Board Sustainability Governance and Environmental Citizenship in Global Hospitality Firms: Associations with Environmental Performance and Firm Value

This research contributes to the existing corporate governance (CG) and social and environmental accountability (SEA) literature by exploring the impact of CG mechanisms (board independence, board size, CEO duality, and board gender diversity) on Chinese firms’ environmental performance, sustainability performance, and environmental information disclosures (EID). Furthermore, the investigation consequently ascertains the amount to which the CG–SEA connection is influenced by CEO qualities. Using a dynamic model of a SysGMM regression model, we found that board size, independence, and gender diversity in board and CEO duality are all favorably connected to Chinese enterprises’ environmental performance over a window of 10 years (2010–2019). Additionally, our findings imply that the analyzed CEO characteristics positively moderate the relationship between CG and SEA. Our findings have significant consequences for all stakeholders, including environmentalists, corporate regulators, CEOs, policymakers, and regulators.

This study aims to investigate whether board structure (i.e. board size, board independence, CEO duality) and board gender diversity affect financial performance of non-financial listed firms in Pakistan. Moreover, this study investigates whether theories related to corporate governance provide any support to understand the impact of board structure and board gender diversity on firm performance. To estimate the results data were taken from annual reports of non-financial firms related to cement, food & personal care products and pharmaceutical sectors over a period of 6 years from 2018 to 2023. Panel data techniques namely pooled OLS, fixed effects and random effects methods used to estimate the results. Results show that board size is positively related to firm performance. The positive relation confirms the predictions of resource-based view. Interestingly, board independence is inversely related to firm value. The negative relation might be due to excessive involvement of independent directors in strategic decisions. Moreover, undue deliberations on strategic issues may lead to delay in decision making which inversely affect the firm performance. CEO duality is positively related to profitability and firm value. Finally, board gender diversity is positively related to firm performance. Findings provide support to researchers, academicians, managers and creditors to understand the difference between theory and practice.

This study aims to examine the effect of Board Gender Diversity, Board Independence, CEO Duality, and CEO Tenure on the Value of Banking Sector Companies Listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period Before and After Covid-19. The independent variables in this study are Board Gender Diversity, Board Independence, CEO Duality, and CEO Tenure. The dependent variable in this study is firm value which uses two proxies, namely PBV. The number of samples in this study amounted to 39 companies with 6 years of observation so that there were 234 total observations to be analysed. The sampling technique used purposive sampling method. The research method used in this research is quantitative. Data sourced based on secondary data, namely annual reports published from each company. The analysis method used is panel data regression with Stata version 17. The results of this study indicate that the results show that Board Gender Diversity has a negative effect on firm value projected by PBV value in the period before Covid-19. Conversely, Board Gender Diversity has no effect on firm value projected by PBV value in the period during Covid-19. Board Independence has no influence on firm value in the Pre Covid-19 period. Conversely, Board Independence has a positive influence on firm value at the time of Covid-19. CEO Duality has no influence on firm value in the pre-covid period or when covid struck. CEO Tenure has a significant positive effect on firm value in the Pre Covid-19 period. Conversely, CEO Tenure has no influence on firm value during Covid-19.

The study aims to analyze the moderating effects of environmental and social performance (pillars of ESG performance) on the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms (board size, CEO duality, board independence, and gender diversity) and company performance. The sample consisted of 96 Brazilian companies organized in an unbalanced panel. The analysis period covered the years 2016-2020 and was conducted using robust panel data regression. The main results revealed that environmental and social performance have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between CEO duality and accounting performance and a positive moderating influence on the relationship between board independence and market performance, while for accounting performance, only environmental moderation shows an effect. A positive moderating effect of social performance was observed in the relationship between board gender diversity and accounting performance. As contributions, this research aimed to incorporate new evidence on the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on performance by exploring the impact of environmental and social performance in this relationship. In practical terms, the study demonstrates that in Brazilian companies, larger boards and CEO duality can enhance organizational performance, challenging the traditional practice of avoiding power concentration. Furthermore, the research contributes by exploring new angles regarding environmental and social practices that have proven essential for moderating the relationship between governance and performance, suggesting that companies should strengthen their ESG initiatives to maximize returns and attract investors.

The aim of this research is to investigate the association between the composition of corporate boards and the financial performance of companies that operate in the maritime sector. This research analyses how gender diversity, CEO duality, board size, and board independence affect the profitability and value of Indian maritime companies that have been selected as the sample for this study. This study is based on 40 maritime firms in India. Data is collected from secondary sources. Pooled regression analysis is utilised to estimate the coefficients of the variables of interest.The results reveal a positive association between board independence, gender diversity, and firm profitability, while board size is negatively linked with firm profitability as measured by ROA (return on assets). The results also point that there is a positive association between board independence, gender diversity, and firm value, while board size is negatively linked with firm value as measured by Q-Tobin. Gender diversity, board size, and board independence have significantly contributed to the performance of the company. While the benefits of gender diversity and board independence reveal how fundamental the diversified and independent boardrooms are to financial success, the evidence indicating the negative signs of association between CEO duality and firm performance suggests that a division of duties between the office of CEO and board chairperson may lead to better monitoring and decision-making.

The objective of the study is to investigate the impact of female representation on boards and female CEOs on firms’ sustainable performance in the context of an emerging economy. We also introduce the CEO duality as a moderator variable between sustainable firm performance and board gender diversity. For this purpose, the study uses a panel data sample from 2005 to 2020 for non-financial listed firms in Pakistan. We use the firm’s operational self-sufficiency for the sustainable performance of firms. For robustness, the study also uses other accounting-based and market-based proxies. We apply the static (fixed and random effect) and dynamic panel estimation (GMM) techniques to deal with the heterogeneity and dynamic endogeneity issues in panel data estimation. The finding shows a significant positive impact of female directors on board and female CEOs on sustainable performance, whereas CEO duality does not moderate this relationship. Furthermore, we find that CEO duality has a significant negative impact on firms’ sustainable performance, which supports the agency theory hypothesis. The study also controls corporate board level factors, including board size and board independence, and uses leverage, firm size, capital expenditure, and tangible assets as firm-level control. The results also reveal that board size and board independence have a significant positive impact on firms’ sustainable performance. Furthermore, firm size, tangibility, and firm age have a significant positive, whereas leverage and capital expenditure have a negative impact on firms’ sustainable performance. Finally, the study has policy implications for stakeholders.

This study empirically investigates the relationship between board characteristics (board size, board independence, Corporate Social Responsibility sustainability committee, board gender diversity, CEO duality, board-specific skills) and environmental performance (emissions, environmental innovation and resource use) of a sample of banks from different countries. In detail, we use an unbalanced panel dataset of 1,644 observations for 311 banks from the United States, Europe, the UK and Canada, over the period between 2015 and 2020. Through the Fixed Effect panel model and the generalized method of moments system version of the Arellano-Bond estimator, we find that both the percentage of women on boards and the presence of the CSR sustainability committee enhance the banks’ environmental performance. These findings are confirmed by all three sub-pillars of environmental performance, that is, emissions, environmental innovation and resource use. Our results shed light on the role that certain board characteristics play in improving the environmental performance of banks.

We examine how governance mechanisms influence strategic change, with particular focus on the role of board gender diversity (BGD). Using a data set of 242 Italian nonfinancial listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we specifically investigate how governance mechanisms, such as board size , board independence , CEO gender , ownership concentration , and CEO duality , affect strategic change. Our results, grounded in agency and resource dependence theories, show that board independence, CEO gender, ownership concentration, and BGD each contribute positively to strategic change. In contrast, larger boards and CEO duality have a negative influence. Importantly, we find that BGD modifies the impact of other governance mechanisms on strategic change. Gender‐diverse boards accentuate the positive effects of board independence, CEO gender, and ownership concentration on strategic change while attenuating the negative impact of board size. These results suggest that BGD not only adds value directly but also improves the effectiveness of other governance components. Firms can promote strategic change by optimizing their governance structures, particularly by increasing BGD, which contributes to positive governance outcomes and mitigates the drawbacks of certain governance mechanisms. Practitioners can use these insights to structure their boards more effectively, emphasizing independence, CEO gender, and ownership concentration to drive strategic change. Additionally, firms may reconsider their approach to board size and CEO duality to minimize potential adverse effects on strategic change, leading to practical assessments and potential restructuring of existing boards.

Does effective corporate governance mitigate the negative effect of ESG controversies on firm value?

Purpose This paper aims to document international evidence of the impact of a board-level governance bundle [size, independence, CEO duality, gender diversity and sustainability committee (SC)] on sustainability reporting (SR) and, separately, on its three dimensions (economic, environmental and social). Design/methodology/approach The sample includes 370 listed firms from 50 countries. A GRI standards-based disclosure index was constructed to quantify SR across various reporting media. Findings The baseline findings show that SC positively affects SR and its three dimensions. Board size also has a significant and positive impact on SR and two of its dimensions (economic and social). Similarly, board independence and CEO duality have a significant but negative association with SR and the same two dimensions. Finally, board gender diversity has no significant impact on SR and all its three dimensions. Practical implications The findings that only SC significantly influences SR, and its three dimensions, have important implications for corporate governance reforms internationally to improve SR in countries where such committees are not yet part of the board of directors’ sub-committees. Originality/value Overall, this study contributes to board characteristics–SR literature and holds significant theoretical and practical implications.

Good corporate governance mechanism implementation will consistently strengthen the firm’s competitive position, maximizing the firm value, and managing its resources and risks more efficiently, which consequently will lead to strengthen the trust of the firm’s stakeholders. Hence, they can operate and grow sustainably The main aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms mainly board characteristics (namely: CEO duality, board size and board independence) on firm value using profitability as an intermediate variable in the Egyptian listed non-financial companies. Using a research sample of 45 firms during the period 2015-2020, we run six multiple regression models to test the impact of CEO duality, board independence, board size, gross profit margin, ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q and firm size as a control variables on firm value. Consistent the results reported by many previous researchers, we found that CEOD, Tobin's Q and firm size have a positive significant impact on company’s profitability, while board independence has a significant negative relationship with company’s profitability. Moreover, Findings shows that corporate social responsibility, Tobin's Q and firm size have a positive significant impact on company’s profitability. In addition, the statistical results show that corporate social responsibility, board characteristics as required by corporate governance practices, Tobin's Q and firm size have a positive significant impact on firm value. The statistical results support the literature and previous scholars indicated for the association between corporate governance mechanism and CSR based on the firm financial performance as a moderator in different causal directions. If governance entities assumed that social responsible decisions enhance the firm’s financial performance. In other words, there is a positive relationship between firm financial performance and CSR hence, effective governance mechanisms may promote CSR. This research shows that there is a positive association between CSR and firm value when taking into consideration both stakeholder theory and reputation theory. The statistical results indicate that effective corporate governance mechanisms improve nonfinancial or the social outcomes, namely CSR as the effective monitoring by shareholders and independent boards has a positive impact on CSR.

The presence of a specific role, such as a sustainability committee, is crucial for enhancing environmental and social performance and increasing market value. This study aims to examine the direct relationship between sustainability committee to environmental and social performance, as well as between environmental and social performance and firm value to provide additional evidence among mixed findings from previous result. The moderating relationship of the sustainability committee given the significant outcomes in the direct relationship between environmental and social performance and firm value. Using 11 years data in Indonesia, the sustainability committee has positive significant to environmental and social performance. Social performance has positive significant to firm value while environmental does not. Additionally, sustainability committee strengthens the relationship between environmental performance and firm value while social performance is not. These findings portray the importance of sustainability committee to both leverage the environmental and social performance, as well as firm value. The Difference‐in‐Difference (DiD) analysis reveals that, following POJK No. 51/2017, sustainability committee significantly impacts environmental and social performance and firm value, though with negative way. This distinction result provides additional insight since in short‐term the sustainability role still perceived in negative ways. This study contributes to the literature by presence of the role sustainability committee, which no previous studies documented in developing country and difference governance mechanisms such as Indonesia. The limitation of data sustainability committee recommends the future study should consider the role sustainability responsibilities in other committees, identify the characteristics and performance of sustainability committee.

This study aims to investigate the influence of board gender diversity, board independence, CEO duality, and CEO tenure on the value of manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2016 to 2020. The independent variables in this study are board gender diversity, board independence, CEO duality, and CEO tenure, while the dependent variable is firm value, measured by the price to book ratio (PBV). The data used in this study consists of annual reports of manufacturing companies published by the IDX during the time period of 2016 to 2020. The number of samples used in this study were 94 companies with observations for 5 years so that 470 objects of observation were selected. The sampling method used in this study is purposive sampling, and the research analysis is conducted using panel data regression. The results of this study contrast with the theory of good corporate governance. The empirical result shows that Board Independence, and CEO Tenure had a significant and negative effect on firm value. While board gender diversity, and CEO duality do not influence the firm value

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance characteristics on bank financial performance in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The board characteristics include board size, board independence, board gender diversity, and CEO duality (CEO is also Board Chair), with bank size as the moderating variable. Sixty-six commercial banks from six Gulf Cooperation Council countries—Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar—are examined from 2019 to 2023 using two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments econometric methods. Board size, board independence, and board gender diversity significantly increase return on assets and return on equity. The impact of CEO duality is mixed. The empirical findings show that CEO duality increases return on equity, with a non-significant impact on return on assets. Finally, results show that bank size moderates the impacts of board size, board independence, and gender diversity in boards on the financial performance of banks. Large banks significantly increase return on assets and return on equity due to the board characteristics examined, to a greater extent than small banks. Bank leaders should expand board membership, and add independent directors and women, to improve financial performance.

Board Characteristics and Corporate Environmental Performance: A Meta-Analysis