The influence of ownership structure on the transparency of CSR reporting: empirical evidence from Spain

• Published in: Revista española de financiación y contabilidad Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 249 - 271
• Main Authors: Garcia-Torea, Nicolas, Fernandez-Feijoo, Belen, de la Cuesta-González, Marta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03.07.2017; Asociación Española de Contabilidad y Administarción de Empresas; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: board of directors; Boards of directors; consejo de administración; CSR reporting; España; información de RSC; memoria desostenibilidad; ownership; propiedad; Social responsibility; Spain; Stockholders; sustainability report; Sustainability reporting; Transparencia; Transparency; Spain
• DOI: 10.1080/02102412.2016.1267451
• ISSN: 0210-2412

This paper analyses the influence of ownership structure on the transparency of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information for a sample of 128 Spanish listed companies between 2009 and 2011. We distinguish two types of significant shareholders, depending on whether or not they are members of the board of directors. The results of the ordinary least squares regression show a different relationship between each type of shareholder and the transparency of CSR information. Significant shareholders who are not directors have a positive effect on transparency. Conversely, firms with boards holding more than 25% of ownership are less transparent than firms with boards holding below that threshold. Our results contribute to the academic debate on the relationship between ownership and CSR disclosure. They indicate the existence of information asymmetries between these two types of shareholders. Additionally, we contribute to literature on board of directors. We found that the presence of women on boards improves transparency, while the independence of the board and CEO duality do not affect it.