IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v48y2017i1d10.1007_s11187-016-9768-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does a one-tier board affect firms’ performances? Evidences from Italian unlisted enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini

    (Catholic University)

  • Emiliano Sironi

    (Catholic University)

Abstract

Even though the financial literature has examined the relation between the composition of the board of directors and firms’ performances, few studies have investigated the effect of adopting a specific corporate governance system. Past studies have not found clear evidence of the superiority of a specific corporate governance system in terms of economic and financial performances; instead, they have generally been limited to legal systems where the adoption of a specific system is mandatory. In this paper, we take into consideration the case of the Italian Corporate Law Reform, which gives firms the opportunity to choose, in a non-mandatory way, between different governance systems and in particular between a one-tier model and the pre-existing system prior to the Reform. Using propensity score matching and focusing on a sample of unlisted Italian joint-stock companies, we found evidence of a significant worsening of performances from 2003 to 2013 for corporations adopting a one-tier board after the Reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Emiliano Sironi, 2017. "Does a one-tier board affect firms’ performances? Evidences from Italian unlisted enterprises," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 213-224, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:48:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9768-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-016-9768-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-016-9768-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-016-9768-z?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. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    2. Ann B. Gillette & Thomas H. Noe & Michael J. Rebello, 2008. "Board Structures Around the World: an Experimental Investigation," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 12(1), pages 93-140.
    3. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    4. Ann B. Gillette & Thomas H. Noe & Michael J. Rebello, 2008. "Board structures around the world: An experimental investigation," Economics Series Working Papers 2008fe15, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    5. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    6. Ellen Rouyer, 2013. "Company Performance and the Two-Tier Board Structure: Empirical Evidence from France," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 12(1), pages 45-58, June.
    7. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    8. Shaker Zahra & Donald Neubaum & Lucia Naldi, 2007. "The Effects of Ownership and Governance on SMEs’ International Knowledge-based Resources," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 309-327, October.
    9. Dennis Mueller, 2006. "Corporate Governance and Economic Performance," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 623-643.
    10. Bhagat, Sanjai & Bolton, Brian, 2008. "Corporate governance and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 257-273, June.
    11. James Heckman, 1997. "Instrumental Variables: A Study of Implicit Behavioral Assumptions Used in Making Program Evaluations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(3), pages 441-462.
    12. Olof Brunninge & Mattias Nordqvist & Johan Wiklund, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Strategic Change in SMEs: The Effects of Ownership, Board Composition and Top Management Teams," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 295-308, October.
    13. Erkens, David H. & Hung, Mingyi & Matos, Pedro, 2012. "Corporate governance in the 2007–2008 financial crisis: Evidence from financial institutions worldwide," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 389-411.
    14. Baysinger, Barry D & Butler, Henry N, 1985. "Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors: Performance Effects of Changes in Board Composition," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 101-124, Spring.
    15. Hossain, Mahmud & Prevost, Andrew K. & Rao, Ramesh P., 2001. "Corporate governance in New Zealand: The effect of the 1993 Companies Act on the relation between board composition and firm performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 119-145, April.
    16. Ichiro Iwasaki, 2013. "Firm-Level Determinants of Board System Choice: Evidence from Russia," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 55(4), pages 636-671, December.
    17. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    18. Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2011. "Executive Board: The Russian Experience," RRC Working Paper Series 32, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    19. Jay Dahya & John J. McConnell & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2002. "The Cadbury Committee, Corporate Performance, and Top Management Turnover," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 461-483, February.
    20. Lorraine Uhlaner & Mike Wright & Morten Huse, 2007. "Private Firms and Corporate Governance: An Integrated Economic and Management Perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 225-241, October.
    21. Caspar Rose, 2005. "The Composition of Semi‐Two‐Tier Corporate Boards and Firm Performance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(5), pages 691-701, September.
    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. Jong-Min Kim & Chanho Cho & Chulhee Jun & Won Yong Kim, 2020. "The Changing Dynamics of Board Independence: A Copula Based Quantile Regression Approach," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Muhammad Arif & Mudassar Hasan & Ahmed Shafique Joyo & Christopher Gan & Sazali Abidin, 2020. "Formal Finance Usage and Innovative SMEs: Evidence from ASEAN Countries," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.

    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. Bellavite Pellegrini, Carlo & Sergi, Bruno & Sironi, Emiliano, 2015. "The Effect of the Adoption of an Alternative Corporate Governance System on Firms’ Performances. The Case of Italian Unlisted SMEs," MPRA Paper 104648, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Oct 2015.
    2. Berger, Allen N. & Kick, Thomas & Schaeck, Klaus, 2014. "Executive board composition and bank risk taking," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 48-65.
    3. Volonté, Christophe, 2015. "Boards: Independent and committed directors?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 25-37.
    4. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, November.
    5. Panagiotis Staikouras & Christos Staikouras & Maria-Eleni Agoraki, 2007. "The effect of board size and composition on European bank performance," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-27, February.
    6. Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2017. "The relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and the performance of Saudi listed firms," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(2-2), pages 338-349.
    7. Jimmy A. Saravia, 2014. "Why has the literature on corporate governance and firm performance yielded mixed results?," Documentos de Trabajo CIEF 10914, Universidad EAFIT.
    8. ATM Adnan & Nisar Ahmed, 2019. "The Transformation Of The Corporate Governance Model: A Literature Review," Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 8(3), pages 7-47.
    9. Addo, Kwabena Aboah & Hussain, Nazim & Iqbal, Jamshed, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Banking Systemic Risk: A Test of the Bundling Hypothesis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    10. Abdallah, Abed Al-Nasser & Ismail, Ahmad K., 2017. "Corporate governance practices, ownership structure, and corporate performance in the GCC countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 98-115.
    11. Dahya, Jay & Golubov, Andrey & Petmezas, Dimitris & Travlos, Nickolaos G., 2019. "Governance mandates, outside directors, and acquirer performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 218-238.
    12. Xile Yin & Siyu Chen & Dahui Li & Feng Zhang, 2021. "Social norms for fairness and board voting behavior: An experimental investigation," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 110-133, March.
    13. Jermias, Johnny & Gani, Lindawati, 2014. "The impact of board capital and board characteristics on firm performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 135-153.
    14. Akbar, Muhammad & Hussain, Shahzad & Ahmad, Tanveer & Hassan, Shoib, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Pakistan: Dynamic Panel Estimation," CAFE Working Papers 6, Centre for Accountancy, Finance and Economics (CAFE), Birmingham City Business School, Birmingham City University.
    15. Paolo Roffia & Virginia Simón-Moya & Javier Sendra García, 2022. "Board of director attributes: effects on financial performance in SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1141-1172, September.
    16. Muhammad Asif Joyo & Waqas Mahmood & Wajahutallh Khan, 2018. "Investigating The Stochastic Relationship Between Ownership And Firm Financial Performance: An Evidence From Listed Psx (Pakistan Stock Exchange) Sugar Companies Of Pakistan," IBT Journal of Business Studies (JBS), Ilma University, Faculty of Management Science, vol. 14(1), pages 14-16.
    17. Phillip C. James, 2020. "Understanding the Impact of Board Structure on Firm Performance: AComprehensive Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    18. Akshita Arora & Chandan Sharma, 2015. "Impact of Firm Performance on Board Characteristics: Empirical Evidence from India," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 4(1), pages 53-70, January.
    19. Sheeba Kapil & Rakesh K Mishra, 2019. "Corporate Governance structure and firm performance in Indian context: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Working Papers 1937, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    20. Amitava Roy, 2014. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: An Exploratory Analysis of Indian Listed Companies," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 3(1-2), pages 93-120, June.

    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:sbusec:v:48:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9768-z. 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.