Board Attributes and Corporate Philanthropy Behavior during COVID-19. A Case from China

Executives play a crucial role in the decision‐making process of corporate philanthropy. My study focuses on the board characteristics such as female CEO, board size and board overall diversity which can influence a corporation’s decision to engage in philanthropy. According to the International Business Survey 2016, average proportion of female executives in China of 30% is higher than the international average of 25% globally. Women are under-represented in decision-making positions worldwide. Undoubtfully, gender equality and gender diversity are considered beneficial for organizations, institutions and overall economy. This research attempts to shed light on the importance of the women at decision making positions that may produce not only more gender equality and diversity but also substantial effects on society and organizations performance during Corona virus COVID-19. The study aims to investigate how board attributes, board size, board diversity and females’ leaders influence the corporate philanthropy decisions and how corporate philanthropy influence the company’s stock prices.

Specifically, this research examines the relationship between board attributes and corporate philanthropic behavior for combating the COVID-19 epidemic and stock price fluctuations for China. The results show that the philanthropic behavior has a positive effect on the stock prices; that companies with female leaders are more likely to engage in philanthropic behavior; and that the proportion of female’s directors is positively correlated with philanthropic behavior. Additionally, the results show that board size is negatively correlated with philanthropic behavior.