Suchergebnisse

Purpose
Board gender diversity is an important component of sound corporate governance. This paper aims to examine the influence that female board directors in listed firms in Korea have on effective investment decisions.


Design/methodology/approach
The authors used 4,117 data items related to finance and governance from FnGuide for listed Korean firms between 2014 and 2019. The authors analyzed the data using Heckman's two-stage regression, controlling the ordinary least square regression and endogeneity, to resolve the problem of selection bias. Gender diversity was measured using the existence/absence of female directors on boards (dummy variable) and the ratio of female directors on boards (BLAUt-1 index and SHANNONt-1 index).


Findings
Female board directors influenced the suppression of under-investment for the enhancement of corporate value, but not the suppression of over-investment. Additionally, female directors played a complementary role in under-investment to mitigate corporate risk, but not in intra-industry competition. Kanter's classification of board types indicated that the skewed board and tilted board have a significant effect on under-investment and play a complementary role in corporate risk.


Research limitations/implications
First, this study is about only Korean firms. Second, this study relies on corporate actual data but does not account for the factors that affect human behavior or how such behaviors can evolve. Third, the authors included as many appropriate variables as possible when setting the research model, but there may be missing correlation variables.


Social implications
The authors' results have policy implications, as they can be used as a basis to establish policies related to gender diversity in Korea, where there are currently insufficient empirical studies on women's participation on the boards of directors. Moreover, with the amended FISCMA, which mandates that firms must hire at least one female director, Korean firms need to implement practical employment policies that can benefit firms, by selecting capable female directors rather than engaging in tokenism.


Originality/value
This study empirically examines gender diversity in the boards of Korean firms that have implemented the female quota system for the first time and considers female board directors' roles in undertaking effective corporate investment decisions. This insight can guide change management and help firms avoid tokenism – a possible corporate response to pressures arising from the debates about feminism in Korea and gender diversity legislation.

Working paper on INCAS blog : https://incas.hypotheses.org/ Enhancing gender diversity on boards of directors is an important policy agenda across societies. Despite being the third largest economic power in the world, the proportion of female members on boards of directors in Japan was only 3 per cent in 2016, which is one of the lowest among the OECD countries. This paper examines the data of listed firms in Japan, and explores the impact of institutional change on organisational diversity in terms of gender diversity on boards. In particular, it focuses on analysing the institutional pressure which Japan has been recently undergoing: financialisation and incremental regulatory reform. It is found that firms take institutional change as an incentive to relieve institutional pressure. Whilst increasing foreign investors and new policies encourage independence and gender diversity on boards, Japanese firms relieve both pressures by appointing female directors as outside directors after regulatory reform. Further, it is also found that firms have persistence in maintaining their corporate governance systems even when they are transforming their systems. Firms that implemented a more independent board structure do not necessarily nominate female board members, because the implementation of a more independent system complements board gender diversity.

Female representation on boards has recently received significant attention across the developed world. Several European countries have legislated to boost gender diversity on boards, while the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has amended its corporate governance guidelines in order to increase gender diversity on company boards of directors. Corporate scandals (in the U.S.A. and Australia) have also heightened awareness of the importance of effective corporate governance, in particular, the need for greater independence of directors from management and greater diversity among directors. The first objective of this research is to address the knowledge gap regarding the relationship between board gender diversity and board independence in Australia. A second research objective is to examine the reasons for the appointment of women directors. The research draws on agency theory and the literature on diversity, which are used to argue that a more gender diverse board should exercise more independence from management. Token theory, which identifies the inclusion of minority groups as a perfunctory gesture, is used as a possible explanation for the lack of impact that diversity may have on independence when there is a very low representation of a women. Finally, institutional theory explains why women are appointed to boards. Three research questions were developed in order to address the research objectives. Seven background interviews were conducted with representatives of informant organisations. The research then included two studies: • Study One: 25 interviews with board members of Australian listed companies; and • Study Two: survey of 82 board chairs of Australian listed companies. The findings of Study One highlight several direct benefits of board gender diversity and reveal indirect benefits stemming from improved board dynamics. The findings also indicate that recruitment of women is not a priority for the participating organisations, but that external pressure (i.e., coercive isomorphism) has been a factor in some past appointments of female directors. This finding was supported in the results for Study Two, along with findings that the enhancement of corporate reputation is a factor in the past appointment of women to boards. Interestingly, Study Two results indicate those organisations with a small number of women on boards (i.e. one) are more concerned with mimicking other organisations than are companies with more female directors. Study Two is unable to confirm a link between board gender diversity and board independence. This implies that the Australian corporate governance environment is significantly different to similar economies (e.g. the U.S.A) where such a link has been found. Although the interview findings indicate that women contribute to board dynamics in a variety of ways, analysis of the survey results could not confirm board dynamics as a mediator between board independence and board diversity. Consistent with institutional theory the research highlights mimetic isomorphism and concern for public relations as the key factors that have motivated past board appointments. However, consistent with token theory, there is evidence that female board appointments in Australia are tokenistic. The research has implications for regulators, companies and governments attempting to increase board gender diversity.

Purpose– This paper aims to analyze the research in this field on the portrayal of women and the effect this has on boards and corporate image, as well as to propose a theoretical framework for further research on the effects of media stereotypes. The theoretical model aims to analyze the media's effect on female board members, and how this helps in the process of changing stereotypes or whether it consolidates existing preconceptions.Design/methodology/approach– This paper reviews the existing literature on the subject and proposes a theoretical model for future research, contributing thus in opening a new line of research in the field of the roles of women on boards.Findings– The conclusions reached will have important consequences for the future of women on boards in relation to three fundamental issues: the types of women that join boards of directors, the type of female profile companies search for and the roles women are expected to play on those boards.Research limitations/implications– The theoretical framework developed encourages corporate governance agents, business leaders and institution to reflect on potential gender biases.Practical implications– The theoretical framework developed encourages corporate governance agents, business leaders and institutions and media agents to reflect on potential gender biases.Originality/value– An important body of literature already exists showing how the portrayal of women can reinforce or eliminate barriers to access membership of a board of directors. There is also a solid body of literature showing the media's effect on transmitting or changing preconceived ideas about women in business, as well as the potential impact of appointing them – through the influence of different stakeholders – on a company's image. However, there has been little substantial research carried out on the media's effect on gender diversity on boards.

This article analyzes the relationship between female directors and corporate reputation with a Spanish sample for the period 2008–2017. We also examine two background characteristics of women directors: their busyness and their educational background, suggesting that differences can exist among women according to their level of success (measured by the number of directorships) and their education. Our analyses show that female directors improve corporate reputation, but that neither women with multiple directorships nor the educational background of female directors increases corporate reputation, perhaps because stakeholders appreciate general attributes associated with women rather than the cognitive attributes of females on boards. JEL CLASSIFICATION M14

Purpose: This paper analyzes 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 is based on a dynamic Generalized Method of Moments panel estimator which allows the control of unobservable heterogeneity and endogeneity and reduces 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, we 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: This is the first paper that provides empirical evidence to the scarcelystudied 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.

Arguments for increasing gender diversity on boards of directors by gender quotas range from ensuring equal opportunity to improving firm performance. The introduction of gender quotas in a number of countries has increased female representation on boards. Current research does not justify gender quotas on grounds of economic efficiency. In many countries the number of women in top executive positions is limited, and it is not clear from the evidence that quotas lead to a larger pool of female top executives, who are the main pipeline for boards of directors. Thus, other supplementary policies may be necessary if politicians want to increase the number of women in senior management positions.

This study investigates the relationship between gender diversity on the board and dividend payouts in China using a large sample over the period 2003–2017. Our results provide robust and strong evidence showing that gender diversity on the board is positively associated with cash payments of dividends. The empirical outcomes confirm that gender diversity on the board facilitates corporate governance and subsequently promotes dividend payouts. We demonstrate that gender diversity on the board has the greatest effect when the board has critical mass participation (three or more female directors) compared with only their token participation. However, independent female directors increase dividend payouts, while female executive directors do not have a significant impact. Furthermore, we extend the literature on the relationship between dividend payments and government ownership by providing evidence that gender diversity has a higher impact on dividend payouts for state-owned enterprises than non-state-owned enterprises. After controlling the endogeneity problems, our findings are reliable and robust. JEL classifications: G30, G35