IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ejlwec/v40y2015i2p273-292.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The performance effect of corporate board of directors

Author

Listed:
  • Johanna Palmberg

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between board-member independence, family control, and financial performance in Swedish listed firms. The degree of independence is defined with respect to the principal owners, the management of the firm, and the employees. This definition of independence and the accessibility of detailed data on corporate governance variables, enable precise measurements of board-member independency. The results of this analysis indicate that the directors, who are dependent on the management of the firm, dominate the board of directors. Board-member independence positively affects a firm’s financial performance. The negative effect of board-member dependency originates from the firm-related directors, whereas dependence on principal owners, families, and employees does not impact a firm’s investment performance. These results are important in the contemporary political debate about the role and the composition of boards of directors. The result of the analysis shows that the definition of independence is important when discussing boards of directors. Directors, independent of the firm, positively influence a firm’s investment performance. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Johanna Palmberg, 2015. "The performance effect of corporate board of directors," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 273-292, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:40:y:2015:i:2:p:273-292
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-012-9369-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10657-012-9369-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10657-012-9369-5?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. Eklund, Johan & Palmberg, Johanna & Wiberg, Daniel, 2009. "Ownership Structure, Board Composition and Investment Performance," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 172, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    2. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    3. Shivdasani, Anil, 1993. "Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 167-198, April.
    4. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    5. Klaus Gugler & Dennis C. Mueller & B. Burcin Yurtoglu, 2004. "Marginal q, Tobin’s q, Cash Flow, and Investment," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 512-531, January.
    6. Randall Morck, 2008. "Behavioral finance in corporate governance: economics and ethics of the devil’s advocate," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 12(2), pages 179-200, May.
    7. Alexander Dyck & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "Private Benefits of Control: An International Comparison," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(2), pages 537-600, April.
    8. Igor Filatotchev & Yung-Chih Lien & Jenifer Piesse, 2005. "Corporate Governance and Performance in Publicly Listed, Family-Controlled Firms: Evidence from Taiwan," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 257-283, September.
    9. Gugler, Klaus & Mueller, Dennis C. & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin, 2008. "Insider ownership, ownership concentration and investment performance: An international comparison," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 688-705, December.
    10. Gugler, Klaus & Yurtoglu, Burcin B., 2003. "Average q, marginal q, and the relation between ownership and performance," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(3), pages 379-384, March.
    11. Trond Randøy & Jan Inge Jenssen, 2004. "Board Independence and Product Market Competition in Swedish Firms," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 281-289, July.
    12. Richard Saito & Marcos Galileu Lorena Dutra, 2006. "Boards of Directors of Publicly‐Held Companies in Brazil: profile and implications for minority shareholders," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 98-106, March.
    13. Jean Tirole, 2006. "The Theory of Corporate Finance," Post-Print hal-00173191, HAL.
    14. Palmberg, Johanna, 2012. "Family Control and Executive Compensation," Ratio Working Papers 186, The Ratio Institute.
    15. Henrekson, Magnus & Jakobsson, Ulf, 2011. "The Swedish Corporate Control Model: Convergence, Persistence or Decline?," Working Paper Series 857, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    16. Andres, Christian, 2008. "Large shareholders and firm performance--An empirical examination of founding-family ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 431-445, September.
    17. Per-Olof Bjuggren & Dennis C. Mueller (ed.), 2009. "The Modern Firm, Corporate Governance and Investment," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13362.
    18. Gugler, Klaus & Mueller, Dennis C & Yurtoglu, B Burcin, 2004. "Corporate Governance and the Returns on Investment," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(2), pages 589-633, October.
    19. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2006. "The Role of Family in Family Firms," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 73-96, Spring.
    20. Byrd, John W. & Hickman, Kent A., 1992. "Do outside directors monitor managers? *1: Evidence from tender offer bids," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 195-221, October.
    21. Nicholas van der Walt & Coral Ingley, 2003. "Board Dynamics and the Influence of Professional Background, Gender and Ethnic Diversity of Directors," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 218-234, July.
    22. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. "Boards of directors as an endogenously determined institution: a survey of the economic literature," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 7-26.
    23. Belén Villalonga & Raphael Amit, 2009. "How Are U.S. Family Firms Controlled?," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(8), pages 3047-3091, August.
    24. Larry H. P. Lang & Mara Faccio & Leslie Young, 2001. "Dividends and Expropriation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 54-78, March.
    25. Pablo De Andres & Valentin Azofra & Felix Lopez, 2005. "Corporate Boards in OECD Countries: size, composition, functioning and effectiveness," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 197-210, March.
    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. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van, 2021. "International variations in ESG disclosure – Do cross-listed companies care more?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van & Chen, Catherine Huirong, 2020. "Greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    3. Ellen Pei‐yi Yu & Christine Qian Guo & Bac Van Luu, 2018. "Environmental, social and governance transparency and firm value," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 987-1004, November.
    4. María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez & Isabel Gallego-Álvarez, 2020. "Do board characteristics drive firm performance? An international perspective," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1251-1297, December.

    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. Palmberg, Johanna, 2012. "The Performance Effects of Corporate Board of Directors," Ratio Working Papers 187, The Ratio Institute.
    2. Johan Eklund & Johanna Palmberg & Daniel Wiberg, 2013. "Inherited corporate control and returns on investment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 419-431, August.
    3. Palmberg, Johanna, 2012. "Family Control and Executive Compensation," Ratio Working Papers 186, The Ratio Institute.
    4. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, September.
    5. Randall Morck, 2011. "Finance and Governance in Developing Economies," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 375-406, December.
    6. Caselli, Stefano & Gatti, Stefano & Chiarella, Carlo & Gigante, Gimede & Negri, Giulia, 2023. "Do shareholders really matter for firm performance? Evidence from the ownership characteristics of Italian listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Franco Ernesto Rubino & Paolo Tenuta & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2017. "Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 623-658, September.
    8. Bouzgarrou, Houssam & Navatte, Patrick, 2013. "Ownership structure and acquirers performance: Family vs. non-family firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 123-134.
    9. 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).
    10. Eklund, Johan & Palmberg, Johanna & Wiberg, Daniel, 2009. "Ownership Structure, Board Composition and Investment Performance," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 172, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    11. Mulyani, Evy & Singh, Harminder & Mishra, Sagarika, 2016. "Dividends, leverage, and family ownership in the emerging Indonesian market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 16-29.
    12. Eklund, Johan E. & Palmberg, Johanna & Wiberg, Daniel, 2010. "Family Ownership and Returns on Investment – Founders, Heirs, and External Managers," Ratio Working Papers 148, The Ratio Institute.
    13. Wang, Kun Tracy & Shailer, Greg, 2017. "Family ownership and financial performance relations in emerging markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 82-98.
    14. Acero, Isabel & Alcalde, Nuria, 2021. "Institutional context as a moderator of the relationship between board structure and acquirer returns," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    15. Cheng, Minying & Lin, Bingxuan & Wei, Minghai, 2013. "How does the relationship between multiple large shareholders affect corporate valuations? Evidence from China," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 43-70.
    16. Andrea Melis & Silvia Carta & Silvia Gaia, 2012. "Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 511-541, August.
    17. Konijn, Sander J.J. & Kräussl, Roman & Lucas, Andre, 2011. "Blockholder dispersion and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1330-1339.
    18. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    19. Imad Jabbouri & Rachid Jabbouri, 2021. "Ownership identity and firm performance: Pre‐ and post‐crisis evidence from an African emerging market," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5963-5976, October.
    20. Ansari, Iram Fatima & Goergen, Marc & Mira, Svetlana, 2014. "The determinants of the CEO successor choice in family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 6-25.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Code of Corporate Governance; Board dependence; Family control; Returns on investment; Marginal q ; G30; L20; L21; L22; L25;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

    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:kap:ejlwec:v:40:y:2015:i:2:p:273-292. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.