Gaijin invasion? A resource dependence perspective on foreign ownership and foreign directors

While boards around the globe are becoming more international, the reasons behind this internationalization are not fully understood. In this study, we suggest that foreign ownership increases the presence of foreign directors on boards. Based on resource dependence theory, we argue that the dependence on foreign owners makes foreign nationals an important resource for firms. Using data from large Japanese stock market firms and employing logistic regression analysis, we find empirical evidence that greater dependence on foreign, i.e. gaijin, owners is associated with a higher probability to have foreign directors on the board. We also demonstrate that the link between foreign ownership and foreign directors is positively moderated by a firm’s foreign market exposure. We conclude that firms consider foreign directors a viable response to the deviant expectations of foreign owners.