Audit committee characteristics and corporate sustainability performance: moderating role of CEO duality

Purpose This study aims to examine whether the audit committee (AC) characteristics affect corporate sustainability performance (SP). Furthermore, this study provides new insights into the moderating role of CEO duality (CEOD) on the nexus among AC characteristics and corporate SP. Likewise, this study considers several control variables within the tested models, such as corporate governance mechanisms and firm size. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of the listed firms in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) from 2014 to 2023. This study uses the ordinary least squares test as the baseline model. In addition, this study conduct a battery of robustness checks, including Two-Stage Least Squares and Fixed Effects regression tests to address potential endogeneity. Findings This study finds that corporate SP is positively associated with the audit committee independence (ACI). While the audit committee tenure (ACT) has a limited effect on corporate sustainability practices. Furthermore, the findings show that CEOD positively and significantly moderates the nexus between ACI and corporate SP. Practical implications This study provides insights for various stakeholders (managers and investors) to evaluate the role of ACs characteristics on sustainability practices. Originality/value This study contributes to the recent research on corporate sustainability practices by identifying the specific characteristics of AC on corporate SP.