The Role of Abnormal Tone in Board Reports in Shaping CSR Performance
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Development
3. Research Gap
4. Hypotheses
- A negative and significant relationship exists between the abnormal tone of board activity reports and CSR performance.
5. Diagram Suggestion
- Firm-Specific Factors: Abnormal Tone → Managerial intent → Stakeholder perception.
- Macro-Level CSR Dimensions: Transparency → Accountability → CSR performance
6. Methodology
7. Model and Variables
8. Dependent Variable
9. Independent Variable
10. Control Variables
11. Research Findings
Descriptive Statistics
12. Research Results
13. Results and Discussion
- Managers: Transparency and authenticity in disclosures are essential. Manipulating tone may offer short-term benefits but harms long-term CSR performance.
- Regulators: Develop guidelines incorporating tone analysis to ensure accurate CSR reporting.
- Stakeholders: Assess tone critically to detect discrepancies in disclosures
- Combining quantitative data with tone assessment enhances credibility, reduces information asymmetry, and improves long-term CSR outcomes.
- These steps provide practical, actionable measures beyond generic policy advice. NLP and AI Tools: Regulatory bodies and standard-setters can integrate natural language processing (NLP) and AI methods to analyse qualitative CSR disclosures systematically.
- Enhance Transparency: Using these tools can help detect inconsistencies in managers’ textual disclosures, improving the transparency and reliability of CSR reports.
- Inform Stakeholders: Investors, managers, and policymakers can use insights from AI-driven analysis to understand better corporate sustainability performance and the expression style of disclosures, enabling more informed decision-making.
14. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Variable Definitions
Variable | Definition |
Dependent Variables | |
CSR | The total CSR performance score is calculated as the ratio of disclosed items to total possible items (0–1). |
ENVI | Environmental dimension score of CSR. |
ENERGY | Energy dimension score of CSR. |
CUSTOMER | Customer dimension score of CSR. |
HUMAN | Human resources dimension score of CSR. |
SERVICE | Service dimension score of CSR. |
SOCIETY | Society dimension score of CSR. |
Independent Variable | |
ABTONE | An abnormal tone is measured as the residual from a regression of the disclosure tone on firm characteristics. |
Control Variables | |
CSR_t−1 | Lagged value of the total CSR score. |
GROWTH | Sales growth is calculated as (Sales_t − Sales_t−1)/Sales_t−1. |
MB | The market-to-book ratio is calculated as the market value of equity/book value of equity. |
LEV | Financial leverage is calculated as total liabilities/total assets. |
ROA | Return on assets is calculated as net income/total assets. |
SIZE | Firm size is calculated as the natural logarithm of the firm’s market value. |
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Variable | Mean | Median | Max | Min | SD | Skewness | Kurtosis |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CSR | 0.322 | 0.307 | 0.615 | 0.102 | 0.123 | 0.286 | 2.400 |
ABTONE | 0.085 | 0.065 | 0.383 | 0.001 | 0.073 | 1.563 | 5.907 |
CSR_t−1 | 0.318 | 0.307 | 0.615 | 0.076 | 0.125 | 0.278 | 2.420 |
GROWTH | 0.403 | 0.312 | 2.789 | −0.523 | 0.544 | 1.524 | 6.795 |
MB | 0.484 | 0.311 | 5.133 | −0.843 | 0.760 | 4.018 | 22.581 |
LEV | 0.618 | 0.598 | 1.363 | 0.146 | 0.252 | 0.593 | 3.271 |
SIZE | 14.533 | 14.357 | 19.298 | 11.643 | 1.453 | 1.001 | 4.504 |
ROA | 0.218 | 0.126 | 2.610 | −0.335 | 0.407 | 3.709 | 19.441 |
Variable | CSR | ABTONE | CSR_t−1 | GROWTH | LEV | MB | ROA | SIZE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CSR | 1.000 | |||||||
ABTONE | −0.031 | 1.000 | ||||||
CSR_t−1 | −0.020 | 0.855 *** | 1.000 | |||||
GROWTH | 0.087 *** | 0.044 | 0.028 | 1.000 | ||||
LEV | −0.026 | −0.030 | −0.022 | −0.060 * | 1.000 | |||
MB | 0.061 * | 0.006 | −0.016 | −0.223 *** | −0.002 | 1.000 | ||
ROA | 0.046 | 0.072 ** | 0.065 ** | 0.417 *** | −0.140 *** | −0.165 *** | 1.000 | |
SIZE | −0.024 | 0.306 *** | 0.315 *** | 0.005 | 0.058 * | −0.164 *** | 0.039 | 1.000 |
Variable | Coefficient | t-Statistic | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Intercept | −0.053 | (−2.679) | 0.007 *** |
ABTONE | −0.058 | (−2.347) | 0.019 ** |
CSR_t−1 | 0.781 | (29.740) | 0.000 *** |
GROWTH | −0.005 | (−1.405) | 0.160 |
MB | −0.001 | (−0.875) | 0.381 |
LEV | 0.003 | (0.516) | 0.605 |
ROA | −0.001 | (−0.281) | 0.778 |
SIZE | 0.007 | (4.724) | 0.000 *** |
Fixed Effects | |||
Industry | Yes | ||
Year | Yes | ||
Model Fit | |||
Observations | 987 | ||
Adjusted R2 | 0.75 | ||
F-Statistic | 177.026 |
Variable | Environmental | Energy | Customer | Human | Service | Society |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Intercept | −0.103 *** | −0.098 *** | −0.091 * | 0.051 | 0.059 | −0.091 * |
(−3.820) | (−2.969) | (−1.697) | (0.949) | (1.626) | (−1.697) | |
ABTONE | −0.115 ** | −0.162 *** | −0.030 | −0.044 | −0.038 | −0.030 |
(−2.575) | (−3.898) | (−0.550) | (−0.818) | (−0.704) | (−0.550) | |
Lagged Dimension | 0.820 *** | 0.715 *** | 0.715 *** | 0.687 *** | 0.747 *** | 0.715 *** |
(31.210) | (25.850) | (14.180) | (14.960) | (19.290) | (14.180) | |
GROWTH | −0.013 * | −0.005 | −0.005 | −0.001 | −0.001 | −0.005 |
(−1.855) | (−0.968) | (−1.031) | (−0.122) | (−0.204) | (−1.031) | |
MB | 0.002 | 0.009 ** | −0.003 | −0.011 | −0.011 | −0.003 |
(0.562) | (2.225) | (−0.481) | (−1.569) | (−1.569) | (−0.481) | |
LEV | −0.001 | 0.005 | 0.005 | −0.008 | 0.009 | 0.005 |
(−0.099) | (0.445) | (−0.331) | (−0.399) | (0.583) | (−0.331) | |
ROA | 0.006 | 0.004 | −0.038 *** | −0.011 | 0.011 | −0.038 *** |
(0.743) | (0.432) | (−2.734) | (−0.847) | (0.762) | (−2.734) | |
SIZE | 0.011 *** | 0.010 *** | 0.008 ** | 0.004 | 0.003 | 0.008 ** |
(4.580) | (4.447) | (2.149) | (1.342) | (1.265) | (2.149) | |
Fixed Effects | ||||||
Industry | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Year | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Model Fit | ||||||
Observations | 846 | 846 | 846 | 846 | 846 | 846 |
Adjusted R2 | 0.760 | 0.631 | 0.631 | 0.535 | 0.580 | 0.631 |
Variable | Coefficient | t-Statistic | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Intercept | −0.196 | (−2.755) | 0.006 *** |
ABTONE | −0.156 | (−2.256) | 0.024 ** |
CSR_t | 0.832 | (43.400) | 0.000 *** |
GROWTH | −0.012 | (−2.094) | 0.036 ** |
MB | 0.004 | (0.198) | 0.843 |
LEV | −0.021 | (−1.018) | 0.308 |
ROA | 0.008 | (0.773) | 0.439 |
SIZE | 0.034 | (6.734) | 0.000 *** |
Fixed Effects | |||
Industry | Yes | ||
Year | Yes | ||
Model Fit | |||
Observations | 705 | ||
Adjusted R2 | 0.307 | ||
F-Statistic | 20.567 |
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Share and Cite
Mahmoudi yekebaghi, R.; Darvishi, M.; Nassirzadeh, F.; Askarany, D. The Role of Abnormal Tone in Board Reports in Shaping CSR Performance. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18, 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18100582
Mahmoudi yekebaghi R, Darvishi M, Nassirzadeh F, Askarany D. The Role of Abnormal Tone in Board Reports in Shaping CSR Performance. Journal of Risk and Financial Management. 2025; 18(10):582. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18100582
Chicago/Turabian StyleMahmoudi yekebaghi, Roghayeh, Milad Darvishi, Farzaneh Nassirzadeh, and Davood Askarany. 2025. "The Role of Abnormal Tone in Board Reports in Shaping CSR Performance" Journal of Risk and Financial Management 18, no. 10: 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18100582
APA StyleMahmoudi yekebaghi, R., Darvishi, M., Nassirzadeh, F., & Askarany, D. (2025). The Role of Abnormal Tone in Board Reports in Shaping CSR Performance. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 18(10), 582. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18100582