scholarly journals The governance role of shareholders and board of directors on firm performance: an eclectic governance-performance model

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozgur Ozdemir ◽  
Erhan Kilincarslan

Purpose This study aims to examine the governance role of shareholders and board of directors in determining firm performance through an eclectic multi-theoretic model that integrates structure and incentive functions of agency theory and capability aspect of the resource-based view. Design/methodology/approach The research model uses a large panel data set of 2,364 UK firms over the period 2000–2010 and uses alternative specifications of the model to improve robustness. Findings The results show that the industry experience of major shareholders as a proxy for shareholder capability has a significant positive impact on investee firm performance. The findings also reveal that the lock-in effect of the largest shareholder has a positive impact on performance, whereas the monitoring effectiveness of shareholders is not associated with ownership concentration. Moreover, the results indicate the underlying capabilities of the board of directors and their impact on corporate performance – particularly, the interlocking directorates of executives have a positive impact on firm performance but those of non-executives have a negative one. However, the previous directorship experience of non-executives has a positive impact on performance. Research limitations/implications This study presents a more comprehensive and complete understanding of the governance-performance relationship beyond the narrow or partial explanations provided by single-theory-based studies or those of investigating the effect of various governance tools separately. Practical implications This study provides more insights into the capability dimension of shareholders and the role of incentives in motivating shareholders to exercise stronger oversight on the management rather than just using ownership concentration. Hence, the study can serve as valuable guidance for investors, corporate managers and policymakers. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study that uses an eclectic philosophical approach, integrating the agency theory and resource-based view, to not only examine the impact of board of directors but also investigate the governance role of shareholders in modern corporations to understand how shareholders acquire the requisite skills and information, the best practices and processes, and ultimately use the scarce and inimitable resources that help investee firms in improving their performance.

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dung Nguyen ◽  
Hoai Nguyen ◽  
Kien S. Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the simultaneous relationship among ownership concentration, innovation and firm performance of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam during the 2011–2015. By employing a Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model, the findings show that: there is no impact of ownership concentration on innovation, but it has a positive impact on sales growth; innovation positively affects firm performance; and there exists a positively reverse causality from sales growth to innovation. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors propose the adaption of CMP model (Roodman, 2011). The nature of the first stage dependent variable – Innovation – is a binary one while the dependent variable Performance is continuous. Therefore, a model that can adapt the binary nature of the dependent variable and perform the estimation of a system of equations such as CMP model is preferred. The CMP framework is substantially that of seemingly unrelated regression, but with application in a larger scope. This approach is based on a “simulated maximum likelihood method” suggested by Geweke–Hajivassiliou–Keane algorithm. Findings By applying CMP method, this study examines the simultaneous relationship among ownership concentration, innovation and firm performance of the SMEs in Vietnam from 2011 to 2015. The findings indicate that: there is no impact of ownership concentration on innovation, but it has a positive impact on sales growth; innovation positively affects firm performance; and there exists a positively reverse causality from sales growth to innovation. Research limitations/implications In spite of the efforts to explore the simultaneous relationship among ownership concentration, innovation and firm performance of the SMEs in Vietnam, the study still has some limitations which are promising further research directions. First, the SME surveys by Central Institute for Economic Management do not have much information about other types of ownership including state-owned and foreign ownership. Therefore, possible further studies with richer data sets may explore the impacts of different types of ownership on firm innovation and performance. Second, other types of innovation such as organizational innovation, marketing innovation can also be investigated in further studies in a richer data set for the case of Vietnam SMEs. Originality/value The findings show that: there is no impact of ownership concentration on innovation, but it has a positive impact on sales growth; innovation positively affects firm performance; and there exists a positively reverse causality from sales growth to innovation. The policy implications insist on facilitating SMEs with easier access to capital via loans with preferred interest or trust loans without collateral, training programs for the labor force and SME leaders, and reduction of unnecessary administrative procedure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-431
Author(s):  
Benlu Hai ◽  
Qingzhu Gao ◽  
Ximing Yin ◽  
Jin Chen

Purpose Significant increase or decrease in research and development (R&D) expenditure may have an immense impact on market value. Based on the punctuated equilibrium theory, this paper aims to empirically analyze the impact of R&D volatilities on market value and the moderating effect of executive overconfidence. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the panel data set that covers 902 Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share manufacturing listed firms and multiple regression method to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings The results show that both positive and negative R&D volatilities have a robust and significant positive impact on the market value. Further analysis shows that the executive overconfidence positively moderates the relationship between R&D volatilities and market value. Research limitations/implications In a rapidly changing and highly competitive environment, firms should recognize that the balance of innovation strategies will help to bring higher market value. Furthermore, firms could improve corporate governance to make the best of managerial characteristics, such as overconfidence, on the innovation decision-making process. Originality/value By pushing the static perspective to a dynamic perspective and empirically documenting the role of executive overconfidence, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between R&D expenditure and market value, generating theoretical and practical insights for firms to improve innovation governance and innovation strategies to achieve better business performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aruoriwo Marian Chijoke-Mgbame ◽  
Chijoke Oscar Mgbame ◽  
Simisola Akintoye ◽  
Paschal Ohalehi

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) on firm performance and the moderating role of corporate governance on the CSRD–firm performance relationship of listed companies in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a panel data set comprising 841 firm-year observations for the period covering 2007-2016. Fixed effect regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CSRD and firm performance, and the moderating role of corporate governance in the CSRD–firm performance relationship. Findings The results of the study show that there are positive performance implications for firms that engage in CSRD. Although this study finds no effect of board size on the CSRD–firm performance relationship, it provides a strong evidence of a positive effect of board independence on the CSR–firm performance relationship. Practical implications The study contributes to the understanding of CSRD–firm performance relationship by providing evidence of the moderating role of corporate governance. It is, therefore, recommended that a stronger regulation be put in place for CSR engagement and the disclosure of same in Nigeria as well as robust measures for the enforcement of corporate governance mechanisms because there are economic benefits to be derived. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature by providing up-to-date and original insights on the CSRD–firm performance relationship within a developing country context. It also uses an uncommon method of measuring CSRD, taking into account the institutional biases that may arise from other methods used in studies on developed countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayenda Khresna Brahmana ◽  
Hui Wei You ◽  
Maria Kontesa

PurposeThis research aims to examine the moderating role of CEO power on the relationship between retrenchment strategy and firm performance by framing the relationship under an agency theory, and power circulation theory.Design/methodology/approachThis study focuses on a sample of 319 non-financial public listed companies in Malaysia from the year 2011–2016 and estimates the model under two-step GMM panel regression to eliminate the endogeneity issue.FindingsThe results show that the retrenchment strategy increased firm performance. Meanwhile, greater CEO power changes that retrenchment effect into increased performance. This study also indicates the CEO power strengthens the relationship between firm performance and retrenchment. However, CEO power does not have any effect on the performance of low retrenchment, and the performance of big firm size.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings show that the higher CEO power cause higher firm performance and higher retrenchment. This research suggests that CEO power can make retrenchment strategy works and the decision made can affect the firm performance significantly.Originality/valueThis study examines the effect of CEO power on the performance of retrenchment strategy implementation by contesting agency theory, power circulation theory, and resource-based view theory within the emerging country context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Dery Nyeadi ◽  
Muazu Ibrahim ◽  
Yakubu Awudu Sare

Purpose The paper aims to investigate empirically the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance in South African listed firms. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses panel corrected standard errors to estimate the effect of CSR on firm financial performance and thus addresses contemporaneous cross-correlations across the panel cross sections. The study uses a broad base measure of CSR created by the Public Investment Corporation data set and the combination of accounting and economic means of measuring firm financial performance. Findings CSR is found to have a strong positive impact on firm financial performance in South Africa. When CSR is decomposed further into its major components, governance performance positively impacts a firm’s financial performance with no evidence of any relationship between social components and firm performance and between environmental components and firm performance. The positive impact of CSR on firm performance is greater in big firms. At the industry level, CSR is noticed to impact positively on financial performance in the extractive industry via good governance and responsible environmental behaviors. It however has no impact on firm performance in the financial sector. Research limitations/implications The results should be interpreted with caution and some limitations. Due to the limiting nature of the Public Investment Corporation data set (the survey was carried out on selected firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for three years spanning from 2011 to 2013). This resulted in a sample of 56 firms. It is therefore very problematic to generalize the findings to a larger population over a long period of time. This is more limiting especially on individual sector studies where the sample has further shrunk to a smaller sample. As a result of the smaller sample size, the authors were unable to explore some other sectors which could have given more revealing findings. The authors recommend that future research should explore other data sets or use primary data approach that can allow for more sample size and elongated time period for a more holistic view and for easy generalization of the findings. The authors also identify an important lacuna necessitating further research effort. It would be interesting to empirically examine the threshold point of firms’ size beyond which CSR damages firms’ performance. Knowledge of this will guide managers of firms in their strategic CSR decision. Practical implications This study does not only serve as a reference work for subsequent investigations into the impact of CSR on firm performance in sub-Saharan Africa but also serves as a guide to policymakers on the financial impact of CSR adoption. Originality/value This study is one of the pioneering works that comprehensively examines the effect of CSR on financial performance amongst South African firms via size and sector and also controls for contemporaneous cross-correlation effects from the firms in the panel set.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Stéphane Renaud ◽  
Lucie Morin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of three training indicators, namely offer, participation and cost, on three firm outcomes, namely voluntary turnover, firm performance and profit. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis is carried out using firm-level data sourced from a Canadian national data set. In total, data from 5,237 for-profits firms with ten employees or more were analyzed longitudinally over eight years. Results were generated by XTREG fixed effect longitudinal analyses between the three variables of training, voluntary turnover, firm performance and profit. Findings Training offer, operationalized as the number of different formal training programs offered annually by an employer, significantly decreases voluntary turnover while it significantly increases performance and profit. Training participation, operationalized as the percentage of employees receiving training per year, has a significant positive impact on voluntary turnover. Training cost, operationalized as the annual cost of training per employee, has no impact on the three firm outcomes. Practical implications Among the various human resource practices a firm can use to strengthen its human capital, training can have a significant impact of its own. Investing in a diversified training offer brings value to a firm by decreasing employee voluntary turnover while increasing firm performance and profit. Originality/value This research contributes to the strategic impact of organizational training, demonstrating the impact of training on key organizational outcomes over time. Further, this paper contributes to the empirical literature by making a distinction between voluntary and involuntary turnover. Last, even though this study does not entirely addresses the problem of possible reverse causality, using longitudinal objective data, this study addresses several limits of past research at the macro-level of analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-370
Author(s):  
Michelle Li ◽  
Helen Roberts

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relation between CEO board membership and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the relationship between firm performance and CEO board membership, applying two-stage least squares, propensity score matching and correcting for self-selection bias across a unique sample of publicly listed New Zealand firms that demonstrate a definitive variation in CEO board membership. Findings This study finds that CEO board membership has a positive impact on firm performance, and these benefits are greater for more complex firms. Research limitations/implications Firms with CEOs independent of the board are associated with lower firm performance. The results are consistent with CEO board members providing an important information transfer mechanism to the board, resulting in an increase in average firm performance. This benefit is greater for larger firms with more business segments. Originality/value The paper tests for the impact of CEO board membership using a data set that demonstrates a definitive variation in CEO board membership.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 913-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeen-Su Lim ◽  
William K. Darley ◽  
David Marion

Purpose The study aims to explore supply chain influence (SCI) on the linkages among market orientation, innovation capabilities and firm performance (FP), using the resource-based view as a theoretical backdrop. Design Survey data from 182 top managers who are involved in strategy formulation and innovative direction of their companies was collected and analyzed using moderated multiple regression analysis. Findings Results revealed a moderating role of the SCI in that the proactive market orientation (PMO) and FP relationship is stronger when SCI is high, and innovation commercialization capability (ICC) and FP relationship is stronger when SCI is low. Practical implications Firms pursuing high PMO strategy must collaborate with supply chain function to achieve the full effect of PMO. Additionally, as supply chain is critical to meeting customers’ needs, these firms should allow supply chain to exert greater influence to enjoy the positive effects of PMO in addition to ensuring full integration into marketing strategy implementation. Also, firms with high ICC need to limit SCI to maximize the benefit of ICC on FP, just as innovation management needs to be cognizant of other functional areas. Originality/value The study investigates the potential moderating role of SCI on the relationships among market orientation, ICC and FP. The study fills a gap in the understanding of the nature and role of supply chain in the marketing–supply chain interaction, and the impact on FP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martinson Ankrah Twumasi ◽  
Yuansheng Jiang ◽  
Monica Owusu Acheampong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing rural youth farmers’ credit constraints status and the effect of credit constraint on the intensity of participation of these farmers in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The econometric estimation is based on cross-sectional data collected in 2018 from the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana. The sample data set consists of 450 rural youth farmers. The collected data were analyzed through different econometric techniques, using the endogenous switching regression model (ERSM). Findings The direct elicitation approach employed in this study revealed that out of the 450 farmers, 211 (47 percent) of the respondents were credit constrained compared to 239 (53 percent) of their counterparts who were unconstrained. The ERSM indicated that youth farmers education, age, savings, parents occupation reduced the probability of the rural youth farmer to be credit constrained but cumbersome loan application procedure and loan disbursement time positively affect credit constraint. Moreover, farmers that are credit constrained have lower intensity of participation in agriculture activities than a random farmer from the sample. This suggests that access to credit has a positive impact on the intensity of participation in agriculture activities. Research limitations/implications In this study, only rural youth farmers in a particular region were considered. However, there are youths all over the nation. Therefore, future researchers could consider other youth’s farmers elsewhere in the country. Originality/value Although existing studies have examined rural youth farmers’ participation in agriculture and credit constraint separately, the unique contribution of this paper is the analysis of credit constraint of rural youth farmers as well as the impact of credit constraint on the intensity of participation in agriculture activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Quoc Hoi ◽  
Hương Lan Trần

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the credit composition and income inequality reduction in Vietnam. In particular, the authors focus on the distinction between policy and commercial credits and investigate whether these two types of credit had adverse effects on income inequality. The authors also examine whether the impact of policy credit on income inequality is conditioned by the educational level and institutional quality.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the primary data set, which contains a panel of 60 provinces collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam from 2002 to 2016. The authors employ the generalized method of moments to solve the endogenous problem.FindingsThe authors show that while commercial credit increases income inequality, policy credit contributes to reducing income inequality in Vietnam. In addition, we provide evidence that the institutional quality and educational level condition the impact of policy credit on income inequality. Based on the findings, the paper implies that it was not the size of the private credit but its composition that mattered in reducing income inequality, due to the asymmetric effects of different types of credit.Originality/valueThis is the first study that examines the links between the two components of credit and income inequality as well as constraints of the links. The authors argue that analyzing the separate effects of commercial and policy credits is more important for explaining the role of credit in income inequality than the size of total credit.


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