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Do the Board of Directors' Characteristics Influence Firm's Performance? The U.S. Evidence

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  • Roman Horváth
  • Persida Spirollari

Abstract

We examine the relationship of selected Board of Directors' characteristics and firm's financial performance. Using a sample of large U.S firms in 2005-2009, we find that the degree of insider ownership influences positively firm performance, because it reduces agency problems. The age of the Board of Directors matters, to a certain degree, as well. Younger members are probably willing to bear more risk and to undertake major structural changes to improve firm's future prospects. On the other hand, we find that independent directors reduce firm performance and this negative effect was even more important during the recent financial crisis. We suppose that independent directors prefer overly conservative business strategies in order to protect shareholders, but this goes at the cost of lower firm's performance. All in all, our results suggest that corporate governance is important for firm's financial performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Roman Horváth & Persida Spirollari, 2012. "Do the Board of Directors' Characteristics Influence Firm's Performance? The U.S. Evidence," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(4), pages 470-486.
    • Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2012:y:2012:i:4:id:435:p:470-486
    DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.435
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    2. Dobija Dorota & Kravchenko Grygorii, 2017. "Supervisory Board Composition and Firm Financial Performance: A Case of Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 25(4), pages 75-95, December.
    3. Eugenio Zubeltzu-Jaka & Eduardo Ortas & Igor Álvarez-Etxeberria, 2019. "Independent Directors and Organizational Performance: New Evidence from A Meta-Analytic Regression Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-25, December.
    4. Ala Hussein Albawwat & Ammar Almansour & Mo¡¯taz Kamel Al Zobi & Nahed Habis Alrawashedh, 2020. "The Effect of Board of Directors and Audit Committee Characteristics on Company Performance in Jordan," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(6), pages 10-24, December.
    5. Lailah Fujianti, 2018. "Top Management Characteristics and Company Performance: An Empirical Analysis on Public Companies Listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 62-76.
    6. Berna DOĞAN & Melek ACAR, 2020. "The impact of corporate governance on cost of capital: an application on the firms in the manufacturing industry in Borsa Istanbul," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 12(1), pages 65-88, May.
    7. Rizwan Ali & Ramiz Ur Rehman & Sana Suleman & Collins Gyakari Ntim, 2022. "CEO attributes, investment decisions, and firm performance: New insights from upper echelons theory," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(2), pages 398-417, March.
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    10. Mohammed Hassan Makhlouf & Fares Jamiel Al-Sufy & Haitham Almubaideen, 2018. "Board Diversity and Accounting Conservatism: Evidence from Jordan," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(7), pages 130-141, July.
    11. Herdjiono Irine & Sari Indah Mega, 2017. "The Effect of Corporate Governance on the Performance of a Company. Some Empirical Findings from Indonesia," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 25(1), pages 33-52, March.
    12. Tomislava Paviæ Kramariæ & Marko Miletiæ, 2022. "The influence of demographic, cultural, and educational background in the boardroom on firm performance – The Croatian evidence," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 40(1), pages 79-95.
    13. Paul B. McGuinness, 2019. "The Role of Governance and Bank Funding in the Determination of Cornerstone Allocations in Chinese Equity Offers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    corporate governance; financial crisis; risk; firm´s performance; board of directors; agency problems;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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