Operational definition of variables
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| Dependent variable | |
| DISVOL | The natural log of one plus total number of words related to cybersecurity (cyber, cybersecurity, security, cyber-attack, data security, data breach, information technology, and IT) that appear in a company’s annual report. Source: Authors’ constructed using NVivo software |
| Independent variables | |
| BDSIZE | Total number of directors on the board. Source: DataStream |
| GENDIV | Percentage of women directors on the board. Source: DataStream |
| INDPDIR | Percentage of independent directors on the board. Source: DataStream |
| COMPRN | A dummy variable that takes the value one if there is any committee of the board responsible for cybersecurity or related issues disclosed in the annual reports, and zero otherwise. Source: Authors’ constructed |
| AUDCOMIND | Percentage of independent directors on the audit committee. Source: DataStream |
| CYBERPOLICY | A dummy variable that takes the value of one if the company has a policy on cybersecurity in place to protect from cyber-attack, unauthorized access, and data leaks, etc. and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream |
| 1WOMAN | A dummy variable that takes the value of one if only one woman is on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream |
| 2WOMEN | A dummy variable takes the value of one if there is two women on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream |
| ≥3WOMEN | A dummy variable takes the value of one if there are at least three women on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream |
| Control variables | |
| CRISKIND | A dummy variable that takes the value of one if a firm operates in a cyber-sensitive industry, such as banking, insurance, IT, or online retail, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream |
| SIZE | Natural log value of one plus total assets. Source: Worldscope |
| LEV | Ratio of total debt to total assets. Source: Worldscope |
| ROA | Net profit before extraordinary items divided by lagged total assets. Source: Worldscope |
| MTB | Ratio of the market value of equity to the book value of equity. Source: Worldscope |
| Variables used in robustness tests | |
| LAG_GENDIV | One year lag of board gender diversity (GENDIV) |
| GENDIV_IND | Average gender diversity within the industry, based on the Fama-French 12-industry classification |
| DECILE_DISVOL | A categorical variable created by deciles of DISVOL |
| BLAUIDX | Blau index of gender diversity, calculated as 1 − ∑(pi)2, where pi is the proportion of males and females on the board |
| SHANIDX | Shannon index of gender diversity, calculated as − ∑pi ln pi, where pi is the proportion of individuals in each gender category on the board |
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| The natural log of one plus total number of words related to cybersecurity (cyber, cybersecurity, security, cyber-attack, data security, data breach, information technology, and IT) that appear in a company’s annual report. Source: Authors’ constructed using NVivo software | |
| Total number of directors on the board. Source: DataStream | |
| Percentage of women directors on the board. Source: DataStream | |
| Percentage of independent directors on the board. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable that takes the value one if there is any committee of the board responsible for cybersecurity or related issues disclosed in the annual reports, and zero otherwise. Source: Authors’ constructed | |
| Percentage of independent directors on the audit committee. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable that takes the value of one if the company has a policy on cybersecurity in place to protect from cyber-attack, unauthorized access, and data leaks, etc. and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable that takes the value of one if only one woman is on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable takes the value of one if there is two women on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable takes the value of one if there are at least three women on the board, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream | |
| A dummy variable that takes the value of one if a firm operates in a cyber-sensitive industry, such as banking, insurance, IT, or online retail, and zero otherwise. Source: DataStream | |
| Natural log value of one plus total assets. Source: Worldscope | |
| Ratio of total debt to total assets. Source: Worldscope | |
| Net profit before extraordinary items divided by lagged total assets. Source: Worldscope | |
| Ratio of the market value of equity to the book value of equity. Source: Worldscope | |
| One year lag of board gender diversity ( | |
| Average gender diversity within the industry, based on the Fama-French 12-industry classification | |
| A categorical variable created by deciles of DISVOL | |
| Blau index of gender diversity, calculated as 1 − ∑( | |
| Shannon index of gender diversity, calculated as − ∑ | |
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