duality, additional directorships, and audit committee characteristics (i.e., size, number of meetings, age, and education) promote political spending disclosures. The study contributes to corporate governance and corporate political activity literatures by outlining different types of governance that may drive a firm’s political spending disclosures, a key component of a firm’s political responsibility. (shrink)

We investigate the impact of women shareholders on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how they interact with women directors to exert a greater influence on CSR activities. Little is known about how women's ownership can enhance their roles in CSR practices. Based on data from Omani-listed firms during 2016–2020 and using CSR budgeting and spending as proxies for CSR activities, firms with women shareholders allocate more CSR budgeting and spend more money on CSR activities. However, we also find that women (...) directors can only affect CSR budgeting and spending if their representation on the board is increased. Furthermore, we find that firms with women shareholders and directors have higher CSR budgeting and spending. Further analysis reveals that women shareholders are more likely to spend money on CSR activities within the budgeted amount and are less likely to be associated with gaps between CSR budgeting and spending. This analysis also shows that the type of ownership (family versus non-family) influences women shareholders' effects on CSR budgeting and spending. Our empirical findings provide critical insights into how woman shareholders influence CSR actions. (shrink)

In this article, I developed the CSR-19 scale to assess the perceptions company executives have of CSR actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and to conceptualize the economic, legal, social, and environmental aspects of CSR actions as a high-order construct. This paper's findings suggest that the legal, environmental, and social aspects of CSR actions are being perceived to positively contribute to companies' CSR actions, but the economic aspect of CSR actions is deemed to contribute negatively to companies' CSR actions. The 16-item (...) CSR-19 scale shows strong evidence of reliability as well as content, convergent, and discriminant validity in a sample of 211 Jordanian companies. Managerial implications and suggestions for applying the CSR-19 scale in future research are presented. (shrink)

The current study looked at the impact of board of director characteristics on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Pakistani setting. The study further added to the body of knowledge by comparing the impact of board characteristics in family versus non-family businesses in an emerging market. The study’s sample consists of 139 non-financial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms from 2008 to 2019. The level of CSR among sample firms was assessed using a multidimensional financial approach. The random-effect model was (...) employed to test the study’s hypotheses. The findings support the dysfunctional view of the role of the board of directors’ in family-owned businesses. Overall, board size and CEO duality have a significant negative impact on CSR, whereas board independence has a significant positive impact. While these findings applied to both family-owned and non-family-owned businesses. It was discovered that among family-owned businesses, boards tend to look after the interests of family members, and thus are less likely to support CSR. The findings of this study will assist regulatory authorities, investors, and financial analysts in understanding CSR practices in Pakistani firms, allowing them to review the role of the board of directors in CSR among family and non-family-owned firms. (shrink)

The goal of this study is to reveal which contextual factors can shape ethical behaviour and decision-making in family firms (FFs), with the aim to uncover emerging themes that help set the stage for future work on FF ethics. To do so, we conducted an integrative literature review. By systematically collecting, reviewing 90 studies and synthesizing their key findings with prior theoretical foundations in the FF field, we demonstrate how personal and family values, preservation of socioemotional wealth, generation succession and (...) structural factors (e.g. FF size, FF life cycle) can affect ethical decision-making in FFs. We also provide propositions and research pathways to orient future studies. (shrink)

This study addresses a gap in the literature on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility by investigating whether and how board independence and institutional ownership moderate the relationship between digital transformation and corporate social performance. We find that digital transformation increases CSP using a panel dataset of Chinese publicly listed firms between 2014 and 2018. Moreover, we show that this positive impact is more pronounced when firms have higher proportions of independent directors on the board and institutional owners. These findings (...) contribute to a better understanding of CSR dynamics, supporting the formulation and implementation of efficient CSR strategies in the digital era. (shrink)

While the prevailing perspective on executive leadership has emphasized the effectiveness of a unified command structure, family firms frequently adopt shared leadership structures, such as dyads, triads, or larger co-CEO constellations. Given the widespread use of such structures in family firms, it becomes imperative to understand how family involvement in the firm shapes the dynamics of co-CEO constellations and their implications for firm outcomes. Drawing upon the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective, we propose that the salience of extended SEW concerns increases (...) the costs associated with a shared leadership structure. These elevated costs, in turn, result in adverse environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes. Our empirical analysis, based on panel data from 76 Italian firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange during 2003–2020, suggests that family firms employing a co-CEO structure tend to exhibit lower ESG performance, while a positive relationship emerges in nonfamily firms. We theorize and find empirical support that the negative effect for family firms stems from family-induced cognitive diversity, manifested via the inclusion of both family and nonfamily members or family members from different generations in the co-CEO constellation. Importantly, we identify a key mitigating factor: when one of the co-CEOs also holds the position of the board chair, the negative impact of the co-CEO structure on ESG performance is mitigated and even turns positive. These findings advance our understanding of how family involvement in the shared leadership structure shapes a firm’s ethical orientation, having important implications for the governance of family firms. (shrink)

Tax payments stimulate business enterprises to choose tax management through tax avoidance activities, which is the legal practice to reduce the amount of tax payable. In developing economies, taxation is considered more critical for budget and revenues of a country. This paper investigates whether various business strategies influence corporate tax avoidance decisions of firms by adopting business strategies. Besides, it explores how gender diversity can ease this relationship. This study has chosen a sample of organizations from non-financial sector in Pakistan. (...) The time frame is 5 years, including once a year. The present model employed a generalized moment method and tested the proposed hypothesis to draw the results. The study has taken the size, leverage, and business profitability as control variables of firms. The study outcomes by using the GMM method demonstrate that the presence of female directors reduces tax avoidance behavior in prospector companies. This study provides insight into future research for stakeholders, government officials, tax authorities, and policymakers. The findings offer valuable recommendations and practical insights and implications. The findings provide future directions for research to test different frameworks to attain beneficial results to promote the responsibility of tax payment culture. (shrink)

This paper presents a literature review offering a thorough and critical systematization of articles investigating the influence of women directors on corporate social performance (CSP). We review the state-of-the-art literature in terms of its key assumptions, theories, and conceptualization of CSP. Our analysis shows a misfit between the theorization and operationalization of gender diversity, especially in quantitative empirical studies, which represent the majority of articles. In our overview of both conceptual and empirical studies, we identified three main theoretical dimensions, which (...) are contingent upon board-level and institution-level dimensions. Based on our proposed framework, we call for future researchers to focus on novel research questions and innovative research designs to investigate women’s contributions to CSP and challenge the theoretical assumptions about the role of women on boards. (shrink)

Many multinational corporations develop business operations in Europe. The current research attempts to fill the gap on how corporations can increase their political influence in this geography by exploring the joint effect of corporate political activity(CPA) and social responsibility (CSR) on political embeddedness and financial performance. Based on institutional theory and on a sample of autochthonous (European Union [EU]) and allochthonous (non-EU) firms with declared EU lobbying (from 2008to 2019) we conducted two studies. Based on a multi-level model, Study 1 (...) finds strong and robust evidence that boardroom gender diversity and EU lobbyists inter-actively increase EU political embeddedness. Complementarily, Study 2, which relies on general linear Modeling, suggests that allochthonous corporations are more profit-able when they display high-level political embeddedness and lobbying expenditures, combined with adoption of United Nations (UN) guidelines. Overall, findings show that lobbying in Europe pays off, especially when corporations strive to be aligned with EU ethical values and aspirations. Hiring lobbyists to be based in Brussels and promoting gender equality help establish EU political connections. Subsequently, findings highlight the role that EU political embeddedness, lobbying expenditures, and UN guidelines play in leveraging financial performance, especially across non-EU corporations. Regarding EU corporations, results show that a firm-level investment on CPA-CSR is particularly important. Overall, findings from this research support corporations that are growing businesses in Europe. KEYWORDScorporate political activity, corporate social responsibility, lobbying, return on assets (ROA),United Nations (UN_. (shrink)