BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF LISTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

This research investigated the influence of board characteristics on corporate social responsibility of listed oil and gas companies in Nigerian Exchange. Variables examined are bord size, independence, gender diversity, activity, professionalism and equity ownership of board members. While corporate social responsibility was proxy by CSR expenditure. The population consists of twelve (12) listed oil and gas firms from which five (5) firms have consistently published their annual reports within the period covered and extracted data from their respective annual reports. Panel corrected standard error was used for analysis. Findings revealed both board size and board activity have no significant impacts on CSR while in contrast, board independence, female gender, board professionalism and board equity ownership have a significant effect on CSR. It was recommended that the management of listed oil and gas companies need to have more independent outside directors on the board to enhance monitoring and CSR performance. Also, higher participation of female on the board will improve CSR performance because of their concern for environmental issues. In addition, having more members with professional expertise will improve the decision making of the board and equally shape CSR performance. Board members with equity stake will align the interest of the managers with those of shareholders and likewise, focus more on long-term goals of the firm. Listed oil and gas firm should maintain appropriate board size and required number of board meetings as stipulated by code of corporate governance.