Toward a Quadruple Bottom Line: Social Disclosure and Financial Performance in the Banking Sector

Francesco Manta (), Annunziata Tarulli, Domenico Morrone and Pierluigi Toma
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Annunziata Tarulli: Faculty of Economics and Management, LUM Jean Monnet University, 70010 Casamassima (Ba), Italy
Domenico Morrone: Faculty of Economics and Management, LUM Jean Monnet University, 70010 Casamassima (Ba), Italy
Pierluigi Toma: Department of Economics and Management, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: The present study aims to analyze the existence of a possible significant relationship between social disclosure and financial performance in banking institutions. This phenomenon was analyzed by considering the percentage of female executives on boards, and the implementation of the equal opportunity policy when it was applied. We used a sample of 61 banks from European Union countries (between 2015–2017), and sampling was environmental, social, or governance (ESG)-driven in order to capture the effect of non-financial disclosure provided by Bloomberg. A cross-section econometric model was built in order to examine the relationship between the percentage of female directors on boards and the equal opportunity policy. Both the independent variables of banks and performance indicators were adopted as dependent variables. Our study provides empirical evidence that while there is a lack of efficiency and performance when boards are fragmented, the enactments of equal opportunity policies create a good reputation for the firm and the positive performance of staff. The study aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on social sustainability and on the phenomenon of the glass ceiling, and provides political and entrepreneurial implications.

Keywords: CSP–CFP relationship; banking sustainability; glass ceiling; board composition; equal opportunity policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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