Board attributes and CSR expenditure before and during COVID-19

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the impact of board attributes on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure of the listed firms before (2019) and during (2020) COVID-19 in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach - The data were manually extracted from the annual reports of all the listed companies that published their reports for the years. A total of 266 firm-year observations were generated, comprising 140 and 126 observations for 2019 and 2020, respectively. Findings - The results indicate that the frequency of board meetings and foreign directors on the board significantly influence CSR expenditure before and during COVID-19. Board independence had a significant positive association with CSR expenditure before COVID-19 but insignificantly positive during it. However, board size and gender diversity do not influence CSR expenditure before and during COVID-19. Research limitations/implications - The study used secondary data from the annual reports to compare the impact of board attributes on the CSR expenditures of listed firms in Nigeria between 2019 and 2020. Practical implications - Providing effective CSR regulations and incentives could motivate or mandate the board of directors to incur CSR expenditure within the company’s financial capacity for society’s welfare, particularly under challenging times like COVID-19. Social implications - Encouraging firms to incur more CSR expenditures to their ability will contribute to poverty alleviation and improve socio-economic development. Originality/value - This study is one of the few that investigated the effects of board characteristics on CSR expenditure for the welfare of the poor and the needy. Besides, it uniquely focused on comparing the results before and during COVID-19.