IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/jaarpp/jaar-06-2022-0151.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender diversity and SDG disclosure: the mediating role of the sustainability committee

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Zampone
  • Giuseppe Nicolò
  • Giuseppe Sannino
  • Serena De Iorio

Abstract

Purpose - The study examines the association between board gender diversity and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) disclosure from an international and longitudinal perspective. It also investigates the role of the Sustainability Committee (SC) as a possible factor that can mediate the relationship between board gender diversity and SDG disclosure. Design/methodology/approach - The authors focused on the annual Communication on Progress (CoP) prepared annually by a sample of 526 companies from 39 countries and ten industry sectors along the 2017–2020 period to evaluate the SDG disclosure. Baron and Kenny's (1986) three-step model is estimated to test the impact of the presence of an SC on the SDG disclosure level and the mediating effect exerted by the SC on the relationship between board gender diversity and SDG disclosure. Findings - Findings shed light on the usefulness of the CoP as an alternative reporting tool to communicate progress against SDGs achievement, especially regarding SDGs 13 and 8. This study evidences that board gender diversity positively influences SDG disclosure. The relationship between board gender diversity and SDG disclosure is not only direct but also mediated by the presence of an SC. Research limitations/implications - Companies need to consider the role of women in enhancing the effectiveness of their governance mechanisms and their ability to meet stakeholder information needs. Establishing a specific SC represents a valid mechanism that ensures greater transparency about corporate actions tackled to contribute toward SDGs and enhances the relationship between board gender diversity and SDG disclosure among International companies. Practical implications - The study's findings offer stimuli for policy-makers and regulators to reflect on the relevance of the CoP as a possible alternative communication tool to provide SDGs information and overcome the limitations of the Sustainability Reports. Originality/value - This is the first study that examines companies' SDG disclosure practices focusing on CoPs. Further, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that tests the relationship between gender diversity and SDG disclosure, considering the mediating effect of an SC committee.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Zampone & Giuseppe Nicolò & Giuseppe Sannino & Serena De Iorio, 2022. "Gender diversity and SDG disclosure: the mediating role of the sustainability committee," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(1), pages 171-193, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jaarpp:jaar-06-2022-0151
    DOI: 10.1108/JAAR-06-2022-0151
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JAAR-06-2022-0151/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JAAR-06-2022-0151/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/JAAR-06-2022-0151?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Esam Salamah & Ahmad Alzubi & Azmiye Yinal, 2023. "Unveiling the Impact of Digitalization on Supply Chain Performance in the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Mediating Role of Supply Chain Integration and Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-30, December.
    2. Alessandra Centinaio, 2024. "How gender diversity in boards affects disclosure? A literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2352-2382, May.
    3. Herenia Gutiérrez-Ponce & Sigit Arie Wibowo, 2023. "Sustainability Reports and Disclosure of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Evidence from Indonesian Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-18, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:jaarpp:jaar-06-2022-0151. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.