The Effects of Board Characteristics on Corporate Social Performance: Resource Dependence and Agency Perspectives

The existing literature on the board-Corporate Social Performance(CSP) linkage has been challenged with regard to the incomplete theoretical modeling for the board of directors’ roles as well as Western-dominant research context. In order to fill these gaps, we not only offer a comprehensive view of theoretical approaches (agency and resource dependence theory), but also introduce the institutional context of Korea under which boards influence a similar and/or idiosyncratic pattern of decisions for CSP, the Western firms. Analyzing a pooled cross sectional sample of 1,277 firm-year observations during 2003-2007, we found that board size and average education level of board members are positively associated with CSP, whereas inside directors’ ownership is negatively associated with CSP in Korea. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.