Faculty Publications

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Does Board Gender Diversity Enhance the Sustainable Performance of Firms? Empirical Evidence From India
(Emerald Publishing, 2025) Poornima, S.; Gopalakrishna, B.V.; Samanta, M.
This study explores the link between board gender diversity and corporate sustainability disclosure. The study employs 417 Indian companies to investigate how the incorporation of corporate sustainability disclosure and gender diversity on the board of directors interrelate. The findings show that companies with a higher proportion of female directors enhance sustainable disclosure by taking favorable reporting measures to address environmental issues, social welfare concerns, and governance problems. The companies with more women on board incorporate highly sensitive initiatives regarding the environment, society, and overall governance. These results suggest that women directors add valuable diversity, leading to better decisions and a stronger focus on social and environmental concerns. This study extends the prevailing literature on gender studies and sustainability by presenting empirical recommendations about the role of females in corporate decision-making, specifically related to the sustainability of Indian firms. © 2026 Dhishna Pannikot. All rights reserved.
Impact of environmental, social, and governance disclosures on debt financing decisions: evidence from India
(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2025) Poornima, S.; Gopalakrishna, G.; Samanta, M.
In recent years, the incorporation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures into corporate strategic planning has attracted global attention, yet its implications for firms’ capital structure decisions remain underexplored, particularly in emerging markets. In light of India’s dynamic financial and regulatory developments, examining the impact of ESG disclosures on corporate debt strategies is relevant. The study explores the association between ESG disclosure and corporate debt financing practices in the Indian context. Utilizing a panel of 692 listed firms from 2011 to 2022, the study employs panel regression and two-step system GMM techniques to investigate how ESG disclosure influences access to long-term debt, cost of debt, target leverage, speed of leverage adjustment, and financial constraints. The results indicate that companies that provide extensive ESG disclosures tend to secure long-term debt at lower costs, suggesting that lenders perceive strong ESG disclosure as a signal of lower risk. Furthermore, these firms maintain their target leverage and exhibit faster adjustments when they deviate from it, reflecting enhanced financial discipline and reduced adjustment costs. Finally, high ESG disclosing firms experience significantly fewer financial constraints, emphasizing the significance of ESG in improving creditworthiness and access to capital. The results remain consistent across various model specifications and alternative variable measures. The study contributes novel empirical insights on the impact of ESG on capital structure and offers practical implications to corporate managers, institutional investors, and regulatory authorities by underlining the prominent role of transparent ESG reporting in fostering responsible financial decision-making. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.
Does ESG disclosure reduce corporate risk taking? Evidence from Indian firms
(Emerald Publishing, 2025) S, P.; Gopalakrishna, G.; Samanta, M.
Purpose – The present study examines the impact of ESG disclosures on corporate risk-taking behavior in India, a context that remains underexplored in the existing literature. Design/methodology/approach – Using panel regression models, the study analyses 680 Indian firms from 2011 to 2022, and we assert that ESG disclosure reduces corporate risk-taking. Findings – We find a significant negative relationship between ESG disclosure and corporate risk-taking, indicating that firms with higher ESG transparency are less likely to engage in risk-taking behavior. The inverse relationship holds for both business group-affiliated and standalone firms, with a stronger effect observed in stand-alone firms. While the impact is modest in group firms, ESG remains a significant governance tool, especially in complex structures. Our instrumental variable test, using industry averages, confirms the negative relationship between ESG disclosure and risk, while Oster’s test suggests that unobserved factors do not significantly alter this relationship. The results remain robust across alternative risk measures, reinforcing the risk-mitigating role of ESG disclosures. Originality/value – By extending the analysis to both business group-affiliated and standalone firms, and by highlighting India’s unique corporate landscape, this study contributes novel empirical evidence to the limited literature on ESG disclosure and firm risk in emerging markets. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

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