The moderating effects of national cultural practices on the relationship between international diversification strategies and corporate environmental responsibility disclosures

This study examines the relationships between an important market strategy (international diversification) and corporate environmental responsibility disclosure (CERD), a nonmarket strategy. We rely on institutional theory and the stakeholder perspective and hypothesize a positive relationship between international diversification and CERD. We also hypothesize a direct effect of performance-based cultural practices (PBC) and socially supportive cultural practices (SSC), derived from the GLOBE culture database on CERD and its moderating effect on the international diversification – CERD link. The sample includes 335 large Multinational enterprises (MNEs) from 31 countries then distributed among three corporate social responsibility (CSR) regimes: European, Anglo-Saxon, and Asian and emerging markets. The results show support for the hypothesized relationships between international diversification strategies and CERD and that the direction of the relationship varies by region of the world. We find significant support for the moderating role of national cultural practices on the international diversification-environmental disclosure links.