CSR performance and corporate tax avoidance in the hospitality and tourism industry: do women directors moderate this relationship?

Purpose There is ongoing debate in the literature about whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are linked to increased or reduced corporate tax avoidance (CTA). This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between CSR and CTA in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) industry. Furthermore, it explores whether women’s representation on corporate boards moderates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using a worldwide sample of 191 publicly traded H&T firms from 2011 to 2022, the authors evaluate the hypotheses by employing four alternative regression models: ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects model, fixed-effects generalized least squares (GLS) model and Lewbel’s (2012) framework. Findings The results indicate that CSR is positively related to CTA, while women directors have a moderator effect on this relationship. This suggests that substitutive and complementary relationships can coexist among H&T firms, depending on the levels of CSR and board gender diversity. These results are confirmed by alternative model specifications that account for heteroskedasticity and endogeneity. Practical implications Managers, policymakers and stakeholders could gain valuable insights from these findings by exploiting the advantages of promoting gender diversity in boardrooms as a means to mitigate conflict of interests and increase stakeholder welfare. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine this issue within the H&T industry. Furthermore, it contributes to the limited broader literature on the topic and offers significant implications for academics and decision-makers in the H&T sector.