Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: A Longitudinal Study of Listed Banking Companies in Bangladesh

Abstract

The aims of this study are to investigate the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting practices of the listed banking companies in Bangladesh and explore the potential effects of corporate governance and company specific characteristics on CSR disclosures. The study conducted a content analysis of all the listed banks operating from 2007 to 2011 and analyzed the factors affecting CSR reporting of the sample companies. The study found that engagements of banks in CSR activities is increasing from an average CSR disclosure index 59.02% in 2007 to 76.87% in 2011 and direct monetary expenditure increases more than 10 times in this period. The results showed that CSR disclosure is positively significant with firm size, board size, ownership structure, and independent non-executive director in the board, while it is negatively associated with firms' profitability and the age of the company. On the other hand, there is an insignificant relationship between CSR disclosure and board leadership structure. It also revealed that, to varying degrees, all listed banks' practices social responsibility in an unstructured manner and need to adopt a comprehensive format for CSR reporting such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), 2006.