Does board independence affect environmental disclosures by multinational corporations? Moderating effects of national culture

ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, corporate social responsibility has become an important topic in business practice research. In this study, we investigate the relationship between board independence and environmental disclosures made by multinational corporations (MNCs) and the moderating effects of national culture on that relationship. We empirically test these objectives with a data set of 151 MNCs based in China, Japan, the UK, and the USA, using content analysis and a new method for measuring environmental disclosures of MNCs. Results indicate (1) a significantly positive relationship between board independence and environmental disclosures for MNCs and (2) that masculinity and uncertainty avoidance negatively moderate this relationship, demonstrating the important role of culture in corporate disclosures.

KEYWORDS:

• Board Independence
• multinational corporations
• national culture
• content analysis
• environmental disclosure

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Notes

¹ The MNCs were selected based on the Standard of National Economic Industry Classification, drafted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China in 2017, issued with the approval of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China and Standardization Administration, and was implemented on 1 October 2017.

² http://dfreelon.org/utils/recalfront/recal2.

Additional information

Funding

This research is part of the research project ‘The Development Path of Chinese Enterprises’ Overseas R&D Centers and Its Effects on NIS,’ funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant no. 71573292, 2016–2019].