Impact of Corporate Governance on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in Pharmaceutical Industry of Pakistan

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been one of the favorite terminologies for many activists and consumers. Over the decade the term has made firms focus on CSR and return back to the society. This paper aims to identify corporate governance elements that create an impact on CSR disclosure. The research reviews CSR items for 8 pharmaceutical companies listed in Pakistan Stock Exchange for over duration of 7 years (from 2009 to 2015). The results reveal that pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan are not active in CSR disclosure. Women as board members in pharmaceutical company have a negatively significant impact on CSR disclosure. Board size and company size are related positively significant with CSR reporting. On other hand results showed that Independent directors and return on equity (ROE) is negatively insignificant to CSR reporting. This study forms novelty on the importance of social responsibilities in pharmaceutical industry which is least researched industry with regards to corporate governance in existing body of knowledge.