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1 – 10 of over 43000Bill Dimovski, Luisa Lombardi, Christopher Ratcliffe and Barry John Cooper
There is a large literature advocating the importance of a greater proportion of women directors on boards of publicly listed firms. The purpose of this paper is to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a large literature advocating the importance of a greater proportion of women directors on boards of publicly listed firms. The purpose of this paper is to examine the numbers and proportions of women directors, including women executive directors, on listed Australian Real Estate Management and Development (REMD) companies to identify how prevalent women directors are on such boards.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines the numbers and proportions of women directors for 35 REMDs in 2011 and compares this to the broad board composition data on 1,715 Australian Stock Exchange listed entities. Statistically significant findings are evident due to the identified low proportions.
Findings
The study finds that of all the Financials Sub Industry sector groups, REMDs have the lowest proportion of female directors on theirs boards – eight women on each of 35 company boards compared to 159 men on these 35 boards at 2011. Of the eight, there were only two women executive directors on boards compared to 50 men. Statistically, it appears that having women directors on REMD boards is not considered important. Even at December 2014, there are only ten women on seven company boards and only one remaining executive director of an REMD company.
Practical implications
Given that female board representation is positively related to accounting returns and that there is a growing voice for legislation to impose mandatory proportions of women directors on boards around the world, it may be in the interests of REMD boards to consider appointing more women more quickly.
Originality/value
The study is the first to examine the numbers and proportions of women directors amongst REMD companies to identify the paucity of such women directors.
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Graham Beaver, Adrian Davies and Paul Joyce
This paper critically reviews the role and function of the corporate board and finds that boards of directors that have a leadership role in corporate strategic planning go beyond…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper critically reviews the role and function of the corporate board and finds that boards of directors that have a leadership role in corporate strategic planning go beyond merely caring for shareholder interests and take a proactive role in the success of the business. They do this by setting the strategic direction and evaluating company performance.Findings
However, the cultural and organisational conditions for the development of leadership boards are not well understood. The roles of executive and non‐executive directors need to be clearly defined in order that such boards can be effective and assert control over strategy and performance. Executive directors can only be effective when they clearly differentiate their role of providing direction from their daily role of working with managers in the company.Research limitations/implications
Recent research has begun to push back the ignorance surrounding the development of leadership boards. This is examined in order to define the barriers standing in the way of more empowered directors. It is then used to identify the actions and approaches that can be used by directors to develop their involvement in and influence over, corporate strategic planning.Originality/valueThe paper contains a critical discussion of boards that places the issue in their contemporary policy context. This leads to the conclusion that the organisation of partnership between board and management is important and that business success increasingly rests on openness and trust supported by creative and challenging dialogue. Practical suggestions for the revision of company law are provided.
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Highlights the historical set‐up of Canadian boards of directors, whyand how women were first appointed to corporate boards. Examines factorsrelated to women serving on corporate…
Abstract
Highlights the historical set‐up of Canadian boards of directors, why and how women were first appointed to corporate boards. Examines factors related to women serving on corporate boards, detailing advantages and barriers to the appointments. Reports on a survey of Canadian Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) which considers factors related to the appointment of women to corporate boards. Results indicated the CEOs′ opinions on, for example, how important a variety of qualifications is to the appointment of female directors; the women with difficulties in finding women with these qualifications; preferred candidate profiles; issues which would benefit from a female perspective; effects of women on boards and companies; and the question of why there are not more women directors. Finally, with the survey as a background, looks at why there are so few women on the boards of directors of Canadian private sector organizations; and the future prospects of women as board members.
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Richard A. Bernardi, David F. Bean and Kristen M. Weippert
This research examines the differences in presentation of boards of directors in annual reports. Our sample consists of 472 corporations from the Fortune 500; 130 (342) of these…
Abstract
This research examines the differences in presentation of boards of directors in annual reports. Our sample consists of 472 corporations from the Fortune 500; 130 (342) of these corporations included (did not include) pictures of their boards of directors. The proportion of female directors was 11.0 percent for firms that did not include pictures of their boards and 14.5 percent for firms that included pictures of their boards in their annual reports. The difference in the gender mix of these two groups is significant (p = 0.0002). This indicates that firms with a higher percentage of women on their boards signal this fact to stockholders, investors, and other constituents by including pictures of their boards in their annual reports.
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This article provides a brief overview of the literature on board of director performance, highlighting the difficulties in attempting to directly measure the performance of…
Abstract
This article provides a brief overview of the literature on board of director performance, highlighting the difficulties in attempting to directly measure the performance of boards of directors and how various studies have tackled this challenge. As an illustration, I show that two current measures of board of director performance, board meeting activity and director attendance, suggest that the boards of Asian firms do not compare favorably to the boards of firms from developed markets. Suggestions for future research on the performance of corporate boards are provided, as well as implications for board of director practices in Asia.
Valentina Tarkovska, Patricia Gabaldon and Raluca Valeria Ratiu
The interest in promoting diversity in corporate governance is increasing gender equality on boards. Even so, previous research shows that women are underrepresented on boards of…
Abstract
Purpose
The interest in promoting diversity in corporate governance is increasing gender equality on boards. Even so, previous research shows that women are underrepresented on boards of directors. This study aims to explore how an increasing presence of women on boards reduces gender pay disparity among nonexecutive directors (NEDs).
Design/methodology/approach
This study explores how an increasing presence of women on boards reduces gender pay disparity among NEDs.
Findings
The results indicate that for boards to reduce the gender pay disparity among NEDs, women need to reach a critical mass of 33% of board members. In addition, this study finds that women’s presence on influential committees further reduces the gender pay disparity among NEDs.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses critical mass and social identity theories to explain the impact of women directors on NEDs’ remuneration in a sample of 365 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange over 16 years (1999–2015). The findings indicate the importance of reducing gender pay disparity as a tool to promote gender equality on boards.
Practical implications
This study provides evidence on the importance of corporations including gender diversity on board committees to reduce gender pay disparities at the board level.
Originality/value
In addition, this study finds that women’s presence on influential committees further reduces gender pay disparity among NEDs.
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Vidisha Gunesh Ramlugun and Lesley Stainbank
The aim of this study is to explore how a practice approach can provide an understanding of board diversity practices. Drawing from Schatzki's practice theory, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore how a practice approach can provide an understanding of board diversity practices. Drawing from Schatzki's practice theory, this study considered how board diversity is practiced from the doings and sayings of directors in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, in-depth interviews with directors in listed companies from different industrial sectors were used to collect data.
Findings
The authors' findings indicate that a country's board diversity practices are influenced by the country's unique social, economic and cultural environment. Whilst board diversity practices may appear as the practices that are motivated by compliance, a deeper look at the results reveals that the laws governing board diversity are interpreted very subtly in a way that benefits shareholders' self-interest. A low percentage of female directors on boards and some indications of shareholder-driven practices are also found. Whilst the corporate sector acknowledges the advantages of diversity, there are some practices that they are unwilling to abandon, demonstrating the importance of the teleoaffective structures and normativity in determining what really occurs. Members of boards resolving disagreement further demonstrates the teleoaffective structure.
Research limitations/implications
This research would be of interest to researchers because of the research's novel approach in studying board diversity which could be used by other researchers to experiment with a practice approach in exploring corporate governance phenomena in unique settings.
Practical implications
The findings are of relevance to policymakers and regulators who seek to strengthen corporate governance practices in similar settings.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on board diversity by showing that analysing board diversity through a practice approach enables a more comprehensive understanding of practices. The authors' study confirms that practice theory has the potential to re-orient the way board diversity studies are undertaken.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of board diversity on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim is twofold; does board diversity has any effect on CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of board diversity on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim is twofold; does board diversity has any effect on CSR, do structural and demographic differences between one-tier and two-tier board models may impact this effect?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies a panel generalized method of moments estimator to a sample of 2,544 non-financial listed firms from 42 countries over the period of 2013–2017.
Findings
The findings reveal that board diversity leads to effective CSR. By distinguishing between diversity among boards from diversity within boards, the results display the effects of the specific variables that make up the manner and latter’s constructs within unitary and two-tier board structures. Specifically, this paper reveals that tenure, ideology and educational level (gender and nationality) predominantly appear to drive a firm’s CSR within one (two)-tier boards settings. These results remain consistent when robustness tests are ruled.
Practical implications
The study provides managers, investors and policymakers with knowledge about how among and within board diversity attributes favor the decision-making process around CSR. The evidence is useful for companies in setting the criteria to identify directors who can support their strategic decisions. It benefits, moreover, academics in better understanding firms’ CSR determinants and practices under different corporate board models.
Social implications
Examining how different sets of board diversity affect firms’ CSR given divergences between one-tier and two-tier board structure is a useful and informative endeavor for all community actors.
Originality/value
Unlike prior studies that identify the limited scope of diversity, the study is the first to examine the effect of broader dimensions of board diversity on CSR under both one-tier and two-tier board settings. This paper provides a contribution to a greater understanding of the impacts underlying board models and different attributes of board diversity on CSR. This new understanding will help to improve predictions of different features of board diversity impacts on decision-making processes around organizational outcomes.
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María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez, Inmaculada Bel-Oms and Gustau Olcina-Sempere
Companies, politicians, the mass media, legislators, scholars and society in general have shown a growing interest in how board gender diversity affects a firm’s decisions. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Companies, politicians, the mass media, legislators, scholars and society in general have shown a growing interest in how board gender diversity affects a firm’s decisions. This concept has been developed because some nations have introduced voluntary policies to regulate and increase the proportion of female directors on corporate boards. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review previous research based on board gender diversity as a corporate governance mechanism and its effect on some firms’ business decisions: financial reporting quality (FRQ), firm performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focus on the agency and stakeholder theory to examine the link between female directors on boards and FRQ, CSR disclosure and firm performance.
Findings
This review provides researchers a structure that can identify the benefits and disadvantages of including female directors on boards regarding three particular corporate outcomes (FRQ, firm performance and CSR reporting).
Originality/value
This study provides a review of past literature on firm performance, CSR disclosure and FRQ from 1975 to 2017, and it contributes to past research by giving a broad overview of the main results of the association between female board directors and corporate decisions. The findings have implications for governments, academics and company managers.
Objetivo
Las empresas, los políticos, los medios de comunicación, los legisladores, los investigadores y la sociedad, en general, han incrementado su interés en cómo la diversidad de género de los Consejos de Administración impacta en las decisiones empresariales. El concepto de diversidad de género en los Consejos ha sido desarrollado porque algunos países han implementado políticas voluntarias para regular e incrementar la proporción de mujeres consejeras en los Consejos de Administración de las empresas. Por tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es revisar la literatura previa que se ha centrado en analizar la diversidad de género del Consejo de Administración como mecanismo de buen gobierno corporativo y su efecto en algunas decisiones empresariales: calidad de la información financiera, desempeño empresarial y divulgación de información sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa.
Diseño/metodología/perspectiva
Para examinar la relación entre la presencia de mujeres consejeras en los Consejos de Administración y la calidad de la información financiera, la divulgación de información sobre la responsabilidad social empresarial y el desempeño empresarial nos hemos basado en la teoría de la agencia y la de los stakeholders.
Resultados
Esta revisión de la literatura previa proporciona a los investigadores una sólida estructura para que puedan identificar las ventajas y desventajas de incorporar mujeres consejeras en los Consejos de Administración con respecto a tres decisiones empresariales en particular (calidad de la información financiera, desempeño empresarial y la divulgación de información sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa).
Originalidad/contribución
Este trabajo realiza una revisión de la literatura previa sobre el desempeño empresarial, sobre la revelación de información sobre la responsabilidad social empresarial y sobre la calidad de la información financiera desde 1975 hasta 2017, y contribuye a la literatura previa ofreciendo una amplia perspectiva de los principales resultados de la relación entre la presencia de mujeres en los Consejos de Administración y estas tres decisiones empresariales. Los resultados tienen implicaciones para los gobiernos, los académicos y los gerentes de las empresas.
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Keywords
- Corporate governance
- Gender diversity
- Boards
- Firm performance
- Financial reporting quality
- Corporate social responsibility disclosure
- Gobierno corporativo
- Diversidad de género
- Consejos de Administración
- Desempeño empresarial
- Calidad de la información financiera
- Divulgación de información sobre responsabilidad social corporativa
M. Camino Ramon-Llorens, Emma Garcia-Meca and María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez
This paper aims to analyze the role of female directors on CSR disclosure. It assumes the existence of faultlines when studying gender diversity and classifies female directors…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the role of female directors on CSR disclosure. It assumes the existence of faultlines when studying gender diversity and classifies female directors into three categories: industry experts, advisors and community leaders. It also examines the influence of the power of female directors as a moderator on the association between female director categories and CSR disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper bases on a dynamic generalized method of moments panel estimator which allows controlling for the unobservable heterogeneity and endogeneity and reduces the estimation bias.
Findings
Results confirm the double-sided nature of gender diversity, noting different behavior among female directors according to their experience and backgrounds. Moreover, the dominating owner position of female directors can balance and moderate the effect of female directors appointed for their technical knowledge or political and social ties. The results also confirm the necessity to not consider all women directors as a homogeneous group and explore the influence and interrelations of female faultlines on CSR disclosure.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the need to consider the specific skills, expertise, and connections of female board members when analyzing the effect of board composition, and supports the view that firms should emphasize the unique human and social capital of directors to understand how boards impact on firm strategies. Specifically, the authors support the recommendations of the European Commission (2011) regarding the need to increase skills and expertise when selecting new non-executive female board members.
Social implications
At a time when most governments are introducing active policies that require firms to nominate women to boards, the understanding of the consequences of women’s presence on boards and the interrelations between female power and the diverse categories of female directors is timely and important.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that provides empirical evidence to the scarcely studied area of the human and social capital of female directors’ roles in CSR disclosure, providing an alternative view of the role of women in corporate board effectiveness.
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