Marta de la Cuesta

Evaluation of the environmental, social and governance information disclosed by Spanish listed companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting of Spanish companies listed in the IBEX-35 stock index and the main drivers of the differences among reporters. Design/methodology/approach - A benchmark tool was built based on GRIv3, and the ESG information issued by Spanish companies listed in the IBEX-35 index was analyzed. Findings - The authors conclude that GRI has resulted in some standardization of corporate social and environmental reporting, particularly in terms of format, but their approach to indicators is unlikely to produce high quality information that is relevant, comparable, complete and accessible to all stakeholders. Regulation and reputation seem to be the main drivers for improving the quality of ESG reporting. Global companies operating in industries with higher reputation risks had the highest levels of disclosure. Furthermore, reporting seems to be oriented to satisfying the demands of shareholders and investors rather than those of other stakeholders. Originality/value - This paper proposes a structured definition of ESG quality reporting. Secondly, it makes an empirical contribution, by developing a reliable and valid instrument of research based on GRIv3.

Board of director's effectiveness and the stakeholder perspective of corporate governance: Do effective boards promote the interests of shareholders and stakeholders?

This paper analyzes whether effective boards of directors in addressing shareholder interests also prove to be effective in guaranteeing the interests of the rest of the firms stakeholders. We measure board effectiveness based on the shareholder perspective, and test whether it is valid for the stakeholder perspective. The novelty of this paper precisely lies in its approach, given that it considers both perspectives of corporate governance at a time. Using the transparency of sustainability reports as a proxy for the stakeholder perspective in an international sample of 2366 companies, the paper shows that effective boards are more likely to address the interests of both the shareholders and the rest of the firms stakeholders. Furthermore, we propose a measure of board effectiveness by gathering several board characteristics. Our results contribute to research on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility reporting, and it has implications for policy makers.Suggested Citation: Garcia-Torea, Nicolas; Fernández-Feijóo Souto, Belén; de la Cuesta González, Marta (2016) : Board of directors effectiveness and the stakeholder perspective of corporate governance: Do effective boards promote the interests of shareholders and stakeholders?, BRQ Business Research Quarterly, ISSN 2340-9436, Elsevier España, Barcelona, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, pp. 246-260, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brq.2016.06.001