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This study investigates the relationship between outside directors, managerial compensation, and firm performance in the Korean insurance industry.

The authors employ a simultaneous equation framework by using three-stage least squares (3SLS) to address the endogeneity problems that could result from the joint determination of outside directors, firm performance, and executive compensation in Korean insurance companies.

The authors find that the ratio of outside directors on the board is negatively associated with insurance firm's value and financial profitability. In addition, this study's evidence shows that greater representation on the board by outside directors leads to a higher level of executive pay. In particular, the authors provide evidence that variable compensation scheme and outside directors who have backgrounds in the legal profession and former high-ranking government officials drive this study's main results.

This study adds to the literature by first demonstrating the interaction effects between outside directors, firm performance, and executive compensation in the Korean insurance industry. Unlike previous studies that typically focus on US companies, the authors study the Korean insurance sector that is an emerging power in the global insurance market, ranking seventh in terms of total premium volume, and show that the Korean insurance firm's outside directors system does not work in the manner that it is intended to function.

This paper aims to examine the association between busy directors on corporate boards and accounting conservatism.

The authors use a sample of 500 firms listed on the Australian Security Exchange from 2004 to 2019. The busyness of non-executive directors is proxied by three indicators. For accounting conservatism, the authors use both conditional and unconditional accounting conservatism via asymmetric timeliness of earnings, accrual-based loss recognition, cumulative total accruals and book-to-market ratio. The authors cluster the standard errors at the firm level to compensate for potential residuals’ dependency and heteroscedasticity, in addition to analysing the main models using year and industry fixed effects (Petersen, 2009). Separately, the authors look at the impact of female busy directors on firms’ adoption of conservative accounting methods. Both propensity score matching analyses and Heckman (1979) two-stage approach systematically address endogeneity issues.

The presence of busy directors on boards leads to greater unconditional conservatism and less conditional conservatism. The relationships between busy female directors with both conditional and unconditional conservatism remain consistent with the main findings.

This paper provides useful insights for shareholders, regulators and accounting standards setters to better evaluate busy directors’ effectiveness in monitoring firms’ financial reporting quality. Directors and the companies themselves can refer to the authors’ findings to decide the best structure for their boards and committees, considering their specific monitoring requirements. Given that no mandatory restriction has been legislated, improved policies or new ones will ensure that busy directors can effectively fulfil their duties.

This research contributes to the broader research theme by examining the influence of directors’ quality on financial reporting conservatism. It also contributes to the ongoing debate in the corporate finance literature regarding the experience and busyness hypotheses of directors with multiple directorships. Additionally, this research adds value to gender diversity research by finding evidence that female busy directors follow the same pattern of reporting conservatism as male busy directors.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) in Jordan. The study examines a number of factors that influence the extent and quality of CSR disclosure, such as corporate characteristics, corporate governance and ownership structure.

A quantitative approach and a content analysis technique is used to measure the extent and quality of CSRD from annual reports. The sample is drawn from the annual reports of 118 Jordanian companies between 2010 and 2015. A CSRD index is constructed, which includes the disclosures of the following categories: environmental, human resources, product and consumers, and community involvement. This is the first study that presents a new measurement for CSR disclosure quality by using images and charts in a seven-point scale measurement.

The result reveals that the extent of CSRD is higher than quality in Jordan. Regarding the determinants of CSR disclosures, the following factors were found to have a significant relationship with both the extent and quality of CSRD: board size, non-executive directors, age of firm, foreign members on the board, number of boards meetings, the presence of audit committees, big 4, government ownership, size of firm and industry type. Non-executive directors was found to have a significant correlation with the extent of CSRD.

The current study has some limitations; first, the study findings are limited to the Jordanian environment. Second, the study adopted a purely quantitative method, and future research could include interviews and questionnaires to gather data from financial managers and chief executive officers (CEOs). Third, the potential influences on the level and quality of CSR are not limited to the variables tested in this study. Future research can be done on new determinants, such as CEO interlocking and profitability. Finally, the sample included companies from two main sectors – the services and industrial sectors; thus, this limited the results to these two main sectors.

Practitioners, as firms, should develop new strategies and ensure that CSR is included in their reports. Thus, companies can achieve legitimacy for their products and activities. Policymakers must consider introducing new laws that mandate CSRDs since it has many advantages for companies and society. In addition, this research suggests amending the law to require companies to have 33% of their directors be non-executives since this will remove the negative effect on CSR disclosure. Investors must pay attention to the social activities of the companies they invest in, as CSR could have a positive effect on their market value.

The study has indicated that Jordanian companies became increasingly more involved in CSR activities, as this growth in CSRD is linked with global increases in CSR. Moreover, the study has revealed that the highest category of CSR disclosures is related to products or services and employee information. On the other hand, the lowest category of CSR disclosures is related to community and other disclosures (extent) and environmental disclosures (quality). Furthermore, the results show that the services sector was found to have more disclosures regarding employees and community, whereas the industrial sector was more concerned about environmental and product information.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that presents a new measurement for CSR disclosure quality by using images and charts in a seven-point scale measurement. This new seven-point scale will be adopted to distinguish between poor and excellent disclosures. In addition, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in Jordan which examines the determinants of the extent and the quality of CSR for three categories, namely, corporate characteristics, corporate governance and ownership structure.

This study investigates the impact of female directors on firms' financial performance by scrutinizing the different roles they are empowered to fulfill.

This study examines the impact of the roles performed by female directors on firms' financial performance using a panel dataset of the top 100 listed Indian firms over a period of 5 years. The study uses an appropriate panel data model for empirical analysis. For the robustness evaluation, a two-stage least square (2SLS) with the instrumental variable model were used.

The findings reveal a significantly positive impact of the total percentage of female directors on firms' financial performance. Further, by disentangling the impact of the total percentage of female directors between independent directors and executive directors, the study shows that independent female directors make a significant positive contribution to their firms' financial performance. By contrast, the performance impact of female executive directors was insignificant. In addition, the findings reveal that firms with a higher proportion of independent female directors outperform firms with a higher percentage of female executive directors.

This study is the first of its kind to unravel the performance impact of female directors and distinguish between the roles of independent directors and executive directors in the context of the emerging market of India, after the imposition of a gender quota for corporate boards.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of board characteristics on CEO turnover performance relationship (TPR) in Indian listed firms.

A subset of the Standard and Poor’s Bombay Stock Exchange 500 (S&P BSE 500) Index companies was analyzed over the period 2015–2019 using the logistic (fixed-effects) regression model.

It was found that a weak relationship exists between CEO turnover and firm performance. With respect to board characteristics, board size was found to have a significant role in strengthening the TPR. However, other characteristics, such as board independence, multiple directors, board meetings and board gender diversity, played no role in influencing the TPR.

First, the study period is limited to five years, during which several sample firms did not face any CEO turnover event leading to small sample size. Second, this study considers only the board’s gender diversity, whereas other types of diversity are omitted. Third, this study does not differentiate between insider and professional CEOs.

The findings suggest that regulators should focus on the effective enforcement of laws to strengthen the TPR and improve the monitoring role of boards, particularly in emerging economies like India, which face type II agency problems in addition to traditional principal–agent conflict. The results also offer implications for corporations, investors and academic researchers, highlighting areas that need considerable attention pertaining to corporate governance.

This study discerns the impact of several board-related characteristics on the TPR, particularly after the introduction of the new Companies Act 2013 in the emerging economy of India, where it has not been explored extensively.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) on working capital management (WCM) decision by scrutinizing different positions covered by female board directors.

This study uses a panel data regression model with fixed effect estimations and the generalized method of moments (GMM) to determine the impact of BGD on WCM strategy. This study uses a panel data analysis for 277 non-financial firms listed on Bursa Malaysia over the period from 2011 to 2019.

The results of this study show that female directors fulfilling either monitoring or executive positions increase the investment in working capital (WC), suggesting a conservative WCM. Precisely, results from this study are consistent with the embedded risk aversion traits of female executives and, hence, preserve high level of investment in WC, which allows superior levels of liquidity to meet firms’ financial commitments. The results also show that Malaysia commitment to gender equality is a key moderator in the female directors – firm WCM relation. The authors find that when the level of gender equality is greater, female directors support firms in adopting aggressive WCM strategies.

This study’s findings provide insights for corporate decision-makers in helping them to determine the board’s design in term of roles and composition that enhances the efficiency of WC. The results also provide guidelines for policymakers and regulators to formulate strategies that support more female board representation. In this way, firms should appoint more female directors on their boards to ensure prudent WC decisions. Moreover, given that female directors are an important determinant of a firm’s WC policy, investors and various internal or external monitoring groups need to factor boardroom gender diversity into their investing, hiring and monitoring mechanisms.

While prior research has examined the effect of BGD on firm performance, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the effect of BGD on the WCM decision.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the association between corporate governance mechanisms and the performance of listed banks in Bangladesh.

Dynamic panel data of two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) estimators are used to analyze the influence of corporate governance characteristics on the performance of banks operating in Bangladesh over a period of eleven years from 2008 to 2018.

By employing the two-step SGMM, the authors find statistical evidence to conclude that board size has a positive impact on banks' accounting performance. However, it does not influence the market performance of banks operating in Bangladesh. The authors’ results also suggest that outside independent directors, managerial ownership and females' participation on the board are not linked with the performance of the listed banks in Bangladesh. It signifies that the mere presence of outside directors and female directors in the board does not guarantee the enhancement of banks' performance and the minimization of agency conflict between shareholders and management. The persistent characteristic of bank performance is one of the crucial findings of this paper.

This research has some limitations as the study's findings may not be generalized to other countries or industries because the current study considered only the small sample size based on the availability of the data and focused only on the banks listed in the DSE. Moreover, this study may not represent the whole financial industry because it includes all listed and non-listed banks and non-bank financial institutions. Hence, the findings may not be applicable to the other industries operating in different business ecosystems.

The findings of this analysis have some managerial implications. This study provides managers empirical evidence regarding the influence of corporate governance elements on banks' performance, and they can now identify the factors that should emphasize enhancing the bank performance. The findings demonstrate that policymakers, regulatory bodies and bank management should pay more attention to the banks' overall corporate governance structures, especially in the case of appointing independent and female directors to challenge the executive power and to prevent the repetition of financial irregularities and loan scams in the banking industry of Bangladesh. Furthermore, the regulatory authorities should ensure the banks follow the corporate governance guidelines precisely for building a resilient banking industry to attain sustainable development goals in the long run.

This paper is the first empirical in-depth analysis applying the most recent data that examines the effect of bank governance elements on the performance of all the banks listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange to the best of our knowledge.

This study aims to explore the effect of the board of directors on the capital structure of listed non-financial firms on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Using a panel data set of 208 financial Pakistani enterprises from 2015 to 2020, regression analysis is employed to examine the data utilizing independent variables such as board size, outside directors, directors' remuneration and managerial ownership to evaluate board characteristics and the total debt ratio for capital structure.

The results show that the board size positively impacts the debt ratio. However, outside directors, directors' remuneration and managerial ownership are negatively connected with the capital structure. The empirical findings indicate that corporate governance mechanisms play an important role in the capital structure decision of Pakistani non-financial companies.

This research contributes to the literature by addressing the function of the board of directors in the governance of Pakistani enterprises.

Few studies in Pakistan focus on board characteristics and those that do utilize different variables. This research aims to fill a critical gap by investigating the effect of the board of directors' attributes and the capital structure of the listed non-financial sector of Pakistan.

To demonstrate transparency and accountability, the three boards in this study are required to meet in public in front of an audience, although the boards reserve confidential issues for discussion in private sessions. This study examines boardroom public accountability, contrasting it with accountability in board meetings held in private. The study adopts Erving Goffman's impression management theory to interpret divergences between boardroom behaviour in public and private, or “frontstage” and “backstage” in Goffman's terminology.

The research observes and video-records three board meetings for each of the three boards (nine board meetings), in public and private. The research operationalises accountability in terms of director-manager question-and-answer interactions.

In the presence of an audience of local stakeholders, the boards employ impression management techniques to demonstrate accountability, by creating the impression that non-executive directors are performing challenge and managers are providing satisfactory answers. Thus, they “save the show” in Goffman terms. These techniques enable board members and managers to navigate the interface between demonstrating the required good governance and the competence of the organisations and their managers, while not revealing issues that could tarnish their image and concern the stakeholders. The boards need to demonstrate to the audience that “matters are what they appear to be”, even if they are not. The research identifies behaviour consistent with impression management to manage this complexity. The authors conclude that regulatory objectives have not met their transparency aspirations.

For the first time, the research studies the effect of transparency regulations (“sunshine” laws) on the behaviour of boards of directors meeting in public. The study contributes to the embryonic literature based on video-taped board meetings to access the “black box” of the boardroom, which permits a study of impression management at board meetings not previously possible. This study extends prior impression management theory by identifying eleven impression management techniques that non-executive directors and managers use and which are unique to a boardroom context.

There is a longstanding debate over the role of modern business methods in the contemporary non-profit organisation (NPO). Critics of business practices assert that they may undermine the missions of NPOs. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this debate. Many accounting researchers have shifted research focus to concepts such as trust and crises. These are important topics. But they may overshadow practices which are taken for granted as accepted practice which does not merit re-examination.

This qualitative project is based on an initial survey followed by comparative case studies of three NPOs. The researchers have used both interviews and documentary analysis in this study.

The contention that the adoption of business-like practices undermines the fundamental aim of altruism of NPOs is challenged by the findings of this paper. The very concept of altruism is not a single unifying concept in NPOs – it is a contested idea. However, and most importantly, in this research there is no evidence of mission drift by NPOs which adopt business practices. This research highlights the way many NPO CEOs are mission-driven but also pragmatic bricoleurs in their consideration of new business practices. Most importantly, these case studies demonstrate a variation in practices within the participating organisations. This raises challenging questions about a receptive context for the adoption of new business practices which are explored in this paper.

The case studies in this paper are from the UK, and further studies in different operating contexts in other countries would be useful. In particular, the finding that the fundamental ethos of NPOs is not challenged by being business-like merits further research. There is also scope for further research on what constitutes a receptive context for the adoption of new business practices by NPOs.

This study reveals the potential significance of NPO boards, particularly non-executive directors, in the shaping of organisational practices. There is evidence in this study of NPOs recruiting business experts for purposes of legitimation. But this study also shows how business expertise can be mobilised to enhance NPO performance by bricoleurs in NPO who are highly motivated individuals who will adopt useful business practices to hand if they improve charity outcomes.

The NPO organisations are motivated by the desire to make a difference to the lives of people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. This study has interesting implications for managers and directors of NPOs on their effectiveness.

This study challenges the critical view that becoming more business-like undermines the fundamental ethos of altruism in NPOs. This is an important finding, but this study also reveals the recruitment of business expertise by NPOs purely for purposes of legitimation. However, these legitimating practices differ from the well-established view of isomorphism in the field of NPOs and suggests that, on the contrary, there is a variation in practice within the NPO field which has important implications for donors, regulators, directors and managers of NPOs.