The Effect Of Board Characteristics On The Disclosure Of Sustainable Development Dimensions: An Empirical Study On A Sample Of Companies Listed In Arab Financial Markets.

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of board characteristics(namely board size, the number of independent directors, CEO duality, and female board representation) on sustainability disclosure, measured through economic, environmental, and social disclosures in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, while controlling for financial leverage and firm size.

To achieve this objective, secondary data were collected from the annual financial reports of listed companies in Arab financial markets that issue sustainability reports, available on the official websites of the companies or the respective markets. The sample comprised 124 firms over the period 2020–2024, yielding 620 firm-year observations. Using Eviews 10, and after verifying the required assumptions including the ratio of observations to variables, outliers, multicollinearity, normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and independence of residuals; the results revealed a significant positive effect of independent directors, female representation, and firm size on economic disclosure. Board size, independent directors, female representation, and firm size also had a significant positive effect on environmental disclosure. Finally, board size, female representation, and firm size positively influenced social disclosure.