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ESG Disclosure in an Emerging Market: An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Board Characteristics and Ownership Structure

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  • Jaime F. Lavin

    (Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Av. Diagonal Las Torres 2700, Santiago 7941169, Chile)

  • Alejandro A. Montecinos-Pearce

    (Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar 7561046, Chile)

Abstract

In the context of greater demand for corporate transparency, there is a growing pressure on boards to produce and communicate information to their investors and stakeholders. The current literature on integrated reporting shows that the provision of ESG information is a crucial factor that improves corporate governance by reducing agency problems. This issue is also critical in emerging economies, and particularly among Latin American firms. The concentration, opacity, and lack of evidence about ESG disclosure in less developed financial markets provide a promising environment to study the implications of board heterogeneity and ownership structure on strategic corporate decisions such as the disclosure of ESG indicators in developing economies. Using Tobit panel data models, we study how these factors affect the extent of ESG disclosure by Chilean listed firms. Our main results suggest that a board’s independence and gender diversity positively influence the extent of disclosure of ESG indicators. Our evidence helps firms concerned with strengthening their board’s features, investors that require screening firms’ ESG risk factors, and supports regulators’ decisions on setting norms regarding the extent of disclosure of ESG information by firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaime F. Lavin & Alejandro A. Montecinos-Pearce, 2021. "ESG Disclosure in an Emerging Market: An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Board Characteristics and Ownership Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10498-:d:640704
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    5. Doshi, Medha & Jain, Riidhi & Sharma, Dipasha & Mukherjee, Deepraj & Kumar, Satish, 2024. "Does ownership influence ESG disclosure scores?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    6. Jaime F. Lavin & Alejandro A. Montecinos-Pearce, 2022. "Heterogeneous Firms and Benefits of ESG Disclosure: Cost of Debt Financing in an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    7. Khaoula Aliani & Fadhila Hamza & Noha Alessa & Hela Borgi & Khaldoon Albitar, 2024. "ESG disclosure in G7 countries: Do board cultural diversity and structure policy matter?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3031-3042, July.
    8. Nejla Ould Daoud Ellili, 2023. "Impact of corporate governance on environmental, social, and governance disclosure: Any difference between financial and non‐financial companies?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 858-873, March.
    9. Zhao, Panting & Yao, Xin & Shen, Rui, 2024. "Capital market internationalization and firms' ESG performance: Evidence from the inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Market Index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

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