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Using a data set of Taiwanese listed firms from 2002 to 2015, this paper aims to examine the determinants to voluntarily appoint independent directors.

This study uses panel estimation to exploit both the cross-section and time-series nature of the data. Further, this paper uses Tobit regression, generalized linear model (GLM) in the additional analysis and the two-stage least squares to mitigate for a possible endogeneity issue.

The main findings show that Taiwanese firms with large board sizes tend to voluntarily appoint independent directors and firms that already have independent supervisors more willingly to accept additional independent directors onto the board. Furthermore, ownership concentration and institutional ownership are positively associated with the voluntary appointment of independent directors. On the contrary, firms controlled by family members are generally reluctant to voluntarily appoint independent directors.

The findings are important for managers, shareholders, creditors and policymakers. In particular, when considering the determinants of the voluntary appointment of independent directors, the results indicate that independent supervisors, outside shareholders and institutional investors are significant factors in influencing effective internal and external corporate governance mechanisms. This research work focuses on the voluntary appointment of independent directors. It would be interesting to compare the effectiveness of voluntary appointments with a mandatory appointment within Taiwan and with other jurisdictions.

This study incrementally contributes to the corporate governance literature in several ways. First, this study extends the earlier research by using a more comprehensive data set of non-financial Taiwanese firms and using alternative methodologies to investigate the determinants of voluntary appointment of independent directors. Second, prior studies tend to neglect the possible issue of using a censored and fractional dependent variable, the proportion of independent directors, which might yield biased and inconsistent parameter estimates when using ordinary least squares regression estimation. Finally, this study addresses the relevant econometric issues by using the Tobit, GLM and the two-stage least squares for a possible endogeneity concern.

Using a data set of listed firms domiciled in Taiwan, this paper aims to empirically assess the effects of ownership structure and board of directors on firm value.

Using a sample of Taiwanese listed firms from 1997 to 2015, this study uses a panel estimation to exploit both the cross-section and time–series nature of the data. Furthermore, two stage least squares (2SLS) regression model is used as robustness test to mitigate the endogeneity issue.

The main results show that the higher the proportion of independent directors, the smaller the board size, together with a two-tier board system and no chief executive officer duality, the stronger the firm’s performance. With respect to ownership structure, block-holders’ ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership and family ownership are all positively related to firm value.

Although the Taiwanese corporate governance reform concerning the independent director system which is mandatory only for newly-listed companies is successful, the regulatory authority should require all listed companies to appoint independent directors to further enhance the Taiwanese corporate governance.

First, unlike most of the previous literature on Western developed countries, this study examines the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on firm performance in a newly industrialised country, Taiwan. Second, while a number of studies used a single indicator of firm performance, this study examines both accounting-based and market-based firm performance. Third, this study addresses the endogeneity issue between corporate governance factors and firm performance by using 2SLS estimation, and details the econometric tests for justifying the appropriateness of using 2SLS estimation.

This study aims to apply signaling theory to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure can deliver effective signals to stakeholders to increase a firm’s competitive advantage in China. Whether ownership patterns or environmental sensitivity causes a significant difference in the relationship between a firm’s CSR disclosure and competitive advantage is also examined.

Data analysis is based on a regression model. Content analysis is performed to convert qualitative CSR information of Chinese firms into quantitative data, while intellectual capital (IC) is used as a proxy variable for competitive advantage.

The difference in competitive advantage impairment between environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs) and non-environmentally sensitive industries (NESIs) is significant. Further comparisons on the relationship between overall CSR disclosure and competitive advantage among state-owned enterprises, privately owned enterprises, ESIs and NESIs suggest that the relationship is negative.

The study extends research of strategic CSR to signaling theory and competitive advantage. In particular, a research using IC as a proxy for competitive advantage is rare. It also contributes to the literature on competitive advantage and strategic CSR by examining the effects of both CSR disclosure and IC.

This paper provides evidence related to stakeholders’ reaction to managers’ various CSR strategies in China. The contribution of this study is that it confirms that different CSR initiatives have different effects on the competitiveness of enterprises in China.

This study aims to examine the Taiwan setting, where audit partners’ names are presented in the audit report and where audit committee formation is voluntary in the initial stage of audit committee reform. This paper investigates the effects of the formation of voluntary audit committees on the selection of individual audit partners, and, in turn, the audit quality. This contrasts with previous studies investigating the relationship between audit committees and auditor selection at the audit firm level.

This paper samples all of Taiwan’s publicly listed firms for the period 2007–2012 and uses Heckman’s (1979) two-stage estimation model to achieve our objectives.

Using different characteristics of individual engagement partners as proxies for a higher quality auditor, the main empirical results show that voluntary audit committee formation is positively related to an industry specialist lead partner and a lead partner that has a larger number of clients. In addition, this paper also finds that voluntary audit committee formation has a positive impact on audit quality (proxied by discretionary accruals). The results suggest that the voluntary formation of an audit committee contributes positively to both auditor selection and audit quality. Furthermore, an additional test shows that the main empirical results are robust to a validity threat that firms that have good corporate governance prior to the formation of voluntary audit committees tend to select high-quality audit partners.

The paper contributes to the audit committee literature in the following ways: this paper takes advantage of Taiwan’s unique setting, where forming an audit committee is not compulsory in the initial stage of audit committee reform, to investigate the voluntary audit committee, auditor selection and audit quality; this paper expands on Abbott and Parker’s (2000) study of audit committee characteristics and auditor selection at the audit firm level by examining this relationship at the individual audit partner level; this paper responds to the call by Church et al. (2008) and DeFond and Francis (2005) who propose more studies on audit quality at the individual engagement partner level.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of managerial ability on voluntary environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and assurance. By focusing on managerial ability, this study provides a more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing a firm’s ESG disclosure and assurance practices. This study contributes to a relatively unexplored area of study regarding the role of top management in promoting ESG reporting.

This study draws on a sample of publicly listed firms from 2014 to 2019 in Taiwan and applies the data envelopment analysis method to measure managerial ability. Heckman’s (1979) two-step model is used to estimate the primary models to prevent the results from being affected by possible bias because of self-selection.

The empirical evidence suggests that managerial ability is positively related to voluntary ESG disclosure and intention to seek third-party assurance of the report. Overall, managerial ability determines whether a firm will use voluntary ESG disclosure and assurance as a corporate strategy to respond effectively to stakeholders’ needs. The findings are robust after using alternative measures of managerial ability.

Investors and other stakeholders keen on seeking ESG information offered by companies could find the findings of this study valuable. By better comprehending how managerial competence impacts voluntary ESG disclosure and assurance, stakeholders may be better equipped to hold companies responsible for their ESG disclosure practices and make informed investment decisions.

In the ESG decision-making process, managers with better abilities have a higher tendency to use voluntary disclosure and assurance as a part of the company’s sustainable policy.

Unlike previous studies of the determinant factors of ESG disclosure, which mainly explore factors at the national or corporate level, this study focuses on factors at the individual level (i.e. managerial ability) to fill the gap in the literature. This study also presents empirical evidence that corroborates the idea that managerial competence can influence not only ESG disclosure but also the voluntary assurance of ESG information.