Determinants of corporate governance disclosure: evidence from an emerging market

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and ownership structures on corporate governance disclosure (CGD) in listed Mauritian companies.Design/methodology/approachMultivariate regression techniques, both static and dynamic panel data models, were employed to analyse the effect of the determinants on the CGD level of 42 Mauritian listed companies (38 non-financial and four financial firms) from 2009 to 2019.FindingsIn the static model comprising 42 firms, CG attributes such as board size, board meeting frequency, CG committee meeting frequency and audit committee meeting frequency are major determinants of CGD, whereas ownership structure variables such as managerial ownership and institutional ownership do not influence CGD. In the dynamic model, only the CG meeting frequency is a major determinant. The determinants of CGD vary between non-financial and financial firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to CGD in listed firms, excluding mandatory disclosures and unlisted firms. Future research can use qualitative approaches to better understand CGD behaviour with an extension to mandatory disclosures and non-listed firms.Practical implicationsPolicymakers can rely on determinants to draw policy measures to raise CG standards further. Domestic and foreign investors may also depend on the determinants of their expectations of CGD while making investment and credit decisions.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the extant literature by examining a new determinant of CGD: CG committee meeting frequency. It also investigates any differences in the determinants between financial and non-financial firms with different listing status.