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Determinants of Animal Welfare Disclosure Practices: Evidence from China

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  • Yanqi Sun

    (Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand)

  • Pui San Ip

    (Junta de Serviços Médicos no Exterior, Health Bureau, Macao SAR 999078, China)

  • Michael Jones

    (Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TN, UK)

  • Jenny Jing Wang

    (School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia)

  • Yi An

    (College of Management, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China)

Abstract

Public awareness of farm animal welfare has been growing. However, the animal welfare disclosure, as an important element of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting, has not been sufficiently explored. This paper investigates animal welfare disclosure practices as well as the determinants of animal welfare disclosure practices of 2019 corporate reports using a sample of Chinese A-share listed food firms. Content analysis of corporate reports is employed for exploring animal welfare disclosure practices and an animal welfare disclosure index is adopted as the instrument for content analysis. The analysis reveals that animal welfare reporting is still in its embryonic stage in China. It is further found that firm size, board size, and board independence positively affects animal welfare disclosure practices, while CEO duality has a negative impact. As the first to examine the determinants of animal welfare disclosure practices, this paper would have some implications for academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanqi Sun & Pui San Ip & Michael Jones & Jenny Jing Wang & Yi An, 2021. "Determinants of Animal Welfare Disclosure Practices: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2200-:d:501533
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    Cited by:

    1. Mark Christensen & Geoffrey Lamberton, 2022. "Accounting for Animal Welfare: Addressing Epistemic Vices During Live Sheep Export Voyages," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 35-56, September.
    2. Ayman Issa & Mohammad A. A. Zaid, 2023. "Firm's biodiversity initiatives disclosure and board gender diversity: A multi‐country analysis of corporations operating in Europe," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4991-5007, November.

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