Do voluntary disclosures have an impact on sustainable company performance? evidence from top Nigerian oil companies

Abstract

This study contains four interrelated stages of a more comprehensive study of whether voluntary disclosures have an impact on company performance of top Nigerian oil companies. The study uses multiple data to improve the understanding of the underlying process. The main aim of this study is to explore the relationship between corporate governance, sustainability practice, and corporate performance. The sample period covers ten years after the first Nigerian code was published in 2003; that is from 2004 to 2013. The first stage analyses were the compliance level over two periods; when the first code was published (2004-2009) and when the second code was made public (2010-2013). The second stage investigates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and performance. The impact of sustainability practice on corporate performance is examined at stage three, whether on average, well-governed companies are likely to follow a more socially responsible program through improved sustainable practices. The study found that a combination of sustainable and governance practices has a positive influence on performance than sustainability practices alone; this suggests that governance practice positively impacts the sustainability practices-performance association.This study provides four main contributions to the existing literature. Notably, this is the first study which explores the compliance with Nigerian code and examines the relationship of best practice with the performance of the top Nigerian companies. Secondly, this study provides evidence that governance mechanisms have enhanced the impact of sustainability practice and performance of companies, thus addressing the literature gap for Nigerian companies. Thirdly, the qualitative analysis of the managers' view on the relationship between sustainability and corporate governance practices within top Nigerian companies represents an addition to the existing literature.Finally, the study also adds to the body of knowledge on the relationship between corporate governance, sustainability practices, and performance from a developing nation. The results have significant insinuations for corporate managers and policy-makers for them to develop a plan that mutually pursue governance and sustainability practice developments together, instead of considering the social practice as a peripheral.These results provide the foundation for Nigerian companies to incorporate good governance and social responsibility as part of their business strategy aimed at improving corporate performance.

Date of Award	Jan 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bedfordshire
Supervisor	Mohamed Saeudy (Supervisor) & Seyefar Clement (Second supervisor)