Corporate governance and risk taking: the role of board gender diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Abou-El-Sood

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the association between board gender diversity and bank risk taking in an emerging market context. Design/methodology/approach The association between female board directorship and bank risk taking is examined, while controlling for board characteristics, managerial, concentrated, family and government ownership. Two-stage regression with instrumental variables is used for a sample of banks listed in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during 2002-2014. Findings Results show that banks with more female board directors invest in less risky positions; the association is attenuated when the regulatory capital is larger, providing protection against risky investments, and female directors tend to invest less in risky asset positions in Islamic banks relative to conventional banks. Practical implications The relevance of the findings stems from the recent initiatives undertaken by the Basel Committee to address deficient corporate governance structures that lead to bank breakdowns and the diversified economy of the fast-growing GCC market, relying on banking services in the aftermath of the oil price drop. Originality/value This paper provides novel evidence on the influence of board gender diversity on bank risk taking in an emerging market context. This paper fills a gap in prior research by examining bank-specific regulatory capital adequacy and Islamic banking aspects.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Waweru

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between business ethics practices disclosure and corporate governance characteristics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study uses multiple regression to investigate the association between business ethics disclosure (BED) and corporate governance characteristics in SAA. The study sample is based on 573 non-financial corporations listed on the national stock exchanges of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe as of 31 December 2015. Findings The findings show that corporate governance characteristics (including the proportion of government ownership, board independence and board gender diversity) are positively and significantly related to BED. Originality/value The study contributes to the limited literature by analyzing the relationship between BED practices and corporate governance characteristics in the sub-Sahara African context, which is significantly different from the Anglo-Saxon world.


Author(s):  
Md. Tofael Hossain Majumder ◽  
Aklima Akter ◽  
Xiaojing Li

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association between corporate governance and corporate social disclosures (CSD). Design/methodology/approach Data analysis has been conducted on 29 prior studies published between 2004 and 2016 for the purpose of integrating the findings across studies. The study uses the meta-analysis instrument developed by Hunter et al. (1982). Findings The investigation finds a significant positive association between board size, the frequency of board meetings and auditors’ credibility with CSD. Both the managerial and concentrated ownership have a significant but negative association with CSD. In contrast, board independence, board gender diversity, the composition of non-executive directors, government ownership, foreign ownership and institutional ownership are insignificantly and positively associated with CSD. CEO duality is also insignificant with CSD but indicates a negative association. The study further investigates that the association between board gender diversity and CSD affected by the differences of the country of study. Originality/value This paper adds significance to the extant academic literature as well as assists the appropriate policy maker in assessing the determinants of CSD from the viewpoints of corporate governance. It further aims to reconcile the findings of the previous studies around the world, and also for the developed and developing countries separately.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Menicucci ◽  
Guido Paolucci

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and the risk profile of Italian banks during the period 2015–2019. This study examines whether the presence of female board directors or top executives has any significant effect on bank risk-taking. Design/methodology/approach To explore the influence of women on bank risk-taking, the authors analyzed a sample of 387 Italian banks and developed an econometric model applying unbalanced panel data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. Within a multivariate regression model, the authors considered five risk dimensions to verify the effect of gender diversity. Findings The findings suggest that female board directors and executives are considerably more risk averse and less overconfident than their male colleagues, thus confirming a negative causality between risk-taking and gender diversity. The results reveal that banks headed by women are less risky because they report higher capital adequacy and equity to assets ratios. As credit risk in female-led banks is no different from male-led ones, higher capital adequacy does not derive from lower asset quality because it is linked to the higher risk aversion of female directors and top managers. Research limitations/implications From a theoretical standpoint, the results suggest that having women in executive positions entails different risk implications for Italian banks; from a managerial perspective, the results highlight conditions that may promote the role of women in the banking sector. The conclusions are of particular significance because they provide some support for the view that regulators should favor gender quotas in the board management of banks to reduce risk-taking behavior. Originality/value This paper offers an in-depth examination of the risk practices of banks and it attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on the risk profile of the Italian banking industry given that few empirical studies have examined the determinants of risk-taking in this field, to date. The findings on the higher risk aversion of women directors advance the understanding of the determinants of risk-taking behavior in banks, suggesting that gender quotas in bank boards can contribute to reducing risk-taking behavior. This also unveils some policy implications for bank regulatory authorities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.G. DeBoskey ◽  
Yan Luo ◽  
Jeff Wang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of board gender diversity on the transparency of corporate political disclosure (CPD). Design/methodology/approach Two empirical proxies, CPD transparency and policy transparency, are constructed from a data set jointly produced by the Center of Political Activity and the Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research. The CPD transparency score measures the level of transparency in voluntary corporate disclosure of the amount of political contributions and the identity of the recipients as well as the titles and names of the executives who authorize the political spending. The policy transparency score measures the level of transparency in the voluntary disclosure of the policies governing corporate political spending. Board gender diversity is measured by the percentage of women on the board of directors. Findings Higher proportions of female directors are associated with more transparent disclosure of political contributions after controlling for a set of corporate governance and firm-level variables. Originality/value This study is the first to examine whether and how gender-diversified boards enhance the transparency of CPD. It contributes to the literature by providing evidence that gender-diversified boards enhance corporate governance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santi Gopal Maji ◽  
Preeti Hazarika

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between capital regulation and risk-taking behavior of Indian banks after incorporating the influence of competition. Further, the study intends to enrich the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of human resources in managing risk along with the influence of other bank specific and macroeconomic variables. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data on 39 listed Indian commercial banks are collected from “Capitaline Plus” corporate data database for a period of 15 years. Capital is measured by capital adequacy ratio as defined by the regulators, and two definitions of risk – credit risk and insolvency risk – are employed. Competition is measured by Herfindahl-Hirschman deposits index, concentration ratio and H-statistic. The value-added intellectual coefficient model is employed to compute human capital efficiency (HCE). Three-stage least squares technique in a simultaneous equation framework is used to estimate the coefficients. Findings The study finds that absolute level of regulatory capital and bank risk are positively associated, although the influence of capital on risk is not statistically significant. The influence of competition on risk is negative for all the models, which supports the “competition stability” view. The impact of human capital on bank risk is also negative for all cases. Practical implications The findings of the study are useful for the decision makers in several ways based on the inverse influence of competition and HCE on bank risk. Further, the observed positive association between capital and risk indicates that the capital regulation is not sufficient to enhance the stability in the banking sector. Originality/value This is the first study in the Indian context that incorporates the competition in the banking industry as an explanatory variable in the extant bank capital and risk relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Navaz Naghavi ◽  
Saeed Pahlevan Sharif ◽  
Hafezali Bin Iqbal Hussain

PurposeThis study seeks to add more insights to the debate on “whether”, “how”, and “under which condition” women representation on the board contributes to firm performance. More specifically, the current study aims to investigate if the effect of board gender diversity on firm performance is dependent on macro factors of national cultures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the generalized method of moments regression and a data set consists of 2,550 company year observations over 10 years.FindingsThe results indicated that cultural variables interact with board diversity to influence firm performance. Having women on the board in countries with high power distance, individualist, masculine and low-uncertainty avoidance culture influences the firm performance negatively.Originality/valueThe findings indicate that the effects of corporate governance structure on firm performance depends on culture-specific factors, providing support for the argument that institutional norms that are governed by cultural norms affect the effectiveness of corporate governance structure.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hassan Shakil ◽  
Mashiyat Tasnia ◽  
Md Imtiaz Mostafiz

PurposeGender diversity in corporate boards is broadly studied in existing corporate governance literature. However, the role of board gender diversity on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of the banks is still unaccounted for. Drawing on resource dependence and legitimacy theory, this study addresses this pressing research issue. Moreover, investigation of ESG controversies as a moderator paves the existing corporate governance research to the new avenues.Design/methodology/approachData were sourced from Refinitiv database on 37 US banks from the period of 2013 to 2017. This study employs static and dynamic panel regression models that include random effects, fixed effects and dynamic generalised method of moments (GMMs) to test the hypotheses. Furthermore, system GMM is used to reduce the issue of endogeneity, measurement error, omitted variables bias and bank-specific heterogeneity.FindingsWe identify a significant positive relationship between board gender diversity and the ESG performance of US banks. However, the result propounds non-significant moderating effect of ESG controversies on the board gender diversity–ESG performance nexus.Originality/valueLiterature on board gender diversity and ESG separately and predominantly explains firm/bank's financial performance. This study is one of the pioneering attempts to explain the role of board gender diversity on ESG performance. Although incremental, however, this study also contributes to the literature on ESG in the US context.


Author(s):  
Mohamed H. Elmagrhi ◽  
Collins G. Ntim ◽  
Richard M. Crossley ◽  
John K. Malagila ◽  
Samuel Fosu ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which corporate board characteristics influence the level of dividend pay-out ratio using a sample of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises from 2010 to 2013 listed on the Alternative Investment Market. Design/methodology/approach The data are analysed by employing multivariate regression techniques, including estimating fixed effects, lagged effects and two-stage least squares regressions. Findings The results show that board size, the frequency of board meetings, board gender diversity and audit committee size have a significant relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. Audit committee size and board size have a positive association with the level of dividend pay-out, whilst the frequency of board meetings and board gender diversity have a significant negative relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. By contrast, the findings suggest that board independence and CEO role duality do not have any significant effect on the level of dividend pay-out. Originality/value This is one of the first attempts at examining the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy in the UK’s Alternative Investment Market, with the analysis distinctively informed by agency theoretical insights drawn from the outcome and substitution hypotheses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurlan Orazalin

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether board gender diversity and other board characteristics affect earnings management practices of top public companies in Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes data of top public companies for the period 2010-2016. Data on corporate governance were manually collected from annual reports and investment memorandums, and financial data were collected from audited financial statements. Findings The empirical results show that companies with greater board gender diversity are more effective in constraining earnings management. The findings also indicate that companies with larger boards adopt a more restrained approach to earnings management practices, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. However, the results provide weak evidence of the association between board independence and earnings quality. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and earnings management in emerging markets such as Kazakhstan that offers managerial and policy implications.


Author(s):  
Fani Khoirotunnisa

The benefit of gender and education diversity on the board of commissioners is a subject of the current debate. This research investigates board gender diversity and board education diversity on bank risk-taking in Indonesian listed banks. Using a sample of 40 Indonesian banks over a period from 2012 to 2018, we find that board gender diversity has a significant negative effect on bank risk-taking. In contrast, the nationality diversity between bank's board members does not directly impact bank risk-taking. This study concludes that the more significant the proportion of women on the bank's board, the less risk the bank has. Keywords                    : Board Gender Diversity; Board Education Diversity; Bank Risk-TakingCorrespondence to        : [email protected]  Manfaat keberagaman jenis kelamin dan latar belakang pendidikan dewan komisaris menjadi topik perdebatan akhir-akhir ini. Penelitian ini mengkaji dampak dari keberagaman jenis kelamin dan latar belakang pendidikan dewan komisaris terhadap pengambilan risiko bank di bank-bank yang terdaftar di Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan sampel dari 40 bank di Indonesia selama periode dari 2012 hingga 2018, peneliti menemukan bahwa keragaman jenis kelamin dewan memiliki pengaruh negatif yang signifikan terhadap pengambilan risiko bank. Sebaliknya, perbedaan latar belakang pendidikan tidak berdampak langsung pada pengambilan risiko bank. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah semakin besar proporsi wanita dalam dewan komisaris bank maka semakin kecil tingkat pengambilan risiko bank. Kata Kunci                  : Board Gender Diversity; Board Education Diversity; Bank Risk-Taking


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