IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v32y2008i6p1098-1109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The causal effect of board size in the performance of small and medium-sized firms

Author

Listed:
  • Bennedsen, Morten
  • Kongsted, Hans Christian
  • Nielsen, Kasper Meisner

Abstract

Empirical studies of large publicly traded firms have shown a robust negative relationship between board size and firm performance. The evidence on small and medium-sized firms is less clear; we show that existing work has been incomplete in analyzing the causal relationship due to weak identification strategies. Using a rich data set of almost 7000 closely held corporations we provide a causal analysis of board size effects on firm performance: We use a novel instrument given by the number of children of the chief executive officer (CEO) of the firms. First, we find a strong positive correlation between family size and board size and show this correlation to be driven by firms where the CEO's relatives serve on the board. Second, we find empirical evidence of a small adverse board size effect driven by the minority of small and medium-sized firms that are characterized by having comparatively large boards of six or more members.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:32:y:2008:i:6:p:1098-1109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-4266(07)00290-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Claessens, Stijn & Fan, Joseph P.H. & Lang, Larry H.P., 2006. "The benefits and costs of group affiliation: Evidence from East Asia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Bennedsen, Morten, 2002. "Why do firms have boards?," Working Papers 03-2002, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    3. de Jong, A. & DeJong, D.V. & Mertens, G.M.H. & Wasley, C., 2000. "The Role of Self-Regulation in Corporate Governance : Evidence from the Netherlands," Other publications TiSEM 6d35b4ae-d3a9-4977-8321-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Geoffrey C. Kiel & Gavin J. Nicholson, 2003. "Board Composition and Corporate Performance: how the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 189-205, July.
    5. Stefan Beiner & Wolfgang Drobetz & Frank Schmid & Heinz Zimmermann, 2004. "Is Board Size an Independent Corporate Governance Mechanism?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 327-356, August.
    6. 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.
    7. Volpin, Paolo F., 2002. "Erratum to "Governance with poor investor protection: evidence from top executive turnover in Italy": [Journal of Financial Economics 64 (2002) 61-90]," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 159-160, July.
    8. de Jong, A. & DeJong, D.V. & Mertens, G.M.H. & Wasley, C., 2000. "The Role of Self-Regulation in Corporate Governance : Evidence from the Netherlands," Discussion Paper 2000-59, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    9. Volpin, Paolo F., 2002. "Governance with poor investor protection: evidence from top executive turnover in Italy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 61-90, April.
    10. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    11. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    12. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    13. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    14. 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.
    15. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    16. Claudio Loderer & Urs Peyer, 2002. "Board Overlap, Seat Accumulation and Share Prices," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 8(2), pages 165-192, June.
    17. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    18. Martin Conyon & Simon Peck, 1998. "Board size and corporate performance: evidence from European countries," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 291-304.
    19. 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.
    20. Demsetz, Harold & Lehn, Kenneth, 1985. "The Structure of Corporate Ownership: Causes and Consequences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(6), pages 1155-1177, December.
    21. Bennedsen, Morten & Nielsen, Kasper, 2004. "The Family behind the Family Firm," Working Papers 03-2004, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    22. Morten Bennedsen & Kasper Meisner Nielsen & Francisco Perez-Gonzalez & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2007. "Inside the Family Firm: The Role of Families in Succession Decisions and Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 647-691.
    23. Renee B. Adams & Hamid Mehran, 2008. "Corporate performance, board structure, and their determinants in the banking industry," Staff Reports 330, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bowo Setiyono & Amine Tarazi, 2014. "Does the presence of institutional investors in family banks affect profitability and risk? Evidence from an emerging market," Working Papers hal-01077118, HAL.
    2. Yen, Tze-Yu & Andre, Paul, 2007. "Ownership structure and operating performance of acquiring firms: The case of English-origin countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(5), pages 380-405.
    3. Oxelheim, Lars & Randoy, Trond, 2003. "The impact of foreign board membership on firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2369-2392, December.
    4. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Simonov, Andrei, 2003. "Which Investors Fear Expropriation? Evidence from Investors' Stock Picking," CEPR Discussion Papers 3843, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Attiya Y. Javid & Robina Iqbal, 2010. "Corporate Governance in Pakistan : Corporate Valuation, Ownership and Financing," Governance Working Papers 22830, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, October.
    9. Nicola Moscariello & Michele Pizzo & Dmytro Govorun & Alexander Kostyuk, 2019. "Independent minority directors and firm value in a principal–principal agency setting: evidence from Italy," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(1), pages 165-194, March.
    10. Luc Laeven & Ross Levine, 2008. "Complex Ownership Structures and Corporate Valuations," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 579-604, April.
    11. Chenglong Zheng & Roy Kouwenberg, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Global Research on Corporate Governance and Board Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, June.
    12. 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.
    13. Goergen, Marc & Manjon, Miguel C. & Renneboog, Luc, 2008. "Recent developments in German corporate governance," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 175-193, September.
    14. 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.
    15. Chen, Anlin & Kao, Lanfeng & Lu, Cheng-Shou, 2014. "Controlling ownership and firm performance in Taiwan: The role of external competition and internal governance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 219-238.
    16. Hamadi, Malika & Heinen, Andréas, 2015. "Firm performance when ownership is very concentrated: Evidence from a semiparametric panel," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 172-194.
    17. Ju-Fang Yen & Chih-Yung Lin & Yan-Shing Chen & Ying-Chen Huang, 2015. "Founding Family Firms and Bank Loan Contracts," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 53-82, August.
    18. Taylan Mavruk & Conny Overland & Stefan Sjögren, 2020. "Keeping it real or keeping it simple? Ownership concentration measures compared," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(4), pages 958-1005, September.
    19. Berezinets, Irina & Ilina, Yulia & Muravyev, Alexander, 2011. "CEO and Board Characteristics as Determinants of Private Benefits of Control: Evidence from the Russian Stock Exchange," IZA Discussion Papers 6256, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Suveera Gill & Parmjit Kaur, 2015. "Family Involvement in Business and Financial Performance: A Panel Data Analysis," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 40(4), pages 395-420, December.

    More about this item

    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:jbfina:v:32:y:2008:i:6:p:1098-1109. 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/jbf .

    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.