ESG controversies and corporate governance: Evidence from board size
研究发现董事会规模越大，企业ESG争议越少；董事会规模每增加一个标准差，ESG争议下降4.30%，且该效应在压力时期较弱、在代理问题严重的公司中更强。
Abstract We show the influence the size of a corporate board has on firms' ESG controversies. Our analysis suggests that businesses with larger boards are more effective in mitigating ESG controversies. Specifically, a rise in board size by one standard deviation results in a decline in ESG controversies by 4.30%. Our findings corroborate the anticipation that businesses need the board's advice to prevent ESG controversies. Thus, larger boards, with more human capital and more interactions with stakeholders, promote sustainability more effectively. Moreover, we find that the effect of board size is less pronounced during a stressful time but is more evident in companies with more agency problems. Further analysis validates the findings, that is, propensity score matching, entropy balancing, an instrumental‐variable analysis, and GMM dynamic panel data analysis.