Digital Transformation and Corporate Social Performance: How Do Board Independence and Institutional Ownership Matter?

Shuang Meng; Huiwen Su; Jiajie Yu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915583

Digital Transformation and Corporate Social Performance: How Do Board Independence and Institutional Ownership Matter?

Front Psychol. 2022 May 26:13:915583. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915583. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shuang Meng¹, Huiwen Su², Jiajie Yu³

Affiliations

¹ School of International Trade and Economics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
² Renmin Business School, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
³ Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

This study addresses a gap in the literature on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by investigating whether and how board independence and institutional ownership moderate the relationship between digital transformation and corporate social performance (CSP). We find that digital transformation increases CSP using a panel dataset of Chinese publicly listed firms between 2014 and 2018. Moreover, we show that this positive impact is more pronounced when firms have higher proportions of independent directors on the board and institutional owners. These findings contribute to a better understanding of CSR dynamics, supporting the formulation and implementation of efficient CSR strategies in the digital era.

Keywords: board independence; corporate governance; corporate social responsibility; digital transformation; institutional ownership.