MODERATING EFFECT OF FOREIGN-DOMESTIC OWNERSHIP RATIO ON FIRM ATTRIBUTES AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISCLOSURE IN NIGERIAN OIL AND GAS QUOTED COMPANIES

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the assessment of environmental disclosure: the moderating effect of firm attributes and foreign-domestic ownership ratio with specific interest on the role of firm size, leverage and profitability. Secondary data retrieved from the annual reports of oil and gas quoted companies on the stock exchange of Nigeria was employed in the study. The study period spans from 2010-2018 and the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression was used for the estimation of the specified models. The findings of the study show that profitability has a significant impact on environmental reporting of oil and gas quoted companies in Nigeria while leverage and company size have no significant impact on environmental reporting of oil and gas quoted companies in Nigeria. The study further revealed a significant moderating effect of foreign-domestic ownership ratio on the relationship between firm size, leverage, Profitability and environmental reporting. The study recommends that firms that are well to do financially should pay more attention to environmental reporting and firms should improve their environmental performance irrespective of their leverage. The study further recommends that both small and big firms need to improve their environmental performance and the presence of more foreign-domestic ownership should lead to more robust disclosures of environmental issues.

Keywords

• Company size
• Environmental disclosure
• Profitability
• Foreign-domestic ownership ratio