Worldwide evidence of corporate governance influence on ESG disclosure in the utilities sector

2023/04/13 by Giuseppe Nicolò, Giuseppe Nicolo, Giovanni Zampone +3
Business, Management and Accounting · #Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting #Environmental Sustainability in Business #Regulation and Compliance Studies

paper · doi:10.1016/j.jup.2023.101549

openalex publication_date 2023/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure in the utilities sector. We collected data from the Eikon Refinitiv database on 265 worldwide organisations operating in the utility sector during the 2011–2019 period. Findings evidence that board independence and the existence of a specific Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/sustainability committee constitute positive drivers of utilities’ overall ESG disclosure levels. Also, board size positively influences environmental and social disclosure. The study would encourage utilities to define their internal corporate governance mechanisms carefully, devoting primary attention to an accurate selection of the board of directors members.

Citations

• The Resource Dependence Role of Corporate Directors: Strategic Adaptation of Board Composition in Response to Environmental Change
• Institutional Logics and the Historical Contingency of Power in Organizations: Executive Succession in the Higher Education Publishing Industry, 1958– 1990
• The Multiplicity of Institutional Logics and the Heterogeneity of Organizational Responses
• Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review
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