Religion and Corporate Governance Dynamics
Summary
Religious beliefs and practices exert a multifaceted influence on corporate governance through formal and informal channels. At a societal level, prevailing belief systems shape normative expectations, ethical frameworks and risk perceptions that inform corporate decision-making. Within organisations, the personal religiosity of executives and board members can imprint values that guide strategic priorities, from tax compliance and financial disclosure to social and environmental engagement. Meanwhile, regional religious atmospheres create informal institutional environments that affect stakeholder pressure, corporate culture and governance mechanisms. Taken together, these dynamics underscore the global significance of understanding how religion intersects with governance structures, offering insights for regulators, investors and practitioners seeking to align corporate behaviour with ethical and sustainability objectives.
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Religion and Corporate Governance Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in religion and corporate governance dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Religiosity: The degree and intensity of individual or collective religious belief and practice that influence attitudes and behaviour.
Corporate governance: The framework of rules, processes and structures through which a company is directed and controlled to balance the interests of stakeholders.
Belief system: A set of interrelated doctrines and values that inform a community’s worldview and normative expectations.
Informal institutions: Unwritten social norms and cultural practices that shape organisational and individual behaviour beyond formal regulations.
References
- Religion and CSR: a systematic literature review. Journal of Business Economics (2020).
- The relationship between religiosity and voluntary disclosure quality: a cross-country evidence from the banking sector. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting (2022).
- CEOs’ Pre‐Career Exposure to Religion and Corporate Tax Avoidance. Journal of Management Studies (2024).
- Does a Religious Atmosphere Impact Corporate Social Responsibility? A Comparative Study between Taoist and Buddhist Dominated Atmospheres. Religions (2023).
- Does the “Tian-Ren-He-Yi” Belief System Promote Corporate Environmental Performance?. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
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