Corporate governance: Does it matter for corporate social responsibility disclosure via website and social media by top listed UK companies?

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Abstract

This paper reports on the nature, extent, and determinants of online corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices among the top 350 companies listed in the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 350). This has been done through two-fold. First, the paper investigates the relationship between firm characteristics, board structure, and ownership structure with CSR information dissemination via social media. The results indicate that the company that has a high number of females on board has a significant effect on CSR and the product and service as a component of CSR. Moreover, the results reveal that the company with a high level of ownership concentration has an effect on community involvement, product and service, and environment. In addition, a company that has a high level of institutional ownership has an effect on the product and service. Finally, the company that has a high percentage of director ownership has an effect on the product and service. Second, the paper studies the effect of board structure and other control variables on the online CSR for the top listed UK firms. The dependent variables consist of a comprehensive index of disclosure and another four sub-indices which namely employees, community involvement, products & services, and environment. The results show that online CSR disclosure through the firms’ websites has been affected by board size, board diversity, audit type, profitability, leverage, firm age, and the sector in which the firm operates.

Keywords: Ownership Structure, CSR, Online Corporate Disclosure, Company’s Website, Board Structure, Social Media

Authors’ individual contribution: The Author is responsible for all the contributions to the paper according to CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) standards.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: M14, M41, O33

Received: 20.07.2021
Accepted: 07.10.2021
Published online: 09.10.2021

How to cite this paper: Basuony, M. A. K. (2021). Corporate governance: Does it matter for corporate social responsibility disclosure via website and social media by top listed UK companies? Corporate Ownership & Control, 19(1), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv19i1art7