Towards sustainable development: The role of directors' international orientation and their diversity for non-financial disclosure

Abstract

Drawing on resource dependency and upper echelons theories, we examine the relationship between directors' international orientation (IO) and the scope of non-financial disclosures (NFD) in a two-tier board structure. Evidence from a regression analysis on a sample of non-financial firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange for the 2014–2018 period shows that the IO of supervisory board members significantly and positively impacts the scope of NFD. We also find that women with IO influence the scope of NFD, whereas accounting and finance experience decreases the focus on NFD elements, especially environmental information. The results imply that both the IO of the supervisory board and the bundle of characteristics facilitate the move toward sustainable development. The findings of our study should be of interest to companies, regulators and policymakers to integrate sustainability practices into their corporate strategies.