Corporate Governance and Sustainability of Listed Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of corporate governance on corporate sustainability in Nigerian firms. The proxies for corporate governance were board size, board composition, board committees, and corporate reporting while the proxies for corporate sustainability were economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability as given by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). A sample size of 33 firms was selected for this study and data covering a ten (10) year period; 2012 to 2021 were collected from the audited annual reports of the 33 selected firms for the study. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the study revealed that all the studied corporate governance variables (i.e. board size, board composition, board committees, and corporate reporting) have significant effect on corporate sustainability. Based on the findings, it was concluded that corporate governance has significant influence on corporate sustainability in Nigerian firms. Consequently, it was recommended, among other things, that Nigerian firms should improve upon their compliance with corporate governance practices. In this regard, emphasis should be placed on optimal board size and independence of the board. Also, firms’ consideration of optimal board size should be guided by such factors as the requirements of the industry, firm’s age, operational size, knowledge and experience requirement; professional and technical expertise required to strategically give direction to the company, level of sophistication of the firm and other diversity criteria relative to the firm.