Does board diversity influence corporate SDG disclosure in an emerging economy?

South African Journal of Business Management

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Does board diversity influence corporate SDG disclosure in an emerging economy?
 
Creator Santoso, Eko B. Marlina, Maria A.E. Setiobudi, Auditia
 
Subject economics; accounting; management top management team; board diversity; board heterogeneous; non-financial disclosure; sustainable development goals; sustainability reporting
Description Purpose: This research investigates the impact of board of director diversity on a company’s disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The term board diversity encompasses a range of characteristics, including but not limited to nationality, gender, age, tenure, educational level and financial expertise.Design/methodology/approach: A sample was drawn from the non-financial sector of Indonesian listed companies over the period 2021–2023, and included only those companies that had issued sustainability reports in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The hypothesis was tested using ordinary least squares with fixed effects and robust standard errors.Findings/results: The results indicate that overall board diversity significantly impacts the disclosure of SDGs. Further analysis demonstrates that diversity in terms of age, educational level and financial expertise enhances this disclosure. In contrast, diversity in terms of nationality, gender and tenure does not have the same impact. The results are coherent when the SDGs are categorised according to their respective pillars.Practical implications: This research provides insights for companies to prioritise diversity in age, education and financial expertise when selecting board members. This strategy can enhance SDG disclosure transparency and strengthen the company’s reputation with investors and stakeholders.Originality/value: The literature on the relationship between board diversity and corporate SDG disclosure is limited. This study contributes by highlighting the importance of prioritising diversity in age, education and financial expertise when selecting board members.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Directorate of Research, Technology, and Community Service, the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia
Date 2025-06-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajbm.v56i1.5040
 
Source South African Journal of Business Management; Vol 56, No 1 (2025); 11 pages 2078-5976 2078-5585
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5040/3348 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5040/3349 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5040/3350 https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/5040/3351
 
Coverage developing countries; Asia; South East Asia: Indonesia 2021-2023 JEL: M41, Q01, M14
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Eko B. Santoso, Maria A.E. Marlina, Auditia Setiobudi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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