Integrated thinking, CSR decoupling and the moderating role of board strength
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2023-07-13
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en
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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling refers to the gap between the firm’s actual corporate sustainability performance (CSP) and what the company reports to the outside world. This study investigates whether and how integrated thinking (IT) influences CSR decoupling and to what extent board strength moderates this effect. This study utilizes an international sample of 7,482 unique listed firms and 34,149 firm year observations in the period 2014-2021. Using multilevel panel data regression with two different composite measures for board strength, this study finds that, IT is positively related to CSR decoupling and that board strength does not moderate this effect. Additional analyses also show that IT is positively related to both the internal and external CSR actions, indicating that IT functions as an accelerator to improve CSP but that it does not reduce decoupling practices. Furthermore, a stronger board also contributes to both more internal and external CSR actions. The findings of this study have implications for policymakers in the field of sustainability reporting.
Keywords: Integrated thinking, CSR decoupling, board strength, corporate sustainability performance
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen