Board Gender Research Articles

Board Diversity and Dividend Policy of Listed Health Care Companies in Nigeria: The Moderating Effect of Financial Performance

This paper examines the moderating effect of financial performance on the relationship between board dynamism and dividend payout of listed healthcare companies in Nigeria. Data were collected from the annual reports and accounts of 10 healthcare companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group over a period of 2011 to 2021. Ex post facto research design was employed and secondary data was sourced through annual reports of listed health care companies. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the data using panel regression technique. The results show that board gender has a significant negative effect on dividend payout prior to moderation. Results however, changed to a significant positive effect when moderated with financial performance. Specifically, gender diversity, board qualification and board nationality have significant positive effects on dividend payout. In addition, financial performance significantly moderates the relationship between gender diversity and dividend payout. Impliedly, health care companies with more female directors perform better and tend to pay more dividends, Based on the findings of the study, there should be a policy decision of Nigerian healthcare firms that will give female directors a quota on the board of directors to be composed of women directors who have more corporate experience. The regulators should also encourage boards of Nigerian healthcare firms to consist of a more diverse board to positively foster performance, thus improving dividend payout. Managers of the Nigerian healthcare firms should ensure that more foreign directors are appointed to serve on their board to achieve a more favorable dividend policy. This can be achieved through direct foreign investment in the Nigerian healthcare companies.

INTERNAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MECHANISMS AND EARNINGS QUALITY OF LISTED INDUSTRIAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This study examined the effects of corporate governance mechanism on earnings quality in Nigeria. To achieve the aims of this study, a total of 23 listed industrial firms in the Nigerian stock exchange market were selected and analyzed for this study using the census sampling technique. Also, the corporate annual reports for the period 2006-2016 were used for the study. The regression analysis method was used as a statistical technique for analyzing the data collected from the annual report and accounts of the selected firms. Findings from the study revealed that board independence, board gender, board size and CEO duality have a significant negative effect on earnings quality (proxied by discretionary accruals) for the sampled industrial firms in Nigeria. The study recommends that corporate governance mechanisms in Nigeria industrial firms should enable the individual companies to organise its governance optimally in accordance with the principles.

Do high costs in the capital structure contribute to the nexus between board gender and financial performance?

This study examines the relationship between board diversity and financial performance. Additionally, the capital structure serves as a moderating variable. BOD diversity includes gender, nationality, and age, while capital structure is measured by leverage. Previous studies have not considered the moderating role of capital structure, even though leverage is a trade-off between benefits and costs. Data were collected from 162 firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2017 to 2020, and panel data was analyzed. Directors are more likely to be homogeneous. Specifically, female directors did not impact return on assets (ROA) and equity (ROE), even when their numbers continually increased. Surprisingly, when female directors were moderated by leverage, profitability became negative and significant. Moreover, before and after moderation, old directors did not differ negatively or significantly. In addition, foreign directors initially increased ROA and ROE, but the empirical results were reversed when it was moderated by leverage. The number of female directors chosen by companies should be corrected not as a result of a positive image but based on their competence. Additionally, it is necessary to reduce the role of the old director. To reiterate, the level of debt becomes a significantly stressful cost signal.

Corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance in Saudi Arabia before and during the COVID-19 outbreak

This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the performance of listed firms in Saudi Arabia before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The study applied univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses to data collected from 258 annual reports from 2019 to 2020. The results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, firm market performance (Tobin’s Q ratio) has decreased with larger board size, more board meetings, while it has increased with board experience, board education, and board gender (number of women on the board). Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, board gender was found to have a significant positive impact on the firm’s operational performance (return on assets), implying that gender diversity on boards plays a crucial role in times of crisis. The findings have significant implications for Saudi Arabian firms, managers, investors, and policymakers. Furthermore, the latest corporate governance regulations in Saudi Arabia are almost certain to have a significant impact on firm performance, particularly during times of crisis. In addition, corporate governance regulations should consider the importance of small board size, lower board independence, board member experience and education, and board gender diversity to improve corporate performance, especially in times of crisis. Governments and regulators should collaborate to reduce the financial and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprehensive policies are needed to address the negative consequences of current and future crises.

Board characteristics and corporate cash holding: evidence from the UK, France and Germany

PurposePrior studies suggest that corporate cash holding will reflect firms' corporate governance (CG) environment. Consistent with this prediction, this study aims to examine the impact of board characteristics on firms' cash holding in the UK, France and Germany.Design/methodology/approachUsing 2,805 firm-year observations between 2009 and 2019, the authors examine the relationship between board characteristics and corporate cash holding. The authors used two measures of cash holdings as our dependent variables. As independent variables, the authors used CG characteristics relevant to effective board monitoring such as board meetings, outside directors, board size and board gender diversity.FindingsThe authors find that board characteristics influence firms' cash holdings of firms in the UK, France and Germany. However, this study documents evidence of varying impacts of board monitoring on the cash holding of the UK when compared to German and French firms, the countries that are classifiable as bank-based economies. The result of this study is robust to alternative cash-holding measures and endogeneity.Practical implicationsThis study provides evidence supporting the board's impact in mitigating agency conflict in shareholder- and stakeholder-oriented CG environments.Originality/valueThis study contributes to previous works on firms’ financial orientation by showing that the impact of board characteristics on corporate cash holdings varies between bank- and market-based economies.

Moderating Role of Governance Regulatory Compliance on Board Diversity and Voluntary Disclosure of Non-Financial Firms in a Developing Country

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the moderation influence of CG regulatory compliance on the relationship between board diversity and voluntary disclosure (VD) of Nigerian listed firms since the literature on disclosure studies has concentrated principally on examining a direct relationship between internal governance mechanisms, neglecting the external regulations. Being an ex post facto design, a sample of 67 firms listed in the Nigerian stock exchange for the period 2012–2017 is used. A system GMM approach (being the best and most contemporary panel approach) is employed. The study revealed that the interaction of regulatory code compliance with board gender and ethnic diversity has a significant positive impact on the firms’ voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that ethnic diversity shows a positive and significant association with voluntary disclosure. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this study is among the few attempts at explicitly examining the effect of CG regulatory compliance on board diversity and VD in CG studies, especially in a developing economy such as that of Nigeria. Additionally, it is among the few attempts that provide empirical results using superior dynamic panel models. This study provides a strong practical implication for business firms, policymakers, future research, and society. For instance, the findings have direct implications for Nigerian firms in the selection of directors in order to comprise well-educated people of different ethnic backgrounds and be inclusive of females.

Does Environmental Disclosure and Instagram Engagement affect Firm Performance? The Moderating Role of Board’s Gender Diversity

This study examines the impact of corporate environmental disclosure and Instagram engagement on firm performance, with the moderating role of board's gender diversity. Data from 100 firms listed on the KOMPAS100 index and the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) for the period of 2019-2020 was collected. After removing firms with excessive missing data, the final sample comprised of 57 firms, resulting in a total sample of 114 for the years 2019 and 2020. Environmental disclosure data were obtained from corporate annual reports and stand-alone sustainability reports, analyzed using the GRI Standards. Engagement data with firms' official Instagram accounts were manually obtained from Socialblade. Hypothesis testing was conducted using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS). Findings indicate that environmental disclosure and Instagram engagement do not significantly impact firm performance. However, board's gender diversity moderates the relationship between Instagram engagement and firm performance, strengthening it. However, no significant moderating effect of board's gender diversity was found on the relationship between environmental disclosure and firm performance.

Sustainability context and industry profile on the effect of gender diversity on firm value

The aim of this study is to test the influence of the board's gender diversity on firm value through sustainability report disclosure. The research also examines the effect of industry profile in moderating the board's gender diversity relationship with sustainability report disclosure and the moderation of sustainable investment practices in the relationship between sustainability report disclosure and firm value. The testing uses panel data regression to analyze 306 sample data from non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange that comply with the sample selection criteria. The research findings prove that board gender diversity is able to increase firm value because investors view the presence of female board members as reflecting a good corporate governance mechanism. This research also proves that the presence of women board members reduces the level of sustainability report disclosure. The effect of board gender diversity on sustainability report disclosure is reduced in high-profile companies. High-profile companies experience strong pressure to make disclosures of activities in which environmental and social impacts are transparent. Conversely, this study cannot demonstrate a mediating role of sustainability report disclosure on the effect of board gender diversity on increasing firm value. The interaction effect of sustainable investment practices is also not significant in this study. The research findings provide an understanding of board gender diversity, sustainability report disclosure, and firm value within the multi-theoretical framework of agency theory, stakeholder theory, and social role theory.

Can Board Diversity Promote Dividend Policy? Seeking The Role of Profitability

This study investigates the effect of the board of directors (BOD) diversity on dividend policy and how the implications of profitability are treated as moderation. Dividend policy and BOD characteristics have been studied extensively; however, the profitability role being moderating variable and BOD diversity are challenging. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine profitability as moderation. BOD diversity includes gender, age, education level, accounting expertise, and nationality. The research period spanned 2017-2020, where the number of samples was 370 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, resulting in 1,480 data. The regression model used is panel data. Overall, BOD gender, education level, and nationality are homogeneous, where female directors, directors with master's education, and foreign directors have a small proportion. As a result, they have no significant effect in promoting dividends. In addition, profitability cannot influence the relationship between board gender and board nationality on dividends. Nevertheless, profitability moderates the relationship between board nationality and dividend policy to a significant negative. Further, board age and accounting expertise positively and significantly affect dividend policy, and the results are identical when moderated by profitability. The proportion of board expertise expressed is heterogeneous, and the board age of 52 years is categorized as old, while they mitigate agency conflict. Thus, companies are required to maintain these proportions. However, companies must remedy the recruitment system to accommodate more female directors, directors with higher education at the master's level, and foreign directors. The government must also refer to regulations in developed and developing countries that establish a minimum quota for the presence of female directors.

“Artificial” gender diversity and public visibility: The case of corporate water disclosure in Indonesia

AbstractGlobal water crises need solutions from various parties including the business sector. This study examines the role of board gender diversity in supporting corporate water disclosure representing companies' efforts to use and manage water efficiently. This research also investigates whether the public visibility of a corporation, measured by the Google Search Volume (GSV) or Google Trends and which describes the monitoring function from stakeholder groups, can strengthen the association. The samples consist of 51 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2018–2021. The results showed that gender diversity as indicated by the percentage of women on the board of commissioners and directors has insignificant results, which means that the board's gender diversity has not played a role as an important determinant of corporate water accountability. In addition, the moderating role of GSV also showed insignificant results, meaning that the expected positive effect of board gender diversity on water disclosure does not intensify with high public visibility. Only two control variables, namely the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee and company size have significant results, implying that if the company has large total assets and a CSR committee in its structure, the company will tend to optimize its growth by disclosing water information as proof of its commitment towards sustainable development. The insignificant results of gender diversity and public visibility on corporate water disclosure may indicate the trivial role of diversity and the lack of stakeholders' scrutiny of the disclosure of the company's water management, which will worsen the water crises if left unattended.

Kesulitan Keuangan: Efek Struktur Kepemilikan, Karakteristik Dewan Direksi, dan Indeks Tata Kelola Perusahaan

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effect of the corporate governance on the firm financial distress. The independent variables consisted of ownership structure (managerial, foreign, institutional, family, and block holder’s), board characteristics (size, independent, educational background, meeting, and gender) and corporate governance index.
 Research Method – This study uses 168 sample companies selected by purposive sampling method. The hypotheses testing uses panel regression method.
 Findings – The result shows 116 of 168 sample companies (IDX) experienced financial distress. It has been proven that financial distress can be significantly reduced by increasing concentrated ownership and board education. In addition, foreign ownership and board size have a significant and positive impact on financial distress. However, managerial ownership, family ownership, institutional ownership, board independence, board meetings, board gender, and corporate governance index do not have an impact on financial distress.
 Implication – The findings of this study imply that financial distress occurs by the presence of foreign ownership because of rarely involved in company management. In addition, to avoid the risk of financial distress the company can be anticipated by improving the quality board of directors (education, expertise, CEO tenure) and strengthening the internal control.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ATTRIBUTES AND TAX AGGRESSIVENESS NEXUS IN THE NIGERIAN NON-FINANCIAL FIRMS

This study examined the corporate governance attributes on tax aggressiveness of quoted non-financial firms in Nigeria. Ex post facto research design was adopted in this study. A sample of 20 firms was randomly selected and their financial records were used to obtain information from them. In this study, secondary data, by way of annual reports and accounts of the sampled companies in Nigeria and some relevant Nigerian Exchange fact books were used to collect data for 2017-2021. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, with the use of Panel Least Square (PLS) as a technique for hypothesis testing, with the use of Eviews version 9 software. Results from the study indicated that a significant positive relationship was observed to exist between board independence and tax aggressiveness and a significant positive relationship was observed to exist between board independence and tax aggressiveness and also a significant relationship is observed to exist between board gender and tax aggressiveness. Thus, it was recommended that the regulatory authorities should ensure that, the board size of non-financial firms in Nigeria should not be able 10. More so, efforts should be made to ensure that, the non-executive directors should be more autonomous in the discharge of their oversight responsibilities. Lastly, more women should come on board since women are more risk averse/conservative than their male counterparts. Keywords: Corporate Governance Attributes, Tax Aggressiveness, Nexus, Nigerian Non-Financial Firms.

How Do Banking Characteristics Influence Companies’ Debt Features and Performance during COVID-19? A Study of Portuguese Firms

This paper investigates how bank characteristics (market share, principal shareholders, profitability, and size), and the gender of the company’s board members, along with their supervisory abilities, influence the firm’s performance, cost of debt, and leverage. We extracted relevant data from a sample of nearly 18,300 Portuguese companies in 2020 (the pandemic year) to build our model with all the main explanatory variables; then, through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator estimation, we reduced the variables. The robust ordinary least-squares standard-errors approach was applied by company size. Our findings allowed us to observe the crucial negative role of multiple bank relations, but only on the returns of small companies. A decrease in bank relations led to an increase in debt cost and reduced leverage across larger companies. Profitable banks generate higher company returns, mainly for small companies. Furthermore, the better-informed bank shareholders (management, institutional, or government) persuaded the banks to charge higher interest rates, resulting in a higher leverage ratio for companies of average size. Female board members tended to vote for lower debt ratios due to greater risk aversion, while the opposite was true of male board members. The supervisory capacity of the board in the area of bank relations showed a more substantial link with the increased financing costs of small companies. In brief, bank characteristics and board gender were strongly associated with the financial aggregates of companies relative to their size. This work contributes to the literature by using new bank characteristics and an original variable representing board ability to cope with bank relations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the association of the above characteristics in the Portuguese market relative to company size, and their impact on profitability, cost of debt, and leverage. The company board and banking systems should evaluate the impact of their decisions on corporate activity and make necessary adjustments.

Board diversity as a determinant of the social performance in the European banking sector

PurposeThis study intends to test the relationship between banks’ board diversity, detected with age and gender characteristics, and banks’ social performance. The resource dependence theory posits that board diversity is a strategic tool able to enrich the board of directors by expanding skills and the number of links with stakeholders, which have a strategic role in achieving a competitive advantage and sustainable goals, especially in the banking sector.Design/methodology/approachThe research hypotheses are tested using a sample of 46 European banks observed from 2009 to 2017. The gender and age diversity data of bank board members are hand-collected from banks’ social reports.FindingsThe empirical results show that bank social performance is positively influenced by board gender and age diversity. Thus, the human capital determined by a higher bank’s board diversity constitutes an essential resource for adopting more sustainable business models.Originality/valueThis paper analyses the association between board diversity and social performance, providing empirical evidence for the European banking sector in the period after the 2008 global financial crisis. The banking literature provides scarce evidence on the topic; however, the empirical results claim the strategic importance of the appointment of directors to the banks’ boards to balance corporate strategy with social and environmental issues generating a positive impact on sustainable growth.

INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL DISCLOSURE AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM A CROSS COUNTRY THAT OFFERING ISLAMIC BANK SERVICES

Intellectual capital is imperative for Islamic banks given their unique characterisctiscs in that they offer innovative Shariah-based solutions to the modern financial problems. This study therefore examined the influence of corporate goverance on intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices of Islamic banks. Data from a sample of 33 Islamic banks for the period 2012 to 2018 were collected. A self-developed ICD checklist was used to measure the extent of IC information disclosed in the annual report. This paper also examines the relationship between ICD practices and several corporate governance components which includes board size, board meeting, board independence, board gender, board expertise, audit committee size, audit committee meeting, audit committee independence, audit committee gender and audit committee expertise. Our results revealed that having an effective corporate governance structure is essential, as it is able to influence the ICD practices of Islamic banks. However, instead of focusing on the role of the board, our paper highlights the importance role of audit committee functions. Specifically, the results suggest that larger or reasonable audit committee size tends to have varied skills and expertise among the audit committee members, resulting in more information by allowing for greater diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints. Gender diversity in audit members’ profiles will also encourage the board to be more effective and creative in generating innovative ideas, hence more IC will be created. This study adds to the empirical studies on corporate governance from Islamic banks’ perspectives covering several countries. It also introduce the Shariah capital, as one of components in the IC index to respond to the peculiarities of Islamic on intellectual capital. Keywords: Islamic banks; intellectual capital disclosure; corporate governance.

Are gender‐diverse boards eco‐innovative? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility strategy

AbstractDespite the recognized importance of board gender diversity and eco‐innovation, it is far from clear how board gender diversity can improve eco‐innovation. Grounded in upper echelon theory and the gender socialization theory, we suggest that this relationship operates through corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. In a sample of FTSE 350 firms, we find that CSR strategy mediates the influence of the board's gender diversity on eco‐innovation. These findings are robust to several regression specifications and alternative samples. This work offers empirical evidence that gender diversity on boards can play a significant role in promoting firm's CSR strategy, which in turn improves eco‐innovation. Our findings could provide useful insights for regulators and stakeholders concerned with enhancing corporate governance structure and promoting eco‐innovation.

Corporate Governance and CSR Disclosure: International Evidence for the Period 2006–2016

In this paper, the authors examine the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in European and Anglo-Saxon contexts. The study is based on 324 Anglo-Saxon listed corporations and 310 European listed corporations for 11 years from 2006 to 2016 (6813 year-observations). The regression analysis shows that board gender and board age affect CSR disclosure. This study also finds that CEO duality negatively affects CSR disclosure in both contexts. Finally, the study found that the existence of a CSR committee and CSR experts positively affect CSR disclosure in both contexts.

Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in ASEAN Banking Industry

Purpose : First, to find the determining factors which affects CSR disclosure in the ASEAN banking industry by examining the effect of diversity from gender, board size, and education. Second, observe and analyze the level and variation of ASEAN banking CSR disclosures.Method : This study uses a sample of the ASEAN banking industry with an observation period of 2017-2019. The bank annual report was examined to analyze the bank CSR disclosures using content analysis and panel data analysis.Findings : The inclusive results of this study reveal that there is a positive and significant effect of board education diversity on CSR disclosure of bank. Meanwhile, the diversity for board size and board gender is not significant for bank CSR disclosure. Based on statistical calculations, the level of CSR disclosure of banks varies from 13.09 percent to 27.89 percent, with on average they report each is Thailand 27.89 percent, Philippines 13.09 percent, Malaysia 17.04 percent, Singapore 14.49 percent, and Indonesia 25.17 percent.Novelty : First, this study contributes to the CSR literature, because the banking industry is generally avoided from CSR studies. Second, this study offers empirical evidence of board diversity on CSR disclosure. Third, adopts a cross-country approach across ASEAN rather than just one country. Fourth, present the results of the analysis under the CSR disclosure indicators GRI-G4 : financial service.
 Keywords : Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure; Board Diversity; ASEAN; Banking Industry

Board Diversity and Corporate Investment Decisions: Evidence from China

We investigate the relation between board diversity and corporate investment decisions. We select four diversity attributes namely, gender, age, tenure, and education diversity to find its impact of corporate investment. Further, we classify these four diversity attributes into surface-level and deep-level diversity to check its impact on investment. Analyzing Chinese non-financial firms over the period of 2003 to 2017, we employ fixed effect regression to test the formulated hypotheses. We deal with the endogeneity concerns and employ several robustness tests. We find that board gender, tenure, and education diversity reduce corporate investment level. Further, we find that gender and age diversity are negatively associated with sensitivity of investment to growth opportunities, while tenure and education diversity are positively related to investment-Q sensitivity. We find that surface-level diversity reduces the sensitivity of investment to growth opportunities, while deep-level diversity positively affects investment-Q sensitivity. Overall, our findings suggest that board’s surface-level diversity is associated with inefficient investment policies, while deep-level diversity improve the corporate investment decisions. This study shows that board diversity play a decisive role in corporate investment decisions. Policies should be devised to mitigate the negative role of surface-level diversity. Furthermore, as deep-level diversity improves investment decisions, organizations and policy-makers should encourage it in order to get benefits of a diverse board. Majority of prior studies consider one dimension of diversity, such as gender, to test its impact on investment decisions. This study shows how surface-level diversity attributes (low job related) and deep-level diversity attributes (highly job related) affect board decisions. This study comprehensively analyzes the impact of board diversity on corporate investment decisions in an emerging economy.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TRAITS AND CORPORATE RISK REPORTING OF LISTED NIGERIAN FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS

The study used an ex-post facto research design to determine the effect of corporate governance traits on the corporate risk reporting of Nigerian publicly traded financial services firms. The population of research was comprised of all fifty-two (52) publicly traded financial services companies in Nigeria as at October 2021. To sample thirty-nine (39) publicly traded financial services companies, a judgmental sampling approach was used. Secondary data was taken from annual reports and financial statements of selected Nigerian publicly traded financial services companies for five (5) fiscal years covering 2015–2019 and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The findings demonstrate a favorable association between the size of the board of directors and corporate risk reporting by Nigerian financial businesses. While independent directors and board gender have no effect on the corporate risk reporting of Nigerian financial services companies. Board activity and profitability have an inverse relationship with corporate risk reporting of Nigerian financial firms. Finally, the research establishes a positive correlation between business size and financial services companies' corporate risk reporting in Nigeria. It is recommended that the regulatory bodies formulate laws relating to risk governance that will enhance corporate risk reporting in Nigeria. Also, the number of independent and female directors should be increased so as to have more influence on decisions that can increase risk reporting transparency.