IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v28y2020i5p1189-1198.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internal corporate governance strength as a mechanism for achieving sustainable development goals

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero
  • Emma García‐Meca

Abstract

This paper explores the strength of internal corporate governance as a determining factor in a firm's addressing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations. Using a European sample of analysis from 2016 to 2017, the paper examines CEO independence, board composition and board attendance as internal corporate governance factors that affect a firm's commitment to sustainable development. By employing several regression analyses, the evidence supports the assertion that greater corporate governance strength, from an internal perspective, increases the propensity to report SDGs in firms' sustainability reports. In addition, results confirm that CEO non‐duality and board independence act individually as determinants of a firm's contribution to the 2030 Agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero & Emma García‐Meca, 2020. "Internal corporate governance strength as a mechanism for achieving sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1189-1198, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:5:p:1189-1198
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2068
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2068
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2068?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    2. Haniffa, R.M. & Cooke, T.E., 2005. "The impact of culture and governance on corporate social reporting," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 391-430.
    3. Chiara Mio & Andrea Venturelli & Rossella Leopizzi, 2015. "Management by objectives and corporate social responsibility disclosure," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(3), pages 325-364, March.
    4. Dulacha G. Barako & Phil Hancock & H. Y. Izan, 2006. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Corporate Disclosure by Kenyan Companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 107-125, March.
    5. Christine Mallin & Giovanna Michelon & Davide Raggi, 2013. "Monitoring Intensity and Stakeholders’ Orientation: How Does Governance Affect Social and Environmental Disclosure?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 29-43, April.
    6. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    7. Francesco Rosati & Lourenço Galvão Diniz Faria, 2019. "Business contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda: Organizational factors related to early adoption of SDG reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 588-597, May.
    8. Willem Schramade, 2017. "Investing in the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities for Companies and Investors," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 29(2), pages 87-99, June.
    9. Giovanna Michelon & Antonio Parbonetti, 2012. "The effect of corporate governance on sustainability disclosure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 477-509, August.
    10. Chau, Gerald & Gray, Sidney J., 2010. "Family ownership, board independence and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 93-109.
    11. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. "Boards of directors as an endogenously determined institution: a survey of the economic literature," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 7-26.
    12. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2001. "Are CEOs Rewarded for Luck? The Ones Without Principals Are," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 901-932.
    13. Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Lobo, Gerald J. & Whalen, Dennis J., 2007. "Does good corporate governance reduce information asymmetry around quarterly earnings announcements?," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 497-522.
    14. Li, Chan & Sun, Lili & Ettredge, Michael, 2010. "Financial executive qualifications, financial executive turnover, and adverse SOX 404 opinions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 93-110, May.
    15. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    16. Regina Scheyvens & Glenn Banks & Emma Hughes, 2016. "The Private Sector and the SDGs: The Need to Move Beyond ‘Business as Usual’," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 371-382, November.
    17. MuiChing Chan & John Watson & David Woodliff, 2014. "Corporate Governance Quality and CSR Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 59-73, November.
    18. Nicola Dalla Via & Paolo Perego, 2018. "Determinants of Conflict Minerals Disclosure Under the Dodd–Frank Act," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 773-788, September.
    19. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    20. Mohammad Jizi, 2017. "The Influence of Board Composition on Sustainable Development Disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 640-655, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Hana Trollman & James Colwill, 2021. "The imperative of embedding sustainability in business: A model for transformational sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 974-986, September.
    2. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2023. "Board diversity and corporate social performance in family firms. The moderating effect of the institutional and business environment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2194-2218, September.
    3. Lexis Alexander Tetteh & Cletus Agyenim‐Boateng & Samuel Nana Yaw Simpson, 2024. "Institutional pressures and accountability processes in pursuit of sustainable development goals: Insights from Ghanaian indigenous oil companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 89-107, January.
    4. Jonathan Taglialatela & Kevin Pirazzi Maffiola & Roberto Barontini & Francesco Testa, 2023. "Board of Directors' characteristics and environmental SDGs adoption: an international study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2490-2506, September.
    5. Elías Domingo‐Posada & Pilar L. González‐Torre & Marta M. Vidal‐Suárez, 2024. "Sustainable development goals and corporate strategy: A map of the field," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 2733-2748, July.
    6. Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer & Ramón-Llorens, M. Camino & García-Meca, Emma, 2024. "CEO narcissism and ESG misconduct," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Ladini, Mark Juliana & Associate Professor ORBUNDE, Bemshima & Dr. Daniel Emmanuel Kayode, 2024. "Effect of Board Size and Board Meeting Frequency on Environmental Disclosure of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(1), pages 236-254, January.
    8. Jialin Yan & Haibo Hu & Yiruo Hu, 2024. "Does internal control improve enterprise environmental, social, and governance information disclosure? Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4980-4994, September.
    9. Buil, Pilar & Sanjurjo-San Martin, Elena L. & Alfaro-Tanco, José A., 2024. "Dissemination analysis of SDGs in sustainability reports to enhance corporate communication strategy," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Renata Konadu & Gabriel Sam Ahinful & Samuel Owusu-Agyei, 2021. "Corporate governance pillars and business sustainability: does stakeholder engagement matter?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 269-289, September.
    2. María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez & Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez, 2019. "An international approach of the relationship between board attributes and the disclosure of corporate social responsibility issues," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 612-627, May.
    3. Filippo Vitolla & Nicola Raimo & Arcangelo Marrone & Michele Rubino, 2020. "The role of board of directors in intellectual capital disclosure after the advent of integrated reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2188-2200, September.
    4. Muhammad Kaleem Khan & R. M. Ammar Zahid & Adil Saleem & Judit Sági, 2021. "Board Composition and Social & Environmental Accountability: A Dynamic Model Analysis of Chinese Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Elisa Menicucci & Guido Paolucci, 2022. "Board Diversity and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Italian Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Eduardo Ortas & Igor Álvarez & Eugenio Zubeltzu, 2017. "Firms’ Board Independence and Corporate Social Performance: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    7. Nicolo, Giuseppe & Zampone, Giovanni & Sannino, Giuseppe & Tiron-Tudor, Adriana, 2023. "Worldwide evidence of corporate governance influence on ESG disclosure in the utilities sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Rupjyoti Saha & K. C. Kabra, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure: A Synthesis of Empirical Studies," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 8(2), pages 117-138, July.
    9. Giuliana Birindelli & Stefano Dell’Atti & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2018. "Composition and Activity of the Board of Directors: Impact on ESG Performance in the Banking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    10. Ntim, Collins G., 2016. "Corporate governance, corporate health accounting, and firm value: The case of HIV/AIDS disclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 155-216.
    11. Francesca Gennari & Daniela M. Salvioni, 2019. "CSR committees on boards: the impact of the external country level factors," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 759-785, September.
    12. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & René P. Orij, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 411-432, May.
    13. Chenglong Zheng & Roy Kouwenberg, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Global Research on Corporate Governance and Board Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, June.
    14. Alicia Girón & Amirreza Kazemikhasragh & Antonella Francesca Cicchiello & Eva Panetti, 2021. "Sustainability Reporting and Firms’ Economic Performance: Evidence from Asia and Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 1741-1759, December.
    15. Mohammad Jizi, 2017. "The Influence of Board Composition on Sustainable Development Disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 640-655, July.
    16. Nicola Cucari & Salvatore Esposito De Falco & Beatrice Orlando, 2018. "Diversity of Board of Directors and Environmental Social Governance: Evidence from Italian Listed Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(3), pages 250-266, May.
    17. Yasir Shahab & Ammar Ali Gull & Asad Ali Rind & Aitzaz Ahsan Alias Sarang & Tanveer Ahsan, 2022. "Do corporate governance mechanisms curb the anti-environmental behavior of firms worldwide? An illustration through waste management," Post-Print hal-03602986, HAL.
    18. Paolo Agnese & Francesca Romana Arduino & Massimiliano Cerciello & Simone Taddeo, 2024. "Does board knowledge matter for ESG performance in the European banking industry?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4454-4468, September.
    19. Filippo Vitolla & Nicola Raimo & Michele Rubino, 2020. "Board characteristics and integrated reporting quality: an agency theory perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 1152-1163, March.
    20. Samaha, Khaled & Khlif, Hichem & Hussainey, Khaled, 2015. "The impact of board and audit committee characteristics on voluntary disclosure: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 13-28.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:5:p:1189-1198. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.