IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v39y2021ics1544612320301100.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do firms adjust corporate governance in response to economic policy uncertainty? Evidence from board size

Author

Listed:
  • Ongsakul, Viput
  • Treepongkaruna, Sirimon
  • Jiraporn, Pornsit
  • Uyar, Ali

Abstract

Prior research shows that board size has a significant effect on firm performance. Therefore, board size is a crucial aspect of the board of directors. Drawing on institutional theory, we investigate how firms adjust board size in response to economic policy uncertainty (EPU). We find that firms reduce board size in the presence of EPU. In particular, a rise in EPU by one standard deviation reduces board size by 21.61% on average. Our results are consistent with the notion that agency conflicts are more severe in the presence of EPU. Accordingly, firms strengthen their corporate governance by reducing board size.

Suggested Citation

  • Ongsakul, Viput & Treepongkaruna, Sirimon & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Uyar, Ali, 2021. "Do firms adjust corporate governance in response to economic policy uncertainty? Evidence from board size," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:39:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320301100
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2020.101613
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612320301100
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101613?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. David Hillier & Patrick McColgan, 2006. "An Analysis of Changes in Board Structure during Corporate Governance Reforms," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 12(4), pages 575-607, September.
    2. Qinhe Shi & Wenfeng Qiu & Yuling Fan, 2020. "Economic Policy Uncertainty and the Distribution of Business Operations between Parent Companies and Their Subsidiaries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 427-456, January.
    3. 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.
    4. Merve Kılıç & Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey, 2020. "The impact of institutional ethics and accountability on voluntary assurance for integrated reporting," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V., 2017. "Policy Uncertainty and Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 613-644, April.
    6. Azzimonti, Marina, 2018. "Partisan conflict and private investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 114-131.
    7. Steven Young, 2000. "The Increasing Use of Non-Executive Directors: Its Impact on UK Board Structure and Governance Arrangements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(9&10), pages 1311-1342.
    8. Boone, Audra L. & Casares Field, Laura & Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Raheja, Charu G., 2007. "The determinants of corporate board size and composition: An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 66-101, July.
    9. Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M. & Yang, Tina, 2008. "The determinants of board structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 308-328, February.
    10. Zhi Da & Joseph Engelberg & Pengjie Gao, 2011. "In Search of Attention," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1461-1499, October.
    11. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    12. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    13. Mak, Y.T. & Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2005. "Size really matters: Further evidence on the negative relationship between board size and firm value," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 301-318, June.
    14. Tingyong Zhong & Yimeng Zuo & Fangcheng Sun & Jeoung Yul Lee, 2020. "Customer Concentration, Economic Policy Uncertainty and Enterprise Sustainable Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, February.
    15. Johnson, Simon & Boone, Peter & Breach, Alasdair & Friedman, Eric, 2000. "Corporate governance in the Asian financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 141-186.
    16. Roger K. Loh & René M. Stulz, 2018. "Is Sell‐Side Research More Valuable in Bad Times?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(3), pages 959-1013, June.
    17. Arthur, N., 2001. "Board composition as the outcome of an internal bargaining process: empirical evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 307-340, September.
    18. Bennedsen, Morten & Kongsted, Hans Christian & Nielsen, Kasper Meisner, 2008. "The causal effect of board size in the performance of small and medium-sized firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1098-1109, June.
    19. Ans Kolk & Paolo Perego, 2010. "Determinants of the adoption of sustainability assurance statements: an international investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 182-198, March.
    20. Bhattacharya, Utpal & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2017. "What Affects Innovation More: Policy or Policy Uncertainty?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(5), pages 1869-1901, October.
    21. Nagar, Venky & Schoenfeld, Jordan & Wellman, Laura, 2019. "The effect of economic policy uncertainty on investor information asymmetry and management disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 36-57.
    22. Steven Young, 2000. "The Increasing Use of Non‐Executive Directors: Its Impact on UK Board Structure and Governance Arrangements," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(9‐10), pages 1311-1342, November.
    23. Jiaqing Zhu & Fansheng Jia & Han Wu, 2019. "Bankruptcy costs, economic policy uncertainty, and FDI entry and exit," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 1063-1080, September.
    24. Bao, Shuji Rosey & Lewellyn, Krista B., 2017. "Ownership structure and earnings management in emerging markets—An institutionalized agency perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 828-838.
    25. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 2006. "The Interrelationship Between Managerial Ownership and Board Structure," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1006-1033, September.
    26. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2008. "Boards: Does one size fit all," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 329-356, February.
    27. Gillan, Stuart L., 2006. "Recent Developments in Corporate Governance: An Overview," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 381-402, June.
    28. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gull, Ammar Ali & Ahsan, Tanveer & Qureshi, Muhammad Azeem & Mushtaq, Rizwan, 2023. "Striving to safeguard shareholders or maintain sustainability in periods of high uncertainty: A multi-country evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Wongsinhirun, Nopparat & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2023. "Corporate culture and board gender diversity: Evidence from textual analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Gonçalves, Tiago & Barros, Victor & Serra, Gonçalo, 2022. "Political elections uncertainty and earnings management: Does firm size really matter?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    4. Jieh-Haur Chen & Tien-Sheng Chou & Jui-Pin Wang & Hsi-Hsien Wei & Tzu-Han Yang, 2021. "Sustainable Corporate Governance: The Impact Factors for Top Consulting Engineering Companies in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-12, July.
    5. Mohamed M. Sraieb & Lasha Labadze, 2022. "A Dynamic Perspective on the Gender Diversity–Firms’ Environmental Performances Nexus: Evidence from the Energy Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Funashima, Yoshito, 2022. "Effects of unanticipated monetary policy shocks on monetary policy uncertainty," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    7. Davidmac O. Ekeocha & Jonathan E. Ogbuabor & Oliver E. Ogbonna & Anthony Orji, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, governance institutions and economic performance in Africa: are there regional differences?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1367-1431, June.
    8. Chindasombatcharoen, Pongsapak & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2023. "Corporate culture, cultural diversification, and independent directors: Evidence from earnings conference calls," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    9. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Ongsakul, Viput & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2022. "Corporate complexity, managerial myopia, and hostile takeover exposure: Evidence from textual analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    10. Ahsan, Tanveer & Al-GAMRH, Bakr & Mirza, Sultan Sikandar, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and sustainable financial growth: Does business strategy matter?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    11. Weilong Wang & Jianlong Wang & Shaersaikai Wulaer & Bing Chen & Xiaodong Yang, 2021. "The Effect of Innovative Entrepreneurial Vitality on Economic Resilience Based on a Spatial Perspective: Economic Policy Uncertainty as a Moderating Variable," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Lv, Wendai & Qi, Jipeng & Feng, Jing, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and environmental governance company volatility: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Bhattacherjee, Purba & Mishra, Sibanjan & Kang, Sang Hoon, 2023. "Does market sentiment and global uncertainties influence ESG-oil nexus? A time-frequency analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    14. Ongsakul, Viput & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Chaivisuttangkun, Sirithida, 2021. "Corporate integrity and hostile takeover threats: Evidence from machine learning and “CEO luck”," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).

    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. Guest, Paul M., 2008. "The determinants of board size and composition: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 51-72, February.
    2. Munisi, Gibson & Hermes, Niels & Randøy, Trond, 2014. "Corporate boards and ownership structure: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 785-796.
    3. Germain, Laurent & Galy, Nadine & Lee, Wanling, 2014. "Corporate governance reform in Malaysia: Board size, independence and monitoring," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 126-162.
    4. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, November.
    5. Charlie Weir & Oleksandr Talavera & Alexander Muravyev, 2011. "Performance effects of appointing other firms' executive directors," Working Papers 2011_12, Durham University Business School.
    6. Charlie Weir & Oleksandr Talavera & Alexander Muravyev, 2011. "The Return on Human Capital: the Case of UK Non-executive Directors that are also Executive Directors," University of East Anglia Applied and Financial Economics Working Paper Series 029, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    7. Chaur-Shiuh Young & Liu-Ching Tsai & Pei-Gin Hsieh, 2008. "Voluntary Appointment of Independent Directors in Taiwan: Motives and Consequences," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9-10), pages 1103-1137.
    8. Khaled Elsayed, 2011. "Board size and corporate performance: the missing role of board leadership structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(3), pages 415-446, August.
    9. Sofia Larmou & Nikos Vafeas, 2010. "The relation between board size and firm performance in firms with a history of poor operating performance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 14(1), pages 61-85, February.
    10. Anjala Kalsie & Shikha Mittal Shrivastav, 2016. "Analysis of Board Size and Firm Performance: Evidence from NSE Companies Using Panel Data Approach," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 9(2), pages 148-172, December.
    11. Melissa B. Frye & Duong T. Pham & Rongrong Zhang, 2022. "Board monitoring and advising trade‐offs amidst economic policy uncertainty," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 5-26, February.
    12. Deloof, Marc & Vermoesen, Veronique, 2016. "The value of corporate boards during the Great Depression in Belgium," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 108-123.
    13. Suchard, Jo-Ann, 2009. "The impact of venture capital backing on the corporate governance of Australian initial public offerings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 765-774, April.
    14. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman & Alex Tong & Ruoyun Zhao, 2016. "Board size and firm value: evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 851-873, December.
    16. Chen, Ming-Yuan, 2014. "Determinants of corporate board structure in Taiwan," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 62-78.
    17. Aziz Jaafar & Lynn Hodgkinson & Mao-Feng Kao, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Board of Directors and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Working Papers 19011, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    18. Liu, Chunyan & Uchida, Konari & Yang, Yufeng, 2012. "Corporate governance and firm value during the global financial crisis: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 70-80.
    19. Roberto Wessels & Tom J. Wansbeek & Lammertjan Dam, 2016. "What is the Relation (if any) Between a Firm's Corporate Governance Arrangements and its Financial Performance?," Multinational Finance Journal, Multinational Finance Journal, vol. 20(4), pages 323-354, December.
    20. Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2008. "The determinants of board composition in a transforming economy: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 532-549, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Board size; Economic policy uncertainty; Corporate governance; Board of directors;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E66 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General Outlook and Conditions
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    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:eee:finlet:v:39:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320301100. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.