Corporate board gender, institutional strength and energy disclosure in Nigeria

Purpose The study aims to evaluate the impact of corporate board gender on the energy disclosure with moderating effect of institutional strength (global competitiveness index) by the listed firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 49 non-financial firms listed on the floor of the Nigerian stock exchange commission for the period of five years (2016–2020). The study uses content analysis techniques to obtain data on environmental disclosure through the use of Global Reporting Initiative standards from the sampled firms. Random and fixed effect regression analyses were run for both direct and moderation models. Based on the results of the Hausman tests, random results were adopted and used in examining the relationship among research variables. Findings The study revealed average energy disclosure by the sampled firms. The overall results of the regression analysis found that board gender diversity is significantly related to energy disclosure. The institutional strength moderation result was found to have an insignificant impact on the relationship between board gender and energy disclosure. Research limitations/implications The study is constrained by not considering all environmentally sensitive firms in the country. Furthermore, the study considered only gender among numerous important board attributes. Hence, other important board attributes should be assessed for better energy disclosure. Future studies should consider data from all sensitive firms and other board attributes. Practical implications Recently, the Nigerian Government mandates all firms to comply with environmental disclosure in Nigeria, this should be used as a way forward to encourage and compel all listed firms to improve their energy disclosure. Social implications With diverse and vibrant women on boards, firms would benefit and gain legitimacy across demographic, ethnic and religious groups in the society. Hence, corporate bodies can effectively contribute toward enhancing the social welfare of various segments of society. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides empirical evidence on the effect of board gender attributes on the energy disclosure using institutional strength as a moderator in Nigeria.