Jimmy OKOINEMEN

This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and circular economy disclosure level (CEDL) among listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria, against the backdrop of increasing global emphasis on sustainability, resource efficiency, and environmental accountability. Despite the growing importance of circular economy practices, corporate disclosure in this domain remains largely voluntary, inconsistent, and underdeveloped in emerging economies, raising concerns about transparency and accountability. This study addresses this gap by examining whether corporate governance mechanisms serve as effective drivers of circular economy disclosure within the Nigerian institutional context. The study adopts an ex post facto research design and utilizes panel data from forty-one (41) manufacturing firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group over a seven-year period (2018–2024). Circular economy disclosure is measured using a 18-item disclosure index adapted from established literature, while corporate governance variables include board size, board gender diversity, board independence, board tenure, board diligence, and the presence of a CSR committee, with firm size included as a control variable. Data were sourced from annual reports and analyzed using fixed effects panel least squares regression, with robust standard errors applied to address heteroskedasticity and serial correlation. The findings revealed that corporate governance mechanisms exert differential effects on circular economy disclosure. Specifically, board gender diversity has a positive and statistically significant influence on CED, indicating that firms with higher female representation on their boards demonstrate greater transparency in circular economy reporting. In contrast, board size exhibits a negative but weakly significant relationship, suggesting that larger boards may hinder effective CED-oriented decision-making. However, board independence, board tenure, board diligence, and the presence of a CSR committee are found to have no significant impact on CED, implying that these governance mechanisms may be largely symbolic rather than substantive within the Nigerian context. Firm size, however, shows a strong positive and significant relationship with CED. The study concludes that effective circular economy disclosure in Nigeria is less dependent on formal governance structures and more influenced by board composition and organizational capacity. It contributes to the literature by providing context-specific empirical evidence from an emerging economy, extending corporate governance and sustainability disclosure research into the circular economy domain. The findings have important implications for policymakers, regulators, and corporate stakeholders, particularly in designing governance frameworks that promote substantive, rather than symbolic, sustainability disclosure practices.