Navigating sustainable development: exploring the nexus of board attributes and environmental accounting information disclosure in China’s construction industry

Abstract

Emphasizing the relevance of environmental information disclosure (EID) and the significant role that boards play in firm disclosure practices, no previous research has extensively examined how board attributes affect EID in a Chinese construction firm context. By integrating agency and resource dependence theories, we suggest that board attributes influence EID. This study comprised 212 construction companies traded on China stock markets. We conducted empirical study from data gathered from the China Stock Market Accounting Research (CSMAR) database and selected firm’s yearly report using Dynamic Common Correlated Effect (DCCE) and Pool Mean Group (PMG) techniques from 2013 to 2023. We found a significant connection among independent board, board size, gender diversity, environmental committee and EID. On the other hand, a negative and substantial connection exists among CEO duality, managerial ownership and EID. Additionally, no evidence shows that foreign nationals influence EID. Finally, managerial ownership significantly moderates the connection among board attributes and EID. Our study offers firms and policymakers solutions regarding the critical need to incorporate environmental regulation and governance to guarantee ecological sustainability. Our findings is robust to control any potential endogeneity.