Social Sustainability Disclosure and Firm Value of Listed Financial Services Firms in Nigeria
In light of the challenges that Nigerian listed financial services firms encounter in achieving sustainable performance, it becomes imperative to investigate alternative approaches for adhering to current corporate sustainability reporting standards. This pursuit can potentially impede the ability of financial institutions to enhance their value creation capabilities. This research examines the impact of social sustainability disclosure on firm value of listed financial services firms in Nigeria. The study employed ex-post facto research design. The study relied on secondary data extracted from the annual reports of 35 selected financial service firms, covering the time period from 2010 through 2020. The study employed regression analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings of the study indicate that workforce gender diversity (female workforce) disclosures and education sponsorship as indicators of social sustainability disclosure, have a positive and statistically significant influence on firm value. On the other hand, health and safety disclosure has a positive but insignificant effect. The study concluded that enhancing firms’ social sustainability disclosure, particularly in relation to workforce gender diversity and education sponsorship, have the potential to enhance the firms’ value. The study recommended that listed firms should prioritize the implementation of disclosure strategies and policies pertaining to workforce gender diversity, specifically with regards to the representation of women in the workforce, as well as disclosure of education sponsorship initiatives to stimulate and enhance firm in competitive market. Keywords: Firm value, share price, workforce gender diversity disclosure, health and safety disclosure, education sponsorship disclosure.