Impact of Board Characteristics on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in Ghana
Keywords:
Corporate Social Responsibility, Board Characteristics, Listed Companies, Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure, Corporate Governance, Ghana.Abstract
This study examines the impact of board characteristics on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Ghana. It uses panel data covering 15 financial years which was extracted from the companies’ annual report to test the hypothesis using OLS regression. The results provide evidence that board characteristics such as size, board independence, board members below age 40, foreign nationals on board and gender diversity has a positive and significant impact on the CSR disclosure in Ghana. Board size recorded a negative and significant impact on CSR disclosure while women as board chairperson recorded no significant impact on CSR disclosure. In terms of structural break, the results indicate that, there is no structural break at 1% and 5%. However, at 10%, there is structural break. Based on these findings, the study recommends that, board size should be made up of minimum of 5 and maximum of 9. Again, there should be gender diversity, more independent directors, foreign nationals and younger board members below age 40 to ensure effectiveness and full disclosure of CSR in listed companies in Ghana.
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