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In the context of sustainable development goal 5 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda: “Achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment”, where gender equality is not only a matter of justice but also essential to achieve sustainable development, this paper aims to examine the gender pay gap in executive director compensation and the influence of female board representation and participation in nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) on this gap in Spanish listed firms over the period 2012–2022.

The analysis is conducted using a data set created by the authors, which includes executive director compensation data for 164 unique firms. This data set comprises 128 distinct observations for a given firm and year for women, and 2,333 observations for men. The authors estimate ordinary least squares models, clustering standard errors by executive. The authors use Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to decompose gender differences in compensation into differences in the characteristics of men and women and differences in the return on the same characteristics.

The authors find evidence of pay penalty for female executive directors compared to male counterparts. After controlling for firm, board and executive characteristics, the authors find that women earn 27% less than comparable men. The penalty is lower in companies with a higher share of women on the compensation committee, suggesting that women’s participation plays a role in setting a more equal remuneration policy. The gender gap in executive compensation narrows over time due to a substantial reduction of the differences between men and women in both characteristics and the return on these characteristics.

This study is one of the few analysing the gender gap in executive director compensation and its evolution in Spain. It specifically explores how gender diversity on both the board and the NRC impacts this gap. The analysis is focused on the most recent period characterized by important efforts to promote gender diversity.

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted gender quotas for corporate boards (CBQ), anticipating ripple effects on women’s careers in the companies concerned, as well as throughout the economy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether CBQ has spurred ripple effects and discuss mechanisms hindering or facilitating women’s occupancy of top executive positions.

Norway was the first country in the world to introduce CBQ in 2003, with full effect from 2008. The policy requires company boards to be composed of 40% of each gender. Drawing on original data mapping boards and executive committees in Norway’s 200 largest companies, the authors analyze the association between CBQ and the gender composition of executive management almost 15 years after the full implementation. The data include both companies covered by the CBQ and large companies not covered.

The investigation does not find a positive association between CBQ and more women in executive positions. Thus, the ripple effect hypothesis of CBQ is not supported. CBQ may have contributed to an increased awareness of gender imbalances, yet these findings indicate that to achieve more gender balance in executive positions, scholars and practitioners may need to focus more on gendered conditions and processes in organizations and society throughout executive careers than on the gender composition of boards.

This paper provides empirical analyses of original data 15 years after the implementation of CBQ. The authors further contribute to scholarly debate by identifying and discussing possible mechanisms that explain how requiring more women on corporate boards may – or may not – have ripple effects on executive management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese female executives and corporate risk-taking the contingencies that affect this relationship.

A integrated theoretical framework was established, on the basis of which theoretical hypotheses were developed and tested using 20,315 firm-year observations collected from China’s publicly listed companies during the period 2005–2020. Data were collected from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share Stock Exchanges and analyzed using a moderated regression analysis, PSM, 2SLS-IV and PSM-DID model.

The empirical results indicate a negative effect of the ratio of female executives in top management team on corporate risk-taking, and this negative effect can be weakened by the social capital of board directors and the regional marketization.

The paper contributes to research on the relationship between female executives and risk-taking by considering the effect of eastern culture on female executives’ business decision-making and examining the moderating factors inside and outside the firm.

The paper illustrates the active steps that corporations can take to enhance female executives' willingness and capacity to take firm-related risks so as to improve the firm value in the long run.

The paper explores how Chinese culture and Chinese traditional value affect female executives’ decision-making on risky projects or uncertain investments. In addition, our study for the first time examines the moderating effect of board social capital as an internal factor and marketization as an external one on the relationship between Chinese female executives and corporate risk taking. The research examines the gender inequality in the work and competitive environment facing female executives in the areas of different marketization level, which would affect female executives’ cognition and motivation in corporate risk taking.

The modern corporation is evaluated by many measures that go beyond profit, which was the emphasis for years previously. Today’s corporation is weighed against expectations of many stakeholders, including not just customers but employees, investors, the government and even the public at large with no discernible financial or other tie to a company. As such, corporate boards necessarily must be concerned with more than financial performance, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the increasing emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. Given that public relations scholars and practitioners have long been concerned with stakeholder relationships, social responsibility and other non-financial indicators, it would make sense that public relations has a more obvious presence on corporate boards.

This study examined the 25 companies in the Fortune Modern Board 25 to determine how many board members had a background or expertise in public relations that would contribute to the leadership necessary for the concerns of the modern corporation, and whether the boards had a committee designated to public relations or related functions.

Results show that there are few corporate boards that have public relations represented prominently in either their members or committees. The same is true for executive leadership teams. Public relations or communications executives do appear to play some role in ESG, CSR and DEI reporting, but often there are staff members with those specific titles and roles.

The study was limited to 25 corporations on a Forbes list that ranked them as best in communicating ESG, CSR and DEI. The method examined publicly available literature which was revealing to the research questions, but more could be learned by interview or survey with CCOs.

The study shows the current presence of public relations capacity in terms of members of corporate boards, corporate committees and among the C-suite is not significant. Also, rather than PR as a function owning modern concerns of DEI, ESG and CSR, there are professionals with specific expertise in those areas who are responsible for those corporate issues.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG (environmental, social, governance) and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) have recently been stressed as important for corporations to measure and report. The role of the public relations profession in managing and/or communicating in these areas is important to consider in terms of public expectations and satisfaction of communication on these subjects.

This paper is unique in integrating public relations theory and practice with board theory and the current management concerns with ESG, CSR and DEI. Little if any previous research has considered which professions are in charge of communicating on these concerns.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how those involved in executive pay determination in large publicly quoted UK businesses see the role of diversity within remuneration committees (Remcos) as enabling the input of different perspectives, which can enhance their decision-making and potentially improve pay outcomes.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 18 high-profile major-enterprise decision-makers and their advisers, i.e. non-executive directors (NEDs) serving Remcos, institutional investors, executive pay consultants and internal human resources (HR) reward specialists, together with data from three focus groups with 10 further reward management practitioners.

Remco members recognise the benefits of social category/demographic diversity but say the likelihood of increasing this is low, given talent pipeline issues. The widening of value diversity is considered problematic for Remcos’ functioning. Informational diversity is used as a proxy for social category/demographic diversity to improve Remcos’ decision-making on executive pay. While the inclusion of members from wider social networks is recognised as potentially bringing a different informational perspective, the social character of Remcos, reflecting their elite nature and experience of wealth, appears ingrained.

Our original contribution is to extend the application of upper echelons theory in the context of Remco decision-making to explain why members do not welcome widening informational diversity by appointing people from different social networks who lack value similarity. Instead, by drawing views from employees, HR acts as a proxy for social network informational diversity. The elite, upper-echelons nature of Remco appointments remains unchanged and team functioning is not disrupted.

The timeliness and quality of information provided to board members are crucial for them to effectively monitor and advise a firm. This study examines the influence of board composition and structure on (1) the board’s actions to mitigate the information asymmetry problem by implementing enterprise information systems (EIS) and (2) the board of directors’ awareness of information asymmetry, their perception of its causes and their efforts to address it.

Our research employs a mixed-methods approach. First, using data from 115 publicly listed Chinese companies, we empirically assess the likelihood of top-level EIS modules adoption at the firm level. Subsequently, through 23 semi-structured interviews, we aim to gain deeper insights into the behavioral motivations behind directors’ attempts to reduce information asymmetry.

The study reveals that boards with a higher number of independent directors or with a strategy committee – indicative of a greater concern regarding information asymmetry problems – are more inclined to adopt top-level EIS modules. Additionally, we identify three primary sources of information asymmetry that directors consider significant in prompting the adoption of top-level EIS modules to alleviate perceived information asymmetry.

This study contributes to both the corporate governance and information systems literature. The implementation and utilization of EIS at the board level have not been extensively explored previously. Moreover, while the issue of information asymmetry at the board level is recognized as a critical governance challenge, the ways in which directors perceive and address this issue remain largely unknown. Our research seeks to illuminate this relatively less-explored area.

This study aims to understand the dynamics of Australian boards by focusing on the influence of board gender diversity on firms' cash holdings, within the distinctive Australian “if not, why not” regulatory framework.

The study uses ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, generalized method of moments (GMM) and quasi-experimental methods such as difference-in-differences and propensity score matching to analyze the data.

There is a significantly negative relationship between board gender diversity and corporate cash holdings. This relationship is more pronounced when two or more female directors are on the board, supporting the critical mass theory. The results also reveal that the observed pattern can be attributed to the heightened monitoring intensity of female independent directors. Our quasi-experimental methods and pre-post analysis reveal that the observed effects are genuinely attributable to the increase in board gender diversity following regulatory reforms in Australia.

The findings provide practical insights for companies and policymakers, emphasizing the tangible effects of gender diversity on a company's financial strategy and corporate cash holdings. This information is crucial for organizations aiming to make informed decisions regarding board compositions and governance structures.

This research offers fresh insights into an important relationship between gender diversity on boards and corporate financial strategies in the Australian context, enriching the global conversation on the significance of gender diversity in corporate leadership.

This paper aims to examine how directors operationalise Australian corporate governance guidelines to follow their self-regulatory responsibilities.

This study consists of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 41 directors of ASX200 companies.

This study sheds light on how directors behave when grappling with the challenges they face as they work within a non-mandatory governance code. It adds to the literature by finding that while most of the good practice guidelines detailed by the ASXCG are well understood and enacted, in practice directors focus on ensuring strong relationships, minimising risk and managing the tensions they face in responsibly managing remuneration.

This study highlights the three R’s and the workings of the code, it also reveals the dynamics of managing uncertainty at the board level. At the implementation level, these insights will help board members to reflect on where attention is focused within guiding principles.

This study contributes to corporate governance studies by filling the gap between what should happen – as per governance guidelines – and what does happen in practice in top level Australian corporations. In making visible what exercises directors most as they operationalise their responsibilities in Australia, a country with a non-mandatory “if not, why not” governance code, the authors demonstrate how self-regulation plays out.

This study aims to explore the relationship between foreignness and CEO pay.

This study combines cross-sectional and time series observations analyzed with panel data methodology in a sample of 59 firms listed in the Spanish IBEX-35 index between 2006 and 2020.

International ownership influences CEO underpayment and foreign sales influence CEO overpayment.

CEO pay is susceptible to being influenced by foreign non-American variables. An appropriate understanding of these factors can contribute to discussing policies that balance the level of CEO payment in large public firms.

Research on internationalization and CEO pay is scarce. A handful of studies confirm the link between Americanization and executive compensation in Europe. However, the authors still do not know if the level of CEO pay is influenced by non-American exposure. To do this, the authors test the effect of firm – ownership, sales, board – and individual – CEO – exposure to international, non-US environments on the level of over/underpayment of CEOs in a sample of Spanish firms.

Explorar la relación entre la extranjería y la remuneración de los CEO.

Combinamos observaciones transversales y de series temporales analizadas con metodología de datos de panel en una muestra de 59 empresas del índice IBEX-35 español entre 2006 y 2020.

La propiedad internacional influye en la remuneración insuficiente de los CEO y las ventas en el extranjero influyen en la remuneración excesiva de los CEO.

La investigación sobre la internacionalización y la remuneración de los CEO es escasa. Un puñado de estudios confirman el vínculo entre la americanización y la remuneración de los ejecutivos en Europa. Sin embargo, todavía no sabemos si el nivel de remuneración de los CEO está influenciado por la exposición no estadounidense. Para ello, probamos el efecto de la exposición de la empresa (propiedad, ventas, consejo) y del individuo (CEO) a entornos internacionales, no estadounidenses, sobre el nivel de sobre/insuficiente remuneración de los CEO en una muestra de empresas españolas.

La remuneración de los CEO es susceptible de verse influenciada por variables extranjeras no estadounidenses. Una comprensión adecuada de estos factores puede contribuir a discutir políticas que equilibren el nivel de remuneración de los CEO en las grandes empresas públicas.

Explorar a relação entre estrangeirismo e remuneração de CEO.

Combinamos observações transversais e de séries temporais analisadas com metodologia de dados em painel em uma amostra de 59 empresas listadas no índice espanhol IBEX-35 entre 2006 e 2020.

A propriedade internacional influencia o sub pagamento de CEO e as vendas no exterior influenciam o super pagamento de CEO.

Pesquisas sobre internacionalização e remuneração de CEO são escassas. Alguns estudos confirmam a ligação entre americanização e remuneração de executivos na Europa. No entanto, ainda não sabemos se o nível de remuneração de CEO é influenciado pela exposição não americana. Para fazer isso, testamos o efeito da exposição da empresa - propriedade, vendas, conselho - e individual - CEO - a ambientes internacionais, não americanos, no nível de super/sub pagamento de CEOs em uma amostra de empresas espanholas.

A remuneração de CEO é suscetível a ser influenciada por variáveis estrangeiras não americanas. Uma compreensão adequada desses fatores pode contribuir para discutir políticas que equilibram o nível de remuneração de CEO em grandes empresas públicas.

This study aims to investigate the impact of gender diversity in top management teams and boards on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The authors propose a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee as a moderating variable in this relationship, drawing on resource dependence and legitimacy theories. This study is crucial in understanding the dynamics of gender diversity and its impact on ESG performance in the banking sector.

The study examines a sample of Islamic and conventional banks from 10 Middle Eastern and North African countries during 2008–2022. Initial analysis was conducted using fixed effects panel regression, whereas the robustness test used the generalized method of movement dynamic system.

The findings, which are significant for both conventional and Islamic banks, indicate that female directors are crucial in promoting ESG performance in conventional banks. In contrast, female executives do not appear to contribute significantly. However, for Islamic banks, neither board nor executive gender diversity significantly affects ESG performance. Moreover, the find that the positive moderating role of the CSR committee is significant only for the nexus between board gender diversity and conventional banks’ ESG performance and for the connection between executive gender diversity and Islamic banks’ ESG performance.

Despite the widespread belief that gender diversity in top management teams is pivotal in promoting ESG performance, empirical studies supporting these claims are scarce, particularly in the banking sector. The study, therefore, brings a novel perspective to this discourse. These findings have the potential to significantly assist stakeholders in evaluating how gender diversity in top management teams influences banks’ sustainability practices, thereby empowering them to make more informed and impactful investment decisions.