Do gender-diverse boards over-invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of “board gender diversity” on corporate social responsibility (CSR) over-investment and the extent of CSR reporting. The data are collected from listed companies in Mauritius for the period of 2007–2016. Content analysis is used to quantify CSR reporting in annual reports. The main finding of this study is that gender-diverse boards are associated with higher levels of CSR reporting and also with companies spending beyond the mandated requirements. This study also finds that firm size is positively associated with CSR reporting and CSR over-investment. There is no association between profitability and CSR reporting and particular industries have no impact on such relationship. The paper is among the first to consider CSR over-investment measured using objective criteria. The paper contributes to the scant literature on gender diversity in emerging economies. The findings have implications for companies and policy makers. For companies, it shows the importance of having gender-diverse boards to meet the CSR information needs of stakeholders and the expectations of society in general. Policy makers can use the findings when drafting regulations regarding board composition.

Keywords:

• Board
• corporate social responsibility
• gender diversity
• over-investment
• resource dependency theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dinesh Ramdhony

Dr Dinesh Ramdhony is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting in the Faculty of Law and Management at the University of Mauritius. In the last 20 years, he taught at various Universities in Australia and Mauritius. He has a research interest in Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosures.

Afzalur Rashid

Dr Afzalur Rashid is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting in the School of Business at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. In the last 24 years, he taught at various Universities in Australia and overseas. The major areas of his research interest are in Carbon Emission and Disclosure, Corporate Governance, Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosures and Earnings Management. His PhD thesis examined 'corporate governance practices in a less developed country'. He presented his research ideas at a number of prestigious international gatherings and published papers in international peer-reviewed journals. He supervised a number of Research Masters, DBA and PhD students in the capacity of Principal Supervisor. He is (was) the editor of many international journals and has delivered trainings and speeches as an invited guest at many international conferences in Australia, Malaysia and the United States.

Jeff Gow

Professor Jeffrey Gow is a Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Queensland and a Senior Research Associate, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The major areas of his research are in Health Economics, Socio-Economics of HIV/AIDS, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy and Wine Economics. He has published 8 books, 8 book chapters, over 160 refereed journal articles and has obtained over $2 million in 27 research grants.