Corporate boards and environmental offence conviction: evidence from the United Kingdom. Issue 2 (3rd April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tauringana, Venancio; Radicic, Dragana; Kirkpatrick, Alan; Konadu, Renata
• Is Part Of: Corporate governance. Volume 17:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 341
• Page End: 362
• Publication Date: 2017-04-03
• Subjects: Corporate boards -- Environmental offence conviction -- Marginal effects -- United Kingdom; Corporate governance -- Periodicals; 658.4
• DOI: 10.1108/CG-05-2016-0105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1472-0701

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: This paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the United Kingdom (UK). Design/methodology/approach: The study uses binary logistics regression analysis to model the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK, controlling for firm size, financial leverage and profitability. Findings: The results suggest that the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence increases with board size but decreases with the presence of a woman on the board. No support is found for the authors' hypotheses about the proportion of outside directors and the presence of a lawyer on the board. Marginal effects' results also show that adding one member to the board increases the chance of a firm being convicted for an environmental offence by 4.2 per cent, while having a woman on the board decreases the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence by 31.8 per cent. Research limitations/implications: The sample size of 55 firms is small which could affect the generalisability of the study. Originality/value: The study uses proprietary data obtained from the UK Environmental Agency to provide evidence for the first time how corporate boards affect the chances of a listed firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK.