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Do Boards of Directors Influence Corporate Sustainable Development? An Attention‐Based Analysis

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  • Jeremy Galbreath

Abstract

Following the attention‐based view of the firm (ABV), boards of directors’ link to corporate sustainable development (CSD) could be dependent upon certain attention structures: valuation of environmental stimuli, rules of the game and the players. Studying a sample of large Australian firms, the findings indicate that the proposed attention‐directing structures do appear to be linked to CSD in a manner consistent with the ABV. Specifically, creating awareness through scanning efforts links boards to CSD. Stakeholder debate, as a boardroom rule, is also significantly associated with CSD. Furthermore, as a so‐called ‘player’ on the board, women directors have a moderating effect on the relationships between environmental scanning, stakeholder debate and CSD. The findings are discussed along with limitations and directions for future research. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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  • Jeremy Galbreath, 2018. "Do Boards of Directors Influence Corporate Sustainable Development? An Attention‐Based Analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 742-756, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:27:y:2018:i:6:p:742-756
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2028
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    18. Ginesti, Gianluca & Campa, Domenico & Spano’, Rosanna & Allini, Alessandra & Maffei, Marco, 2023. "The role of CSR committee characteristics on R&D investments," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5).
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    23. Linh-TX Nguyen & Anh N.P. Doan & Michael Frömmel, 2021. "Boards of directors and corporate sustainability performance: evidence from the emerging East Asian markets," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(2), pages 95-105, June.
    24. Kim Beasy & Fred Gale, 2020. "Disrupting the Status-Quo of Organisational Board Composition to Improve Sustainability Outcomes: Reviewing the Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.

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