This study displays the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on financial stability (FS) of Saudi Takaful insures during the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing how does board gender diversity (BGD) mediate this effect. This study builds on unbalanced panel of 130 firm-year observations from 26 Saudi Takaful insurers over the period 2020–2024. The dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to check the interdependence relationship between insurers' CSR disclosure and FS with BGD as a moderator. Results indicate that CSR disclosure improves the FS of Saudi Takaful insurers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the moderation analysis indicates the limited influence of BGD on the CSR disclosure -FS nexus. These results remain robust through rigorous robustness checks.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) engagement has been identified as a strategic priority for firms. However, its impact on green innovation (GIN) remains contested. Indeed, the propensity for climate risk to shape the effectiveness of ESG-driven GIN is underexplored. This study investigates how ESG performance (ESGPerf) influences GIN and examines the moderating effect of climate physical risk within the Saudi setting over 2002–2024. Results from fixed-effects and two-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions applied to 460 firm-year observations show that ESGPerf promotes GIN, while climate risk independently stimulates innovation and dampens ESGPerf’s positive effect on GIN. These findings suggest that environmental uncertainty shifts firms’ resource allocation between long-term innovation and short-term adaptation, demonstrating that the strategic value of ESG investments is contingent on risk contexts and underscores ESG commitment as a potential strategic capability rather than mere symbolic compliance. These findings are insensitive to rigorous robustness checks, including alternative variables’ measures and estimation techniques.

This study explores the key factors driving corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSR_DISC) by Takaful insurance companies (TKIs) in Saudi Arabia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We use content analysis and follow an unweighted scoring method to score the CSR_DISC index. Based on a sample of 26 Saudi-listed TKIs, for the period 2020–2024, we employ Poisson panel and negative binomial panel models to examine the interdependent relationships between CSR_DISCs and a set of corporate governance factors. We find that Saudi TKIs increased their CSR_DISCs in their financial reporting during and after the COVID-19 crisis. These findings confirm that board and firm size have a significant and negative effect on corporate CSR_DISC. However, the number of independent board members and female directors positively affect the extent of CSR_DISCs. Finally, the size of the audit committee and the Shariah supervisory board, frequency of board meetings, and profitability do not affect CSR_DISCs.