Business Strategy and Corporate Waste Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Board Gender Diversity

ABSTRACT Firm‐level drivers of corporate waste remain underresearched relative to other sustainability topics, such as carbon emissions and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Moreover, the role of female directors on corporate boards in this realm is also underexplored. Therefore, drawing on strategic choice, agency, and critical mass theories, this study examines whether business strategy explains variation in firm‐level waste outcomes and whether board gender diversity strengthens these associations. We analyze an unbalanced panel of 3994 firm‐year observations for 336 firms across 35 countries over the period 2010–2023, estimated with high‐dimensional (industry, year, and country) fixed‐effects models. Findings confirm that prospector‐oriented strategies are associated with lower waste generation and higher recycling, whereas defender‐oriented strategies do not show the lower waste predicted by an efficiency logic. These relationships are stronger when boards include independent female directors and reach a critical mass of at least three women. The findings imply that aligning strategic orientation with board composition can improve corporate waste‐management outcomes and extend business strategy and corporate governance research into the waste management domain, offering implications for managers, investors, and policymakers.