Ownership structure and corporate social responsibility disclosure: some Malaysian evidence
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the influence of ownership structure on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Malaysian company annual reports (CARs). Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a CSR disclosure checklist to measure the extent of CSR disclosure...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Group Publishing
2007
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/444/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/444/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/444/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/444/1/Ownership_structure.pdf |
| Summary: | Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the influence of ownership structure on corporate
social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Malaysian company annual reports (CARs).
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a CSR disclosure checklist to measure the extent of
CSR disclosure in annual reports and a multiple regression analysis to examine the association between
ownership structure and the extent of CSR disclosure in annual reports.
Findings – The paper finds that, even among the larger and actively traded stocks in Malaysia, there is
considerable variability in the amount of social activities disclosed in corporate annual reports. Results
from multiple regression analysis show that, consistent with expectations, companies in which the
directors hold a higher proportion of equity shares (owner-managed companies) disclosed significantly
less CSR information, while companies in which the government is a substantial shareholder disclosed
significantly more CSR information in their annual reports.
Research limitations/implications – The sample for this study comes from larger and actively traded
stocks on the Bursa Malaysia. Thus, the results may not be generalizable to smaller and less actively
traded stocks.
Practical implications – The findings appear to suggest that the level of CSR disclosure in annual
reports of companies depends on the extent of ‘‘public pressure’’ faced by each company. The results
also raise the question of whether corporate involvement in social activities should be made a mandatory
disclosure in annual reports to better assess the extent of ‘‘corporate citizenship’’ of Malaysian
companies.
Originality/value – The study finds that ownership structure, which had been ignored in prior studies on factors influencing CSR disclosure,has an impact on CSR disclosure. |
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