The Impact of Supervisory Board Composition on CSR Reporting. Evidence from the German Two-Tier System

Dominik Dienes and Patrick Velte
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Dominik Dienes: Institute of Auditing and Taxation, University of Hamburg, Max-Brauer-Allee 60, 22527 Hamburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is becoming increasingly relevant in light of modern corporate governance. There is growing activity among empirical research in one-tier systems that considers the link between board composition and CSR reporting. This study is the first of its kind on the German two-tier system with special regard for the supervisory board. We analyze gender diversity, expertise, the presence of former managers, frequency of meetings, and the size of the supervisory board. Our multiple regressions indicate that gender diversity has a positive impact on CSR disclosure intensity, which is in line with prior studies on one-tier systems. Our findings have implications for both users and public policy and suggest that current European corporate governance regulations could help to increase the decision usefulness of CSR reporting.

Keywords: CSR reporting; corporate governance; gender diversity; supervisory board composition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (35)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:63-:d:62004

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