Search results

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of internal governance mechanisms on the financial and social performance of Niger’s decentralized financial systems (DFS).

This paper investigated the impact of the board size and the CEO/chairman duality on financial performance and sustainability, respectively, measured by the return on assets (ROA) and operational self-sufficiency on one side and social performance measured by the size of loans granted and the percentage of female borrowers on the other side.

The results show that board size positively and significantly affects the ROA. The author also concludes that the duality of decision and control functions promotes the financial viability of the DFS. Regarding the impact of internal governance on social performance, the author finds that board size positively and significantly affects loan size.

This study focuses on Niger’s 13 largest DFSs. However, an analysis that also includes smaller firms may show different results.

A board size of between 5 and 15 members is recommended. This would help to incorporate key skills and the active involvement of all members.

This research highlights the importance of including internal governance mechanisms, underscores an interesting problem and answers questions raised in the existing literature by invalidating or confirming the results that have been obtained thus far. As the players in the microfinance sector recognize that sound governance is an important factor for a successful outcome in any microfinance institution objective, the paper helps shed some light on the situation of DFS in Niger.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the presence of women in senior management and the performance of microfinance organizations in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

Using a data set of 266 microfinance institutions (MFIs) for the period 2013–2017, the study assesses the impact of women’s representation in senior management and on the boards of West African MFIs on these institutions’ financial and social performance.

The results indicate that board size and diversity positively and significantly affect the social performance of MFIs, particularly in relation to women’s participation in decision-making regarding expanding services to poor people. In essence, greater gender diversity at the board and management levels promotes the social orientation of MFIs.

The low representation of women on boards and as managers makes it difficult to more accurately determine the true impact of women in senior positions on MFIs performance.

The author recommends minimum quotas for women in the top management of MFIs. This would help these institutions incorporate key skills and actively involve all members. Also, regulation places constraints on the ability of West African MFIs to mobilize deposits and this negatively impacts their financial performance.

This investigation highlights the importance of including women in the top management of MFIs to improve these institutions’ performance. It also underscores an interesting problem and answers questions raised in the existing literature by either rejecting or confirming the findings. As players in the microfinance sector recognize that board diversity is important for the success of any microfinance institution, this paper helps shed light on the situation of these organizations in the WAEMU.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2019-0365

This study aims to examine whether insider purchases made within 30 days prior to the publication of various kinds of press releases earn higher abnormal returns (AR) than those in the absence of such announcements. It also attempts to identify the factors that explain ARs.

This study considers data for Canadian insider purchases made on the Toronto Stock Exchange 60 Index. An event study methodology is used to calculate AR, and a mixed regression model is used to evaluate the effect of corporate news on AR.

The empirical results indicate that insiders achieve greater ARs when they purchase stock prior to press releases; findings also show that these returns are specifically related to purchases made before the announcements of mergers and acquisitions, ongoing projects, financial structure, financial results and asset disposals. This is because of the firm effect.

These findings have important implications for Canadian market regulatory authorities, especially the Ontario Securities Commission and other market participants who are interested in corporate governance, such as boards of directors and shareholders.

The present findings show that regulatory bodies must work with companies to raise awareness of improper insider trading.

This paper aims to examine if certain board characteristics have an impact on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) score of corporations.

The authors’ paper analyzes the link between the ratings of CSR of the largest publicly traded Canadian firms (i.e. those included in the S&P/TSX 60 index) and the traits of their boards.

The authors’ examination concludes that the CSR score is positively linked with the percentages of women and independent directors. The study did not find a link in the cases of board characteristics, namely, director’s remuneration, director’s tenure and director’s ownership.

The study focuses on the 60 largest public Canadian firms, which are strongly scrutinized. An analysis that includes smaller firms as well may show different results.

To improve the ability of boards of directors to deal with CSR, the appointment of women and independent directors should be given greater emphasis. Data show that all boards in their sample are composed of at least 50 per cent of independent directors, with an average of 80 per cent. Thus, there is a more limited room to ameliorate CSR by adding independent directors. In contrast, women represented, on average, only 14.25 per cent of all directors. Companies wanting to improve their CSR should consider appointing more female participation in their boards.

The paper contributes to the extant literature on corporate governance by presenting evidence of a link between CSR and certain board characteristics.

The purpose of this article is to examine if certain board characteristics have an impact on the total remuneration of top management and the ratio of stock-based remuneration to total top-management remuneration.

The study draws on data from the largest public Canadian companies, the constituents of the TSX/60 index. The study controls for firm size and profitability.

The authors concludes that total remuneration of top management is directly linked to board-member total remuneration and the board average number of director-tenure years. The study also shows that the ratio of stock-based to total top-management remuneration is positively affected by the percentage of independent directors, total remuneration of board directors, the ratio of stock-based remuneration of directors to their total remuneration and the average number of tenure years of the board of directors.

If regulators are determined to curb the excesses in top-management remuneration by means of promoting boards with certain characteristics, they should implement measures facilitating the control of directors’ remuneration and tenure, to discourage cronyistic behavior. Good corporate governance requires that the board act as a counterbalance to top management, ensuring that a substantial percentage of top-executive total compensation is variable, and not fixed. According to our findings, the boards that are the most likely to hold managerial avoidance of variable pay in check are those favoring director independence, variable director remuneration and longer director tenures.

The present article examines specifically the latter aspect, namely, the role of board characteristics (independence, size, compensation, board director ownership and tenure, etc.) in the determination of top-management compensation. This relationship is important because it allows us to further the analysis of corporate governance. If the above-mentioned traits of boards have a meaningful relationship with the compensation of the top management, one might conclude that certain practices in the composition of boards could influence good corporate governance practices. This is relevant for regulatory agencies, for investors and for corporations.

The article adds to the extant literature in a number of ways. Firstly, it considers the role of the traits of the board in the determination of the compensation of the top-management teams, and not only of the chief executive officer, as is the focus of previous literature. Secondly, the article focuses on the power interplay between boards and managers, and, more particularly, on the ability of boards to be an effective mechanism of corporate governance. Finally, the article examines the potential impact of board traits in the determination of top-management compensation in the context of Canadian firms, a subject that has received less attention from academic research, which has mostly concentrated on analyzing the issue in the US context.