Board Gender Diversity and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan

This study investigates whether board gender diversity influences corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in Jordan, where there are no gender board balance regulatory requirements. Data was examined from all non-financial Jordanian listed companies for the period of 2006 to 2015. This longitudinal data results in balanced panel data of 800 observations. A content analysis method was used to obtain the reporting index of CSR disclosure in the annual reports. Ordinary least square regression showed that the presence of female directors on a board has a significantly positive effect on the level of CSR reporting. The presence of female directors on the board appears to play a significant role in enhancing compliance with corporate governance best practices. These results provide motivations for companies to consider gender balance on boards. Further, these results reinforce the decision making of regulators in countries where policies have been adopted to increase female representation on corporate boards. In countries where no such regulation exists the inclusion of gender balance practices within boards of directors may increase the level of CSR reporting practices. This study can be considered as one of the few empirical studies that have evaluated the impact of board gender diversity on the level of CSR reporting in a context where there are no gender balance strategies or policies

Board Gender Diversity and CSR Reporting: Evidence from Jordan

This study investigates whether board gender diversity influences corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in Jordan, where there are no gender board balance regulatory requirements. Data was examined from all non-financial Jordanian listed companies for the period of 2006 to 2015. This longitudinal data results in balanced panel data of 800 observations. A content analysis method was used to obtain the reporting index of CSR disclosure in the annual reports. Ordinary least square regression showed that the presence of female directors on a board has a significantly positive effect on the level of CSR reporting. The presence of female directors on the board appears to play a significant role in enhancing compliance with corporate governance best practices. These results provide motivations for companies to consider gender balance on boards. Further, these results reinforce the decision making of regulators in countries where policies have been adopted to increase female representation on corporate boards. In countries where no such regulation exists the inclusion of gender balance practices within boards of directors may increase the level of CSR reporting practices. This study can be considered as one of the few empirical studies that have evaluated the impact of board gender diversity on the level of CSR reporting in a context where there are no gender balance strategies or policies

Board independence and CSR reporting: pre and post analysis of JCGC 2009

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the influence of board independence on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in Jordan over time. The paper also compares this level of influence between the pre- and post-issuance of the Jordanian corporate governance code (JCGC) in 2009. Design/methodology/approach – Longitudinal data (panel data) from all non-financial listed companies on the Amman stock exchange for the period 2006-2015 was collected and analysed. The content analysis method was used to assess the CSR reporting evident in the annual reports. An ordinary least square regression was used to investigate the relationship between board independence and the level of CSR reporting. Findings – The results revealed that board independence has a positive and significant influence on the level of CSR reporting. This influence became significantly stronger post the issuance of the corporate governance code in Jordan. The findings suggest that the presence of independent directors on the board encourages companies to report additional CSR information as one of the legitimation strategies to manage the expectations of stakeholder groups. Research limitations/implications – This study provides motivation for regulators and companies to continue to improve board independence effectiveness. Practical implications – The study supported evidence from prior studies, conducted the developed countries, that legitimacy theory is also applicable in Jordanian companies, which is a developing country. This study contributes to the debate and findings of the literature about governance and CSR reporting, specifically in the Middle East, as well as the potential of future studies in developing countries using a legitimacy theory as the basis for their investigations and motivation. This study provides evidence to motivate regulators and companies to improve, further, board independence effectiveness. Originality/value – This empirical study has explored the potential influence of board independence on the level of CSR reporting in Jordan for JCGC pre- and post-issuance, which has not been examined previously and the findings for future studies in the Middle East region and other developing countries

Socially responsible firms and mergers and acquisitions performance: Australian evidence

This paper extends our knowledge of acquisition decisions by examining whether a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities influence Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deal characteristics, target choice and acquisition performance. Our empirical results reveal several new insights. First, we find that targets with CSR activities are more likely to be acquired by CSR-oriented bidder firms. Second, we also examine the deal characteristics of CSR firms and find that they choose deal features such as cash payment, domestic targets, and single bids. Third, we show that socially responsible firms are more likely to pay a lower bid premium when they pay for acquisitions. Finally, we find that the announcement period abnormal return is positive and significant when CSR-oriented bidding firms announce an acquisition decision in the market. Overall, we show that CSR firms make acquisition decisions which align shareholders with other stakeholders of the firm. Our results are robust to a number of alternative proxies and sensitivity tests