Impact of governance structures on environmental disclosures in the Middle East and Africa

Purpose – This study investigates the impact of corporate governance structures on environmental disclosure practices in the Middle East and Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The research model uses a panel dataset of 121 publicly listed (non-financial and non-utility) firms from 11 Middle East and African (MEA) countries over the period 2010–2017, employs alternative dependent variables and regression techniques, and is applied to various sub-groups to improve robustness. Findings – The empirical results strongly indicate that MEA firms with high governance disclosures tend to have better environmental disclosure practices. The board characteristics of gender diversity, size, CEO/chairperson duality and audit committee size impact positively on MEA firms’ voluntary environmental disclosures, whereas board independence has a negative influence. Research limitations/implications – This study advances research on the relationship between corporate governance structures and environmental disclosure practices in MEA countries, but is limited to firms for which data are available from Bloomberg. Practical implications – The results have important practical implications for MEA policymakers and regulators. Given the positive impact of board gender diversity on firms’ environmental disclosures, policy reforms should aim to increase female directors. MEA corporations aiming to be more environmentally friendly should recruit females to top managerial positions. Originality value – This is thought to be the first study to provide insights from the efficiency and legitimation perspectives of neo-institutional theory to explain the relationship between MEA firms’ internal governance structures and environmental disclosures