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This paper aims to examine how the diversity of educational levels within bank boards influences the efficiency and stability of banks operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Unlike previous studies, this analysis also investigates the role of board gender diversity in moderating the relationship between board educational level diversity and bank efficiency and financial stability in MENA.

In this study, a sample of 77 banks in the MENA region spanning the years 2011 to 2018 is used. The relationship between the presence of highly educated directors on the board, bank efficiency and stability is assessed using the ordinary least squares method. Additionally, the authors use the Generalized Method of Moments technique to correct endogeneity problem.

This study establishes a positive association between the presence of directors with advanced educational backgrounds on bank boards and bank efficiency and stability. Furthermore, the inclusion of women on the board strengthens this relationship.

These findings have important implications for policymakers and regulators in the MENA region, suggesting that promoting diversity policies that encourage the participation of highly educated directors on bank boards can contribute to enhanced efficiency and financial stability. Policymakers may also consider implementing quotas or guidelines to improve gender diversity in board appointments, thereby fostering bank performance in the region.

This study stands out for its innovation and distinctiveness, as it delves into the connection between board educational level diversity and bank efficiency in the MENA region. Notably, it surpasses previous research by investigating the moderating role of board gender diversity, thus offering valuable insights into the complex interplay between these two facets of board diversity. This contribution enriches the existing literature by providing novel perspectives on board composition dynamics and its influence on bank efficiency and stability.

This paper sets out to test the mediating role of internal network density and external network range in the relationship between educational diversity (i.e. separation and variety) and group effectiveness.

The authors surveyed 267 employees in 54 organizational groups.

The study's results show that educational separation has a U‐shaped relationship with the advice network density. Moreover, educational variety moderates the relation of educational separation with external network range in such a way that for groups with high educational variety, the relationship between educational separation and external network range is U‐shaped, while for groups with low educational variety the relationship has an inverted U shape. The results also show that internal network density and external network range mediate the relationship between educational diversity and group effectiveness.

The paper extends the literature on group diversity by simultaneously exploring two forms of educational diversity (separation and variety) as they relate to group network density and external network range. The study is cross‐sectional, restricting causal inferences and future research should further explore the way in which the alignment of educational variety and separation relates to social network structure and group effectiveness.

Understanding the association between educational diversity and group social network structure and the way they relate to group effectiveness enables managers to improve group effectiveness.

The paper is one of the first to explore the curvilinear association between educational diversity and social network structure.

By exploring the relation between diversity and social network structures, these results increase understanding of how to address diversity issues at the societal level.

This study aims to investigate the impact of extensive board diversity on firm performance from the perspective of resource-based view (RBV) theory in the context of Pakistan.

The analyses are made using a panel random-effects model and generalized method of moment (GMM) across 188 non-financial firms listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over the period of 2009–2020. The robustness of findings is checked through alternative measurements of the variables and alternative estimation techniques.

The results show that board members' nationality, ethnicity and educational level diversities are significantly positively related to firm performance. In contrast, age and educational background diversities negatively affect firm performance. However, gender and tenure diversities have an insignificant relationship with firm performance.

This study is conducted in the context of Pakistani firms; thus, the findings may not be generalizable to other economies because different economies have different institutional settings and governance structures.

The policy-makers should encourage the inclusion of board members' nationality, ethnicity and educational level diversities having relevant educational backgrounds to improve firms' competitive performance. The suggested structure of the corporate board may improve firm performance by attracting multiple stakeholders and fulfilling their expectations.

The appointment of a director should be based on merit rather than on political connections or personnel relationships to improve social welfare and avoid their negative impact on firm competitive performance.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of board diversity on firm accounting-based performance and market-based performance in the emerging economy of Pakistan. This study uses RBV theory to provide a unique corporate governance structure based on board diversity, particularly in Pakistan.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between the nationality and educational background diversity of directors serving on corporate boards and the firms’ corporate social performance (CSP).

This study measures nationality diversity by directors’ national citizenship and measures educational background diversity by countries from which they earned their undergraduate and post undergraduate degrees. It measures firms’ CSP using the MSCI ESG ratings. The study uses both univariate and multivariate analyses to empirically test the hypotheses.

Using a sample of US firms, the authors find that board nationality diversity and educational background diversity are positively associated with CSP. The findings suggest that improving director nationality diversity and educational background diversity could improve firms’ social performance.

This study shows that the increasing trend of foreign nationals in the US boards could shift the focus of US corporations to be more stakeholder-oriented.

This study aims to examine the impact of board human capital diversity, measured by educational qualification diversity and gender diversity on the financial performance of Indian firms after controlling corporate governance (CG) and firm-specific variables.

This study is based on a panel data set of top 100 listed Indian firms for a period of five years. The authors use Blau index and Shannon index to compute qualification diversity. The authors use three-stage least square (3SLS) model to deal with the potential endogeneity issue in the association of human capital diversity variables and other CG variables with firm performance. Further, the authors adopt generalized estimating equation (GEE) model for robustness check.

The authors find a significant positive impact of board’s educational diversity as well as gender diversity on the financial performance of firms. Additionally, they extricate highly significant positive interaction impact of board’s educational diversity and gender diversity on the financial performance of firms. Further, the results indicate a significant positive impact of board size, board independence, ownership concentration, family ownership and audit committee independence on firm performance, while CEO duality exhibits a significant negative impact on firm performance.

This study fills the existing gap in literature by extending the performance implications of board’s human capital diversity for top listed Indian firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate why firms engaged in R&D investment and international diversification produce different results in innovation performance.

This study is based on a sample of 283 Taiwanese manufacturing firms in the information technology industry.

The findings showed that in the top management teams (TMTs) with greater tenure diversity there was a stronger relationship between R&D investment and innovation performance. In addition, the TMTs with greater educational diversity enhanced the relationship between international diversification and innovation performance.

This study stresses the vital role of TMT diversity in resource allocation and information processing during the process of innovation. The authors examined the critical role of TMT educational diversity in bringing a wider range of network resources and the role of TMT tenure diversity in the allocation of firm-specific resources. The TMT diversity causes firms to experience different innovation results during the innovation process.

This study aims to examine the relationship between board diversity and quality of corporate social responsibility (QCSR) disclosure.

The study estimates seven dimensions of board diversity including age, gender, nation, ethnicity, educational level, educational background and tenure by applying Blau’s index. The relationship between board diversity and QCSR disclosure from the perspective of the resource-based view theory is estimated by using panel random effects regression across 57 firms producing exclusive sustainability reports listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2017. The robustness of the results has also been checked through alternative measurements of the variables under study.

The regression results reveal that gender and national diversities are the firms’ valuable resources, having the potential to promote QCSR disclosure. However, age diversity was found to be negatively associated to QCSR disclosure. Furthermore, educational level, educational background, ethnicity and tenure were insignificant on QCSR disclosure. The sensitivity analysis supports the findings of the baseline model.

Pakistani firms need to improve the level of board diversity through encouragement of the inclusion of diverse forces of gender and nationality to enhance disclosure on CSR practices.

This is the first study on board diversity and QCSR in the case of Pakistan.

Given the relative importance of the Shari’ah supervisory boards (SSBs) in Islamic banks’ (IBs’) performance, this study aims to examine the impact of SSB diversity on IBs’ performance from the stakeholders’ perspective in the context of Pakistan.

Random-effects model and generalized method of moment are used to investigate the impact of SSB diversity on IBs’ performance across a panel data of 22 Islamic banks in Pakistan from 2005 to 2020 inclusive.

The findings of this study show that SSB size, SSB relevant educational background diversity, bank’s size and bank’s stability have a positive impact on IBs’ performance. In contrast, SSB age, nationality and cross-membership diversities have a negative impact on IBs’ performance. Moreover, SSB gender, tenure and general educational diversities have no significant impact on IBs’ performance.

SSB diversity and IBs practices are different across different jurisdictions. This study is conducted on IBs in Pakistan because of data constraints; thus, the results of this study may not be generalizable to other countries' IBs.

In structuring the SSBs’ framework, the regulatory authorities and policymakers should consider mandating an ideal SSB size and hiring relevant qualified members with low cross-membership to improve IBs' performance. Thus, the structure potentially attracts Muslim stakeholders, enhances their satisfaction and improves IBs' performance.

Having diversified members in the SSB, IBs equally benefit both individual and group stakeholders in society. Diversity in SSB members enhances IBs' performance and the social welfare of various stakeholders in society.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical research that examines comprehensively the impact of SSB structural and demographic diversities on IBs' performance in the context of Pakistan. This paper contributes to the unique Shari’ah governance structure in the context of Pakistan. Additionally, this study may serve to assist IBs’ stakeholders in better comprehending the SSB practices of IBs in Pakistan.

Racial and ethnic diversity and the attendant challenges and benefits of multiculturalism in society are a worldwide phenomenon. As higher education is often the training ground for future social and political leaders, as well as the primary institution charged with the study of social problems, the educational benefits, and challenges of diversity in society are particularly relevant to institutions of higher learning. This chapter synthesizes the ongoing empirical research on the educational impact of racially and ethnically diverse university environments in a U.S. context and offers a framework of institutional practices based on that work to help administrators both respond to challenges and better harness-related benefits for all students.

Board diversity positively impacts corporate social responsibility (CSR); however, there is limited evidence on how board diversity affects the reputation of organizations that are involved in CSR. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect board diversity has on socially responsible firms’ corporate social responsibility reputation (CSRR). The authors specifically examine this relationship because an organization’s corporate reputation may be very different to its CSRR gained through engagement in socially responsible activities.

The authors use the CSR reputation scores for the top 100 most socially responsible global companies provided by the RepTrak Database as a measure of CSRR. Board diversity measures are calculated for gender, ethnicity and education to measure their impact on social reputation. The sample for this study consists of 146 observations for the period 2013–2017.

The authors find a significant and positive relation between having a combination of women and ethnically diverse members on the board and firms’ CSRR. The authors also find a significant positive effect on CSRR when the board is composed of women and educationally diverse members.

Board diversity characteristics continue to impact organizations’ decision-making processes and their involvement in CSR activities as public stakeholders demand greater representation of females and minorities on the board. Because research on board diversity is in its infancy, the authors urge scholars to continue to investigate the impact board diversity has on an organization’s motivation to be socially responsible as well as how it affects their CSRR.

The findings of this study highlight the importance stakeholders place on an organization’s social responsibility reputation and the positive effects of board diversity in managing their CSRR.

The findings provide evidence that the composition of the board can influence a company’s engagement in CSR activities and their CSRR as perceived by its stakeholders.

This study contributes to the CSR literature by introducing the concept of CSRR. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study also extends research in the diversity literature by examining the relationship between board diversity variables and an organization’s CSRR. The findings highlight the importance of having a diverse board composed of ethnically and educationally varied individuals and provide evidence of a link between organizations’ involvement in socially responsible activities and their CSRR.