3.2.2. Board CSR Strategy

Board CSR strategy is defined by Banerjee, [69] (p. 106), as 'the extent to which environmental issues are integrated into a firm's strategic plans'. Firms should adopt an effective board CSR strategy to achieve their long-term strategic and sustainable business goals. Isaksson and Steimle provide evidence that companies with effective CSR strategies have better sustainability performance [70]. These results are also mirrored by the Helfaya and Moussa study which finds a positive association between effective board CSR strategies and corporate sustainability practices [12]. In fact, an effective CSR strategy on the board leads to better sustainability performance [12]. In relation to the theoretical framework, board CSR strategy has close ties to legitimacy theory as the presence of the board CSR strategy will help the corporate boardrooms to set and achieve their long-term goals and renew their licenses to operate [21]. This decision for a CSR strategy establishes a strategy to enhance the relationship between an organization and its stakeholders with which it operates according to stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory [71].

Based on the above debate, we expect a positive relationship between board CSR strategy and the ESG disclosure score. Accordingly, our second hypothesis is the following.

**H2:** *There is a positive association between the board's CSR strategy and the ESG disclosure score.*
