IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v14y2021i11p507-d661495.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Board Diversity Attract Foreign Institutional Ownership? Insights from the Chinese Equity Market

Author

Listed:
  • Shoukat Ali

    (Lahore Business School, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
    Department of Commerce, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan)

  • Ramiz Ur Rehman

    (Lahore Business School, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
    Faculty of Business, Sohar University, Sohar 311, Oman)

  • Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad

    (Lahore Business School, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

  • Joe Ueng

    (Economics and Finance, Cameron School of Business, The University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX 77006, USA)

Abstract

The study aimed to empirically investigate the impact of board diversity variables (age, gender, nationality, education, tenure, and expertise) on the investment preferences of foreign institutional investors in an emerging market, China. For this, sample data consisted of 1374 nonfinancial Chinese firms from 2009 to 2018. The study used OLS regression as a baseline regression, a fixed effect model to control omitted variable bias, and the two-step systems GMM model to control the endogeneity problem. The study revealed that board diversity variables (gender, nationality, education, and financial expertise) are positively associated with foreign institutional ownership in Chinese nonfinancial firms, implying that foreign institutional investors own a high percentage of Chinese nonfinancial firms with diversity of gender, nationality, education, and financial expertise. Age and tenure of board diversity, on the other hand, have little correlation with foreign institutional ownership. Further, the robustness regressions also confirmed the relationship between board diversity and foreign institutional ownership. This study made a unique attempt to provide empirical evidence that firms having diverse boards attract foreign institutional ownership by reducing asymmetric information.

Suggested Citation

  • Shoukat Ali & Ramiz Ur Rehman & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Joe Ueng, 2021. "Does Board Diversity Attract Foreign Institutional Ownership? Insights from the Chinese Equity Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2021:i:11:p:507-:d:661495
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/11/507/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/11/507/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Korkeamäki, Timo & Virk, Nader & Wang, Haizhi & Wang, Peng, 2019. "Learning Chinese? The changing investment behavior of foreign institutions in the Chinese stock market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 190-203.
    2. Milton Harris & Artur Raviv, 2008. "A Theory of Board Control and Size," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 1797-1832, July.
    3. Taïeb Hafsi & Gokhan Turgut, 2013. "Boardroom Diversity and its Effect on Social Performance: Conceptualization and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 463-479, February.
    4. Miguel A. Ferreira & Massimo Massa & Pedro Matos, 2010. "Shareholders at the Gate? Institutional Investors and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(2), pages 601-644, February.
    5. Liu, Zhiwei & Park, Sangwon, 2015. "What makes a useful online review? Implication for travel product websites," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 140-151.
    6. Burak Güner, A. & Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Financial expertise of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 323-354, May.
    7. Joe, Denis Yongmin & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl, 2017. "Foreign investor behavior in Korea after the 1997 Asian financial crisis," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 69-78.
    8. Neema Mori, 2014. "Directors' Diversity and Board Performance: Evidence from East African Microfinance Institutions," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 100-113, August.
    9. Huang, Wei & Zhu, Tao, 2015. "Foreign institutional investors and corporate governance in emerging markets: Evidence of a split-share structure reform in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 312-326.
    10. Martin Falk, 2015. "The Demand for Winter Sports: Empirical Evidence for the Largest French Ski-Lift Operator," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(3), pages 561-580, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Maretno Harjoto & Indrarini Laksmana & Robert Lee, 2015. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 641-660, December.
    13. Kang, Eugene & Ding, David K. & Charoenwong, Charlie, 2010. "Investor reaction to women directors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(8), pages 888-894, August.
    14. García-Meca, Emma & García-Sánchez, Isabel-María & Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer, 2015. "Board diversity and its effects on bank performance: An international analysis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 202-214.
    15. Perryman, Alexa A. & Fernando, Guy D. & Tripathy, Arindam, 2016. "Do gender differences persist? An examination of gender diversity on firm performance, risk, and executive compensation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 579-586.
    16. Helen Kang & Mandy Cheng & Sidney J. Gray, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Board Composition: diversity and independence of Australian boards," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 194-207, March.
    17. Estélyi, Kristína Sághy & Nisar, Tahir M., 2016. "Diverse boards: Why do firms get foreign nationals on their boards?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 174-192.
    18. Maria Camila De-La-Hoz & Carlos Pombo & Rodrigo Taborda, 2018. "Does board diversity affect institutional investor preferences? Evidence from Latin America," Documentos CEDE 15991, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    19. Lee, Jieun & Ryu, Doojin, 2019. "How does FX liquidity affect the relationship between foreign ownership and stock liquidity?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 101-119.
    20. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    21. Lerong He & Rong Yang, 2014. "Does Industry Regulation Matter? New Evidence on Audit Committees and Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(4), pages 573-589, September.
    22. Hooghiemstra, Reggy & Hermes, Niels & Oxelheim, Lars & Randøy, Trond, 2019. "Strangers on the board: The impact of board internationalization on earnings management of Nordic firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 119-134.
    23. Sterling Huang & Gilles Hilary, 2018. "Zombie Board: Board Tenure and Firm Performance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 1285-1329, September.
    24. Kang, Jun-Koo & Stulz, Rene M., 1997. "Why is there a home bias? An analysis of foreign portfolio equity ownership in Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 3-28, October.
    25. Ferreira, Miguel A. & Matos, Pedro, 2008. "The colors of investors' money: The role of institutional investors around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 499-533, June.
    26. repec:zbw:bofitp:2018_019 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Siti Nuryanah & Sardar M. N. Islam, 2015. "Corporate Governance and Financial Management," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-43561-3, October.
    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. Elliroma Gardiner, 2024. "What’s age got to do with it? The effect of board member age diversity: a systematic review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 65-92, February.
    2. Anjali Kaimal & Shigufta Hena Uzma, 2024. "CSR and ownership structure: Moderating role of board characteristics in an emerging country context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4933-4955, September.
    3. Tanveer Bagh & Muhammad Asif Khan & Natanya Meyer & Hammad Riaz, 2023. "Impact of boardroom diversity on corporate financial performance," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Lin, Wen-Ting & Lee, Chia-Ling & Ahlstrom, David, 2023. "Internationalization and breaking the glass ceiling: An institutional perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(1).

    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. Shoukat Ali & Ramiz ur Rehman & Wang Yuan & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Rizwan Ali, 2022. "Does foreign institutional ownership mediate the nexus between board diversity and the risk of financial distress? A case of an emerging economy of China," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(3), pages 553-581, September.
    2. Rania Béji & Ouidad Yousfi & Abdelwahed Omri, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance: A cognitive approach," Post-Print hal-03144756, HAL.
    3. Rania B'eji & Ouidad Yousfi & Abdelwahed Omri, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance: A cognitive approach," Papers 2102.09218, arXiv.org.
    4. Young Mok Choi & Kunsu Park, 2019. "Foreign Ownership, Agency Costs, and Long-Term Firm Growth: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Neupane, Biwesh & Thapa, Chandra & Marshall, Andrew & Neupane, Suman & Shrestha, Chaman, 2024. "Do foreign institutional investors improve board monitoring?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Peter J Baldacchino & Jean Paul Abela & Norbert Tabone & Simon Grima, 2021. "Board of Director Diversity and Its Corporate Governance Implications in Maltese Equity-Listed Companies," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 11(4), pages 37-65.
    7. Thi-Thanh Phan & Hai-Chin Yu, 2022. "Innovation, institutional ownerships and board diversity," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1647-1693, November.
    8. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Patro, Sukesh & Zhang, Lu Y. & Zhao, Rong, 2018. "Director tenure and corporate social responsibility: The tradeoff between experience and independence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 51-66.
    10. Huang, Haijie & Lee, Edward & Lyu, Changjiang & Zhu, Zhenmei, 2016. "The effect of accounting academics in the boardroom on the value relevance of financial reporting information," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 18-30.
    11. Kent Baker, H. & Pandey, Nitesh & Kumar, Satish & Haldar, Arunima, 2020. "A bibliometric analysis of board diversity: Current status, development, and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 232-246.
    12. Asad, Muhammad & Akbar, Saeed & Li, Jing & Shah, Syed Zulfiqar Ali, 2023. "Board diversity and corporate propensity to R&D spending," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Dorota Dobija & Karolina Puławska, 2022. "The influence of board members with foreign experience on the timely delivery of financial reports," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(1), pages 287-313, March.
    14. Ajab Khan & H. Kent Baker, 2022. "How board diversity and ownership structure shape sustainable corporate performance," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3751-3770, December.
    15. Rekha Handa, 2021. "Does Presence of Foreign Directors Make a Difference? A Case of Indian IPOs," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 9(1), pages 111-127, January.
    16. Dorota Dobija & Claudia Arena & Łukasz Kozłowski & Joanna Krasodomska & Justyna Godawska, 2023. "Towards sustainable development: The role of directors' international orientation and their diversity for non‐financial disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 66-90, January.
    17. Lifang Chen & Minghui Han & Yong Li & William L. Megginson & Hao Zhang, 2022. "Foreign ownership and corporate excess perks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(1), pages 72-93, February.
    18. Luo, Yi & Ma, Jian & Wang, Yu & Ye, Aishan, 2022. "Board internationalization and corporate social responsibility," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    19. An, Zhe & Chen, Chen & Li, Donghui & Yin, Chao, 2021. "Foreign institutional ownership and the speed of leverage adjustment: International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Belaounia, Samia & Tao, Ran & Zhao, Hong, 2024. "Director foreign experience: Geographic specificity and value implication," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    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:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2021:i:11:p:507-:d:661495. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.