Do creditors value corporate social responsibility disclosure? Evidence from Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Boachie ◽  
Joseph Emmanuel Tetteh

Purpose Drawing on risk mitigation theory, this study aims to examine the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and the cost of debt financing (CDF). In particular, this paper seeks to determine whether firms with higher CSR disclosure scores have a lower CDF. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a panel data analysis of non-financial Ghanaian firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2019. The CSR index constructed from firms’ annual reports and sustainability reports is used as a proxy for the extent of CSR information disclosures by Ghanaian companies. Findings The empirical results demonstrate that CDF is positively related to CSR disclosure scores. Besides, the results show that the levels of long-term debt increase with CSR disclosure in a highly risky industry. However, the finding does not meet the lenders’ expectations in terms of CSR attracting favourable debt financing sources. Research limitations/implications The research is based only on the quantity of the CSR information disclosed by Ghanaian companies and does not account for the quality of the CSR disclosures. The empirical model omits some control variables such as the age of the firm and external business conditions. The results should not be generalized, as the sample was based on three listed industries in Ghana for 2006–2019. Originality/value This study extends the scope of previous studies by examining the importance of CSR disclosures in financing decisions. More precisely, it focuses on the relatively little explored relationship between the extent of CSR disclosures and access to debt financing. Moreover, this study focuses on the rather interesting empirical setting of Ghana, which is characterized by its low level of CSR awareness. Achieving a better understanding of the effects of CSR information is useful for corporate managers desiring to meet lenders’ expectations and attract debt financing sources.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amal Hamrouni ◽  
Rim Boussaada ◽  
Nadia Ben Farhat Toumi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting influences leverage ratios. In particular, this paper aims to determine whether firms with higher CSR disclosure scores have better access to debt financing. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a panel data analysis of non-financial French firms listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange and members of the SBF 120 index from 2010 to 2015. The environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure scores that are collected from the Bloomberg database are used as a proxy for the extent of ESG information disclosures by French companies. Findings The empirical results demonstrate that leverage ratios are positively related to CSR disclosure scores. In addition, the results show that the levels of long-term and short-term debt increase with the disclosure of ESG information, thus suggesting that CSR disclosures play a significant role in reducing information asymmetry and improving transparency around companies’ ESG activities. This finding meets the lenders’ expectations in terms of extrafinancial information and attracts debt financing sources. Research limitations/implications The research is based only on the quantity of the ESG information disclosed by French companies and does not account for the quality of the CSR disclosures. The empirical model omits some control variables (e.g. the nature of the industry, the external business conditions and the age of the firm). The results should not be generalized, since the sample was based on large French companies for 2010–2015. Practical implications France is a highly regulated context that places considerable pressure on French firms in terms of CSR policies. The French Parliament has adopted several laws requiring transparency in the environmental, social, and corporate governance policies of French firms. In this context, firms often regard CSR policies as constraints rather than opportunities. This study highlights the benefits that result from transparent CSR practices. More precisely, it provides evidence that the high disclosure of ESG information is a pull factor for credit providers. Originality/value This study extends the scope of previous studies by examining the value and relevance of CSR disclosures in financing decisions. More precisely, it focuses on the relatively little explored relationship between the extent of CSR disclosures and access to debt financing. This paper demonstrates how each category of CSR disclosure information (e.g. social, environmental and governance) affects access to debt financing. Moreover, this study focuses on the rather interesting empirical setting of France, which is characterized by its highly developed legal reforms in terms of CSR. Achieving a better understanding of the effects of ESG information is useful for corporate managers desiring to meet lenders’ expectations and attract debt financing sources.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Bason ◽  
Christos Anagnostopoulos

Purpose – Under growing public scrutiny of their behaviour, the vast majority of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been undertaking significant investments through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to close legitimacy gaps. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the nature and scope of MNEs’ CSR programmes that have sport at their core. More specifically, the present study addresses the following questions. First, how do Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 firms utilise sport as part of their CSR agendas? Second, how do different industries have different approaches to CSR through sport? And third, can the types of CSR through sport be classified? Design/methodology/approach – Centred on legitimacy theory and exploratory in nature, the study employed a content analysis method, and examined three types of document from each of the FTSE100 firms, namely, annual reports, annual reviews and CSR reports over the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012. In total, 1,473 documents were content analysed, thereby offering a sound representation of CSR disclosure of the FTSE100. Findings – From the analysis, three main streams emerged: “Philanthropy”, “Sponsorships” and “Personnel engagement” with the first showing the smallest growth compared with the other main streams. Findings show the general rise in CSR through sport, thereby demonstrating that the corporate world has practically acknowledged that the sporting context is a powerful vehicle for the employment of CSR. Originality/value – Previous empirical studies have sought to investigate CSR through sport, yet they have generally suffered from sampling limitations which have, in turn, rendered the drawing of reliable conclusions problematic. Particularly, the lack of an explicit focus on longitudinality is a typical limitation, meaning that no conclusions can be made regarding the trend. The study outlined in this paper offers the most comprehensive longitudinal study of CSR through sport to date, and thus contributes to the increasing volume of literature that examines the application of CSR in relation to the sport sector.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Hadi Ibrahim ◽  
Mustafa Mohd Hanefah

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of board diversity characteristics, namely, independence, gender, age and nationality of directors on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis was used to determine CSR disclosure. This study used panel data analysis to investigate the influence of board diversity characteristics on CSR disclosures. Findings Panel data analysis show that the level of CSR disclosure has increased over the period of study. Results also reveal a positive and significant association between the level of CSR disclosure and board diversity variables. Research limitations/implications This study examined only companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. Therefore, the generalisation of the results might be limited to the listed companies only. Practical implications Findings are relevant to policymakers, professional organisations and practitioners in Jordan and in other Arab countries. Social implications The role of women in the boardroom is important to ensure more CSR activities by the listed companies. Jordan being a Muslim country should take the initiative to introduce laws to increase the number of women to the board. Originality/value This study offers significant contributions to existing CSR literature in Jordan and in other Arab countries by introducing female directors. Findings are important to policymakers. They should implement quotas for women in the boardroom, and adopting such a policy will increase the participation of women in the decision-making process of the companies and reduce gender bias.


2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 979-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurleni Nurleni ◽  
Agus Bandang ◽  
Darmawati Darmawati ◽  
Amiruddin Amiruddin

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the effect of ownership structure that consists of managerial ownership and institutional ownership of the extensive of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure.Design/methodology/approachThe population in this study is manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI), as the manufacturing companies are considered to have great potential on environmental damage (Mathews, 2000). The selected sample were the companies which meet certain criteria (purposive sampling) which published the complete annual financial statements from 2011 to 2015. This study used an analysis method using partial least square (WarpPLS) to assess the effect of the structure of ownership consists of managerial ownership and institutional ownership on the extent of the CSR disclosure.FindingsThe results showed that there is a direct effect of a negative and significant correlation between managerial ownership on CSR disclosure, and there is a direct effect of a positive and significant correlation between institutional ownership on CSR disclosure.Originality/valueOriginality of this paper shows PLS (WarpPLS) that applied to determine the effect between variables managerial and institutional ownership on CSR disclosure. This research is collected data financial statements and annual reports of manufacturing companies obtained from the Indonesia Capital Market Reference Center (PRPM), which is located in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), which there has not been research by the methods and the same location.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11409
Author(s):  
Hina Ismail ◽  
Muhammad A. Saleem ◽  
Sadaf Zahra ◽  
Muhammad S. Tufail ◽  
Rao Akmal Ali

CSR Reporting is an essential mechanism for ensuring the transparency and accountability of companies towards sustainability performance. To further promote that sustainable development agenda, CSR-related regulations and policies have emerged worldwide, including in Pakistan. Therefore this study assesses the quality of corporate social responsibility in annual reports issued by firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. This study has operationalized the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles for examining the quality of CSR disclosures. The paper sample comprised 540 annual reports of 90 financial or non-financial companies from the years 2012 to 2017. Content analysis is performed to look for six quality principles and measures, i.e., balance, comparability, accuracy, clarity, reliability, and timeliness. Results suggested that most Pakistani firms provide precise and on-time information and put less emphasis on the balance of information and comparable information. Moreover, this study also highlighted that organizations should implement the GRI principle for disclosing qualitative CSR report.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belal Fayez Omar ◽  
Hani Alkayed

Purpose This study aims to examine the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Jordan for the time periods of 2005–2006 and 2014–2015, ultimately establishing whether there was a change in the extent and quality of disclosure practices before and after the new regulations for CSR. Furthermore, this study additionally seeks to determine if the regulations are a major factor in changing CSR disclosure practices, or whether there are other factors for such a change. Design/methodology/approach The annual reports of 55 manufacturing companies (11 sub-sectors) on the Amman Stock Exchange for the years 2005–2006 and 2014–2015 were selected, and a CSR checklist was measured via the construction an index covering 36 items in 4 themes: environmental; human resources; community; and products and others. The study measures the quantity of CSR via the number of sentences and the quality of CSR by the weighting approach (on a scale of 0–3); furthermore, the paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to establish whether there was a change in the extent and quality of CSR disclosure practices. Findings The results of the study revealed that there being a significant increase in the extent and quality of CSR for the period 2014–2015 compared to that of 2005–2006, the most optimal performance being in 2015, bragging an average of 61,41 total sentences per annual report and an average quality score of 1.423. Moreover, detailed analysis of CSR extent and quality by theme reveals that the highest percentage of CSR extent and quality was within the environmental theme, with an average score 28.6% of total sentences in 2014 (extent) and 1.743 in 2015 of total sentences (quality). Research limitations/implications The current study has some limitations, which have implications for future studies. First, this study examined the extent and quality of CSR for only two time frames: before and after regulation. However, a longitudinal study would have provided a wider scope of study. Second, the study focussed only on the industrial sector, thus limiting the results to only this area. Indeed, the exploration of the CSR extent and quality for other sectors (e.g. financial and services) would generalise the results further, allowing for the making of comparisons compare among different sectors. Moreover, the study at hand has focussed solely on annual reports, which could lead to subjectivity, thus reducing the reliability of results. Future studies should thus focus on other means of disclosure (e.g. websites; environmental reports). Practical implications The current mandatory requirements would suggest Jordanian regulators have begun specifying CSR disclosure requirements in an easier, more user-friendly and traceable format. Indeed, the increase in CSR extent and quality for the post-regulations period would increase the need to organise mandatory requirements in CSR. For managers, on the other hand, the study provides the CSR as a strategic tool for reflecting the actual environmental activities, comparing it with the society’s expectations. Moreover, when budgets are limited, managers prioritise CSR activities that yield a positive impact on financial performance by allocating the limited resources in a broad manner. Social implications The results additionally highlights the ways in which the Jordanian industrial companies increase their levels within the environmental theme in CSR for the post-regulations. It could be argued that a great number of companies in the past decade have started adopting environmentally friendly practices and strategies to protect the natural environment, such as greenhouses, extracting non-renewable resources and reducing amount of industrial waste. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is currently no existing study within Jordan exploring the change of CSR over time – specifically in terms of before and after the regulations. In addition, exploring the quality of CSR using a weighted approach (scale out of 3) is not conducted in Jordanian studies before.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Rizka Hadya ◽  
Romi Susanto

<em>This research aims to examine the relationship between the diversity of gender, nationality and education commissioner toward disclosure of corporate social responsibility </em><em>(CSR) is done on all companies listed on the Indonesia stock exchange from 2012 to 2016. Using the data panel and sample selection technique of purposive sampling then samples as much as 260 companies. The model used for this panel data analysis technique is regression model panel. Based on the results from testing the hypothesis found that 1) Board of Directors Gender effect positively and significantly to the disclosure of CSR. 2) Education Board of Directors effect positively and significantly to the disclosure of CSR, 3) there is no effect of Nationality toward the disclosureCSR. The results of this study are consistent with the literature previous that the gender and diversity education is determinants in CSR disclosure on the company's high profile on Indonesia stock exchange. The presence of women as directors of companies can contribute in increasing amount of disclosure of CSR as well as when the company led by individuals who have a high educational level, especially relating with the economy and businesses will also encourage an increase in the number of disclosures of CSR</em><div><em><br /></em></div><div><em><br /></em><p>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji hubungan antarakeberagaman gender, pendidikan dan nationality dewan komisaris terhadap pengungkapan corporate social responsibility (CSR) yang dilakukan pada seluruh perusahaanyang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia dari tahun 2012 sampai2016. Dengan menggunakan data panel dan teknik pemilihan sampel purposive sampling maka diperoleh sampel sebanyak 260 perusahaan. Model yang digunakan untuk teknik analisis data panel ini yaitu model regresi panel. Berdasarkan hasil dari pengujian hipotesis ditemukan bahwa 1) Gender dewan direksi berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap Pengungkapan CSR. 2) Pendidikan dewan direksi berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap Pengungkapan CSR, 3) Nationality tidak berpengaruhterhadap Pengungkapan CSR.Hasil penelitian ini konsisten dengan literatur yang menyatakan bahwa keberagaman genderdan pendidikan merupakan faktor-faktor penentu dalam pengungkapan CSR pada perusahaan high profil di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Keberadaan perempuan sebagai direksi perusahaan dapat memberikan kontribusi nyata dalam meningkatkan jumlah pengungkapan CSR serta ketika perusahaan yang dipimpin oleh para individu yang memiliki level pendidikan yang tinggi khususnya yang berhubungan dengan ekonomi dan bisnis juga akan mendorong peningkatan jumlah pengungkapan CSR.</p></div>


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fitra Roman Cahaya ◽  
Stacey Porter ◽  
Greg Tower ◽  
Alistair Brown

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on corporate social responsibility and workplace well-being by examining Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX)-listed companies’ labour disclosures. Design/methodology/approach – Year-ending 2007 and 2010 annual report disclosures of 31 IDX-listed companies are analysed. The widely acknowledged Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines are used as the disclosure index checklist. Findings – The results reveal that the overall labour disclosure level increases from 21.84 per cent in 2007 to 30.52 per cent in 2010. The levels of four of the five specific labour disclosures also increase with employment being the exception. The results further show that the Indonesian Government does not influence the increase in the levels of the overall labour disclosure or the four categories showing increased disclosure but, surprisingly, does significantly affect the decrease in the level of the employment category. Research limitations/implications – It is implied that the government is at best ambiguous given that, on one side, the government regulates all corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and reporting but appears to coercively pressure companies to hide employment-specific issues. Practical implications – It is implied that Indonesian companies need to have “strong and influential” independent commissioners on the boards to counter any possible pressures from the government resulting in lower disclosure levels. Originality/value – This paper provides insights into the “journey” of labour-related CSR disclosure practices in Indonesia and contributes to the literature by testing one specific variant of isomorphic institutional theory, namely, coercive isomorphism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-100
Author(s):  
Surya Anugrah ◽  
Christina Yuliana

This research is conducted to analyze the influence of disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility, profitability, and leverage to tax management. The company must pay taxes to the government as one of the stakeholders. On the other hand, the company is also required to perform its social responsibility as an effort to gain legitimacy from the local community. The study was conducted on manufacturing companies listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2015 and by using the panel data analysis method. Of the 143 companies, 70 companies meet population requirements. The number of samples used in this research amounted to 168 units of observation. The data used in this study is secondary data obtained from financial reports and annual reports. The results show that the variables of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure, profitability, and leverage effect to tax management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Muneerali Thottoli ◽  
K.V. Thomas

PurposeThe current study seeks to examine the impact of web marketing (through the company's website) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms' performance across companies listed in the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), Oman.Design/methodology/approachThis research analyses qualitative and exploratory data taken from companies' website, annual reports (the financial year 2019), Google search and CSR report from 69 out of total 117 listed companies in the MSX to analyze the impact of web marketing on CSR and firms' performance proxied by return of assets (ROA), return of equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q (TQ).FindingsWeb marketing on CSR positively affects firms' performance. Especially, the positive effect of web marketing on firms' performance is stronger for listed companies. Web marketing enhances financial performance proxied by ROA, ROE and TQ.Practical implicationsThe research findings provide new insights that are able to enlighten governing bodies in Oman to make standardized compulsory CSR spending (say, 0.5% on profit after tax) by listed companies in MSX.Originality/valueThis research presents evidence that web marketing on CSR can increase firms' performance and brand image among stakeholders. This is the first study to examine the impact of web marketing on CSR and firms' performance using empirical data in Oman.


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