DIRECTOR OWNERSHIP, OUTSIDE DIRECTORS AND COMMITMENT TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

摘要

This paper examines the effects of director ownership and the proportion of outside directors on firms’ commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using a sample of 453 Hong Kong listed companies for 2005, we find that there is a non-linear relationship between the level of director ownership and firms’ engagement in CSR behavior. Commitment to CSR first increases as the proportion of director ownership increases up to 50% and then decreases as that proportion of ownership grows higher. Further, the proportion of outside directors on the board exhibits a positive relationship with the level of CSR commitment. These results provide explanations for firms’ commitment to CSR from the corporate governance perspective.