DETERMINANTS OF THE PRESENCE OF CSR COMMITTEES WITHIN EUROPEAN BOARDS OF DIRECTORS

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze an under-examined strategic structure: the corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee within the board of directors. We conduct univariate analysis and binary logistic regressions on the determinants of the presence of a CSR committee within the board of 427 companies in non-financial industries included in the STOXX Europe 600 Index for the years 2006–2011. Besides firm size and industry type, our findings suggest that a CSR committee is more likely to be present in companies that operate in a common law jurisdiction and when the CEO is also chair of the board. Combining those results with insights from the variety of capitalism, strategic choice, and resource-based perspectives, our paper contributes to the non-stabilized literature on the link between CSR and governance by nuancing prior hypotheses and findings about the determinants of the presence of a CSR committee within a board of directors.