The effects of board size and board composition on CSR disclosure: a study of banking sectors in Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a profound understanding of the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the annual report by the listed banking sectors in Bangladesh for examining the effect of board size and board composition on CSR disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample selected of all the 30 listed banks enlisted in the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the study used a content analysis approach. An ordinary least square regression model is fitted to the data for assessing the effect of independent variables on the total CSR disclosure score. An un-weighted approach has been used for this study.

Findings

The results of the study demonstrate that the extent of CSR disclosure of listed banks in Bangladesh varies from 11.11% to 73.33%, and on average, they report 45.37% and 43.44%, respectively. Moreover, the study observed a significant relationship between the proportion of female directors and CSR disclosure. Conversely, board size has been found no significant relationship with the CSR disclosure but the proportion of independent directors has been found a significant relationship with the CSR disclosure in the annual report by the listed banking sectors in Bangladesh.

Social implications

The study is expected to get a maximum scenario of CSR disclosure of banking sectors in Bangladesh. Government and other regulatory bodies can also get full information concerning CSR disclosure practices for formulating guidelines in this regard. If the Government of Bangladesh implicates the policies that the banks are to nominate a required number of female directors to boards, the consideration of the significant number of female directors and their power will be able to protect the interests of different stakeholder groups notably.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the CSR literature as it presents empirical evidence of the effects of board size and board composition on the CSR disclosure of banking sectors in developing countries such as Bangladesh.

Citation

Rouf, M.A. and Hossan, M.A. (2021), "The effects of board size and board composition on CSR disclosure: a study of banking sectors in Bangladesh", International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 105-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-06-2020-0079