Board Structure and Sustainability Performance: A Study on Turkish Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

The adoption of the innovative perspective of Industry 5.0 at the highest level in organizations is important for ensuring sustainability in every field and the board of directors' role becomes increasingly important in improving companies' sustainability performance. This chapter first presents the theoretical and conceptual background of Industry 5.0 and sustainability, the role of boards of directors in sustainability, and corporate sustainability reporting. Then, the findings of an empirical study that examine the impact of board structure on companies' sustainability performance are presented. The study aims to contribute by revealing which characteristics of companies' boards of directors positively impact sustainability performances of the companies. The data from 166 manufacturing firms listed on Borsa Istanbul have been used in the research. Findings suggest that both the size of the board and the presence of women on the board have a positive impact on sustainability performance.