Does Board Size Influence the Firm Performance? A Global Literature Review

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyse the findings of past empirical studies concerning the impact of board size on fi rm performance. Forty nine empirical papers from thirty one countries published in various reputed peer reviewed and indexed journals during the period of 1995 to 2020 have been reviewed in this study. It has been found from the review of these papers that there is mix impact (positive, negative and insignifi cant) of board size on firm performance. However, positive relation between board size and value measure of firm performance (Tobin q) and negative relation between board size and profi tability measure of performance (Return on Assets) have been found in majority of the previous research work. Evidence of nonlinear relation between both of these variables has been also found, but its frequency is very less. This paper is very useful for doctoral candidates, researchers, academicians, policy makers and corporate managers.