The Relationship Between Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: The Moderator Effect of Institutional Environment

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderator effect of the country’s institutional environment on the relationship between board diversity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures. The research hypotheses developed in the framework of the related literature are tested by means of data obtained from the administration of both qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments to the 192 business organizations chosen among 30 countries. The findings showed a positive relationship between CSR and the ratio of female members in the board, and the ratio of members with a Ph.D. degree, but the obtained findings for the member rate having MBA was found to be negative. The results of the analysis provide evidences for moderator hypotheses which assert that this relationship between board diversity and CSR differ according to the level of weakness and powerful of regulatory, normative and cognitive environments as corporate environmental dimensions.