Board characteristics and sustainability reporting of state-owned enterprises: evidence from Sub-Sahara Africa

Purpose This paper aims to examine the extent of sustainability reporting by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and its relationship with selected board characteristics (size, independence, gender diversity and meetings). Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from the annual reports of 78 SSA SOEs during 2012–2022 through a content analysis approach, and analysed using panel data regressions. Findings SSA SOEs’ sustainability reporting is moderate. Additionally, the selected board characteristics and the extent of sustainability reporting have an insignificant relationship. This conclusion holds even when the sample is split between listed and unlisted SOEs. Practical implications The insights can inform authorities and policymakers to strengthen the corporate governance mechanisms of all SOEs, as the findings reveal a low level of reporting and insignificant relationships with the extent of sustainability reporting. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between board characteristics and the extent of SOE sustainability reporting in SSA using a multi-country sample of listed and unlisted SOEs. It also extends the literature by showing that within the SSA context, the nexus between corporate governance characteristics and sustainability reporting by SOEs does not vary between listed and unlisted SOEs.