Board of Directors’ Foreign Experience and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Empirical Evidence from Non-Financial Listed Firms in Vietnam

As sustainability reporting increasingly supports financial innovation by facilitating ESG-oriented investment, sustainable finance, and more informed capital allocation, understanding the governance factors associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure has become increasingly important. This study examines the association between board of directors’ foreign experience and CSR disclosure among non-financial listed firms in Vietnam. Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory and Legitimacy Theory, the study argues that directors with international education and/or professional work experience possess broader governance perspectives, greater familiarity with global sustainability practices, and stronger awareness of stakeholder expectations, which may be associated with more transparent CSR disclosure. The study is based on a sample of 499 non-financial firms listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) during the 2015–2019 period, comprising 1185 firm-year observations. Information on board of directors’ foreign experience was manually collected from annual reports, corporate governance reports, and company websites. The findings indicate that board of directors’ foreign experience is positively associated with both the extent and quality of CSR disclosure. The study contributes to the corporate governance, sustainability, and financial innovation literature by providing one of the first empirical examinations of the relationship between board of directors’ foreign experience and CSR disclosure in Vietnam. The findings also offer practical implications for firms, investors, and policymakers seeking to strengthen sustainability reporting, improve transparency, facilitate access to sustainable finance, and promote innovative governance practices in emerging and transition economies.