Does human-oriented governance foster labor and human rights disclosure?

Abstract

Based on the idea that an organization’s morphology influences its response to pressures, this study aims to understand what drives companies to disclose material information about their impacts on labour and human rights (LHR) in response to social and regulatory pressures. This study posits that a substantive internalization of respect for human rights in business operations can be supported by a human-oriented approach to corporate governance that fosters an ethical organizational culture in which protecting and promoting LHR is viewed not as a moral option, but as a fundamental responsibility, thereby encouraging corporate transparency in this regard. The results obtained from a balanced data panel of 792 multinationals over the period 2011–2020 show that companies with a human-oriented approach to corporate governance disclose more comprehensive information on LHR issues. Furthermore, the results indicate that LHR performance negatively moderates the relationship between human-oriented governance and the level of LHR disclosure.