外籍董事、语言和企业环境信息透明度

Foreign Directors, Language and Corporate Environmental Information Transparency

根据合法性理论,环境信息披露有助于企业合法化其经营活动。以2008—2014年沪深两市A股国有上市公司为样本,考察外籍董事对上市公司环境信息披露的影响。实证结果显示:(1)外籍董事的存在及其在董事会成员中的占比都和企业环境信息透明度显著正相关;(2)当外籍董事来自官方语言属于弱将来时态表述的国家(或地区)时,外籍董事和企业环境信息透明度的正关系更突出。一方面,外籍董事可以有效监督企业的环境问题;另一方面,语言通过影响人们对未来的重视程度,可以促使个人乃至企业更多地关注未来导向的活动(例如环境保护)。

According to legitimacy theory,environmental information disclosure plays an important role in legitimizing a firm’s operating activities.Based on a sample of Chinese state-owned enterprises in the period of 2008—2014,empirical results show that(1)the existence(ratio)of foreign directors is significantly positively associated with corporate environmental information transparency;and(2)the positive influence of foreign directors on corporate environmental information transparency is more pronounced for foreign directors from countries(regions)with official languages of weak future-time reference(FTR).On the one hand,foreign directors can effectively supervise a firm’s environmental issues.On the other hand,language can prompt individuals and even firms to pay more attention to future-oriented activities(e.g.,environmental protection)by affecting individuals’perception of the future.The above findings enhance the scholarly understanding of environmental issues and provide insights for regulators to formulate environmental policies.