IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ausact/v25y2015i4p413-427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Board Diversity and Financial Performance in the Top 500 Australian Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Alireza Vafaei
  • Kamran Ahmed
  • Paul Mather

Abstract

type="main"> Recent regulatory changes in Australia require listed companies to implement policies for increasing board diversity and to report thereon. In this paper we examine the association between gender diversity on corporate boards and the financial performance of a large sample of the top 500 listed companies in Australia during the period 2005–2011, addressing many of the methodological weaknesses in prior studies. Our descriptive statistics show that the proportion of female directors on boards increased markedly between 2010, when ASX amended principles came into effect, and 2011. The results also show that board diversity is positively associated with financial performance after controlling for a number of firm-specific, ownership and governance characteristics and potential endogeneity with the two-stage least square tests. Thus, we inform the policy debate by providing empirical evidence supporting the business case for board diversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Alireza Vafaei & Kamran Ahmed & Paul Mather, 2015. "Board Diversity and Financial Performance in the Top 500 Australian Firms," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 25(4), pages 413-427, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:25:y:2015:i:4:p:413-427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/auar.12068
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nina Smith & Valdemar Smith & Mette Verner, 2006. "Do women in top management affect firm performance?A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 55(7), pages 569-593, October.
    2. Harald Dale-Olsen & Pål Schøne & Mette Verner, 2013. "Diversity among Norwegian Boards of Directors: Does a Quota for Women Improve Firm Performance?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 110-135, October.
    3. Hart, Oliver, 1995. "Corporate Governance: Some Theory and Implications," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(430), pages 678-689, May.
    4. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    5. Kevin Campbell & Antonio Mínguez-Vera, 2008. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(3), pages 435-451, December.
    6. George P. Baker & Robert E. Kennedy, 2002. "Survivorship and the Economic Grim Reaper," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(2), pages 324-361, October.
    7. Amy J. Hillman & Albert A. Cannella & Ramona L. Paetzold, 2000. "The Resource Dependence Role of Corporate Directors: Strategic Adaptation of Board Composition in Response to Environmental Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 235-256, March.
    8. Thomsen, Steen & Pedersen, Torben & Kvist, Hans Kurt, 2006. "Blockholder ownership: Effects on firm value in market and control based governance systems," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 246-269, January.
    9. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    10. Luigi Zingales, 2000. "In Search of New Foundations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1623-1653, August.
    11. Darren Henry, 2008. "Corporate Governance Structure and the Valuation of Australian Firms: Is There Value in Ticking the Boxes?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(7‐8), pages 912-942, September.
    12. Bonn, Ingrid, 2004. "Board Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 14-24, January.
    13. Arifur Khan & Paul Mather & Balasingham Balachandran, 2014. "Managerial share ownership and operating performance: Do independent and executive directors have different incentives?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 39(1), pages 47-71, February.
    14. Short, Helen & Keasey, Kevin, 1999. "Managerial ownership and the performance of firms: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 79-101, March.
    15. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    16. Jasmin Joecks & Kerstin Pull & Karin Vetter, 2013. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Performance: What Exactly Constitutes a “Critical Mass?”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 61-72, November.
    17. Hart, Peter E & Oulton, Nicholas, 1996. "Growth and Size of Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(438), pages 1242-1252, September.
    18. Krishnan, Hema A. & Park, Daewoo, 2005. "A few good women--on top management teams," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(12), pages 1712-1720, December.
    19. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, September.
    20. Craswell, Allen T. & Taylor, Stephen L. & Saywell, Richard A., 1997. "Ownership structure and corporate performance: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 301-323, July.
    21. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    22. Wruck, Karen Hopper, 1990. "Financial distress, reorganization, and organizational efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 419-444, October.
    23. Moncrief, William C. & Babakus, Emin & Cravens, David W. & Johnston, Mark W., 2000. "Examining Gender Differences in Field Sales Organizations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 245-257, September.
    24. Karen A. Bantel & Susan E. Jackson, 1989. "Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 107-124, June.
    25. Melissa B. Frye, 2004. "Equity‐Based Compensation for Employees: Firm Performance and Determinants," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 27(1), pages 31-54, March.
    26. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    27. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    28. Jyoti Mahadeo & Teerooven Soobaroyen & Vanisha Hanuman, 2012. "Board Composition and Financial Performance: Uncovering the Effects of Diversity in an Emerging Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 375-388, February.
    29. Jurkus, Anthony F. & Park, Jung Chul & Woodard, Lorraine S., 2011. "Women in top management and agency costs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 180-186, February.
    30. repec:nsr:niesrd:77 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Opler, Tim C & Titman, Sheridan, 1994. "Financial Distress and Corporate Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(3), pages 1015-1040, July.
    32. Farrell, Kathleen A. & Hersch, Philip L., 2005. "Additions to corporate boards: the effect of gender," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-2), pages 85-106, March.
    33. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding-Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1327, June.
    34. Mijntje Lückerath-Rovers, 2013. "Women on boards and firm performance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 491-509, May.
    35. Givoly, Dan & Hayn, Carla, 2000. "The changing time-series properties of earnings, cash flows and accruals: Has financial reporting become more conservative?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 287-320, June.
    36. Philip Brown & Wendy Beekes & Peter Verhoeven, 2011. "Corporate governance, accounting and finance: A review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 51(1), pages 96-172, March.
    37. Caspar Rose, 2007. "Does female board representation influence firm performance? The Danish evidence," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 404-413, March.
    38. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G. & Ruback, Richard S., 1992. "Does corporate performance improve after mergers?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 135-175, April.
    39. Niclas L. Erhardt & James D. Werbel & Charles B. Shrader, 2003. "Board of Director Diversity and Firm Financial Performance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 102-111, April.
    40. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    41. David A. Carter & Betty J. Simkins & W. Gary Simpson, 2003. "Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 38(1), pages 33-53, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, December.
    2. Vincenzo Scafarto & Federica Ricci & Elisabetta Magnaghi & Salvatore Ferri, 2021. "Board structure and intellectual capital efficiency: does the family firm status matter?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 841-878, September.
    3. Paul McGuinness & Kevin Lam & João Vieito, 2015. "Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining corporate dividend policy and governance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 989-1038, December.
    4. Collins Ntim, 2015. "Board diversity and organizational valuation: unravelling the effects of ethnicity and gender," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(1), pages 167-195, February.
    5. Sanjukta Brahma & Chioma Nwafor & Agyenim Boateng, 2021. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: The UK evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5704-5719, October.
    6. Laura Cabeza-García & Esther B. Brío & Carlos Rueda, 2021. "The moderating effect of innovation on the gender and performance relationship in the outset of the gender revolution," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 755-778, April.
    7. Isabel-María García-Sánchez, 2010. "The effectiveness of corporate governance: board structure and business technical efficiency in Spain," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(3), pages 311-339, September.
    8. Mihaela Ionascu & Ion Ionascu & Marian Sacarin & Mihaela Minu, 2018. "Women on Boards and Financial Performance: Evidence from a European Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Hisham Farag & Chris Mallin, 2016. "The Impact of the Dual Board Structure and Board Diversity: Evidence from Chinese Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 333-349, December.
    10. Shkendije Himaj, 2014. "Corporate Governance in Banks and its Impact on Risk and Performance: Review of Literature on the Selected Governance Mechanisms," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 3(3), pages 53-85.
    11. Darmadi, Salim, 2010. "Board diversity and firm performance: the Indonesian evidence," MPRA Paper 38721, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Rudholm, Niklas, 2012. "Does Gender Diversity in the Boardroom Improve Firm Performance?," HUI Working Papers 60, HUI Research.
    13. Aruoriwo Marian Chijoke-Mgbame & Agyenim Boateng & Chijoke Oscar Mgbame, 2020. "Board gender diversity, audit committee and financial performance: evidence from Nigeria," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 262-286, July.
    14. Muhammad Imran Nazir & Muhammad Zulfiqar & Muhammad Bilal Saeed & Yasir Habib, 2016. "The Influence of Board Characteristics on Shareholders Assessment of Risk for Small and Large Firms: Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 596-606.
    15. Chenglong Zheng & Roy Kouwenberg, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Global Research on Corporate Governance and Board Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, June.
    16. Yuan George Shan, 2019. "Managerial ownership, board independence and firm performance," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(2), pages 203-220, July.
    17. Chanchal Chatterjee & Tirthankar Nag, 2023. "Do women on boards enhance firm performance? Evidence from top Indian companies," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 155-167, June.
    18. Kevin Campbell & Antonio Minguez Vera, 2010. "Female board appointments and firm valuation: short and long-term effects," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 14(1), pages 37-59, February.
    19. Mareva Sabatier, 2015. "A women's boom in the boardroom: effects on performance?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(26), pages 2717-2727, June.
    20. Fabrizio Rossi & Richard J. Cebula, 2015. "Stock market reactions to announcements of the board of directors: evidence from Italy," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(20), pages 2102-2118, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:25:y:2015:i:4:p:413-427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1035-6908 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.