Foreign directors and CSR disclosure : evidence from France

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of directors' home regions on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices. Our empirical study drawn on all listed firms, on the SBF120 between 2008 and 2018. Our findings provide evidence that home regions diversity on board is positively and significantly associated with ESG disclosure. However, it influences differently each score of CSR disclosure. In fact, we find that the presence of home regions diversity of directors' boards is positively associated with environmental score, while governance disclosure is negatively associated with this diversity. Also, our results provide that the presence of Anglo-American, Asian and Middle Eastern directors is positively associated with ESG disclosure. When directors come from European countries, they are less disclosing ESG information. Concerning the environmental disclosure, Anglo-American directors are more likely release this information than European and Asian directors. Finally, we find that the presence of Middle Eastern directors is negatively associated with social disclosure, though they are more likely to communicate on corporate governance information.