Does Supervisory Quality of Board Enhance Corporate Social Performance? -Evidence from Taiwanese Listed Firms

• Main Authors: Wen-Chi Hsieh, 謝雯琪
• Other Authors: Yaying Mary Chou Yeh
• Format: Others
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/525js8

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 會計與財務碩士學位學程 === 102 === Abstract Investors make investment decisions not only based on financial data but also on nonfinancial performance. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the critical indicators. Board responsibilities are to approve management decisions and to supervise corporate operations, including corporate social activities and performance. The effect of the supervisory quality of the board on corporate social performance (CSP) is a topic that has not been explored in the literature. This study uses Taiwanese publicly traded firms as a sample over the period of 2010-2012 to examine their relationships. The present study uses four proxies for supervisory quality of board: board attendance rate at board meetings, number of board meetings, social capital of the board and average training hours of the directors. Corporate social performance data is obtained from an international CSR rating agent. Empirical evidences indicate the followings. For CSR firms, board attendance rate and board meeting frequency positively impact CSP but social capital of the board and average training hours of the directors negatively affect CSP. We then group our samples as CSR firms and match them with double size non-CSR firms. We find that CSR firms exhibit significantly higher board attendance rate, board meeting frequency and board social capital. Overall, results support our expectations that board supervisory quality is important to improve corporate social performance.