IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/lrc/larijb/v10y2020i1p1-12.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the Impact of Board Structure on Firm Performance: AComprehensive Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Phillip C. James

    (State University of New York at Canton, School of Business and Liberal Arts.)

Abstract

There have been numerous studies which examined the impact of board structure on firm performance. However, all these studies have failed to provide any form of consensus on how board structure or board composition impact firm performance. Hence, we are left asking the question: what is the effect of board structure on firm performance? The missing link therefore, is the absence of a comprehensive review of the literature which addresses the issue. The objective of this paper is to provide a thorough analysis of previous studies with the aim of providing some direction to and closure of the debate regarding the effect of board structure on firm performance. The results of the literature review showed that there are compelling arguments on both side to eithersupport or refute the hypothesis that board structure impacts firm performance. Hence, this paper provides a new direction for researchers to take in an attempt to answer this decade-old question.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:lrc:larijb:v:10:y:2020:i:1:p:1-12
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://thejournalofbusiness.org/index.php/site/article/view/1271/708
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fried, Vance H. & Bruton, Garry D. & Hisrich, Robert D., 1998. "Strategy and the board of directors in venture capital-backed firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 493-503, November.
    2. Jaskiewicz, Peter & Klein, Sabine, 2007. "The impact of goal alignment on board composition and board size in family businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 1080-1089, October.
    3. Olubunmi Faleye, 2007. "Does one hat fit all? The case of corporate leadership structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 11(3), pages 239-259, September.
    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. 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.
    6. Lynsey Sheridan & Edward Jones & Claire Marston, 2006. "Corporate Governance Codes and the Supply of Corporate Information in the UK," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 497-503, September.
    7. Arosa, Blanca & Iturralde, Txomin & Maseda, Amaia, 2010. "Outsiders on the board of directors and firm performance: Evidence from Spanish non-listed family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 236-245, December.
    8. Setia-Atmaja, Lukas & Haman, Janto & Tanewski, George, 2011. "The role of board independence in mitigating agency problem II in Australian family firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 230-246.
    9. Goel, Sanjay & Mazzola, Pietro & Phan, Phillip H. & Pieper, Torsten M. & Zachary, Ramona K., 2012. "Strategy, ownership, governance, and socio-psychological perspectives on family businesses from around the world," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 54-65.
    10. Xie, Biao & Davidson, Wallace III & DaDalt, Peter J., 2003. "Earnings management and corporate governance: the role of the board and the audit committee," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 295-316, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    13. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 1991. "The Effects of Board Composition and Direct Incentives on Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 20(4), Winter.
    14. Milton Harris & Artur Raviv, 2008. "A Theory of Board Control and Size," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 1797-1832, July.
    15. Shivdasani, Anil, 1993. "Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 167-198, April.
    16. Winfried Ruigrok & Simon I. Peck & Hansueli Keller, 2006. "Board Characteristics and Involvement in Strategic Decision Making: Evidence from Swiss Companies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 1201-1226, July.
    17. Mashayekhi, Bita & Bazaz, Mohammad S., 2008. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Iran," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 156-172.
    18. 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.
    19. Yannick Bammens & Wim Voordeckers & Anita Gils, 2008. "Boards of directors in family firms: a generational perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 163-180, August.
    20. Rechner, Paula L., 1989. "Corporate governance: Fact or fiction?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 11-15.
    21. 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.
    22. Jerry Goodstein & Kanak Gautam & Warren Boeker, 1994. "The effects of board size and diversity on strategic change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 241-250, March.
    23. Renée B. Adams & Daniel Ferreira, 2007. "A Theory of Friendly Boards," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(1), pages 217-250, February.
    24. C. Ingley & N. Van Der Walt, 2005. "Do Board Processes Influence Director and Board Performance? Statutory and performance implications," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(5), pages 632-653, September.
    25. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    26. Brickley, James A. & Coles, Jeffrey L. & Jarrell, Gregg, 1997. "Leadership structure: Separating the CEO and Chairman of the Board," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 189-220, June.
    27. Jeroen Van Den Heuvel & Anita Van Gils & Wim Voordeckers, 2006. "Board Roles in Small and Medium‐Sized Family Businesses: performance and importance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 467-485, September.
    28. Khaled Elsayed, 2007. "Does CEO Duality Really Affect Corporate Performance?," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 1203-1214, November.
    29. 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.
    30. 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.
    31. Paula L. Rechner & Dan R. Dalton, 1991. "CEO duality and organizational performance: A longitudinal analysis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 155-160, February.
    32. Mak, Y. T. & Roush, M. L., 2000. "Factors Affecting the Characteristics of Boards of Directors: An Empirical Study of New Zealand Initial Public Offering Firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 147-159, February.
    33. Byrd, John W. & Hickman, Kent A., 1992. "Do outside directors monitor managers? *1: Evidence from tender offer bids," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 195-221, October.
    34. Chahine, Salim & Filatotchev, Igor, 2011. "The effects of corporate governance and audit and non-audit fees on IPO Value," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 155-172.
    35. 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.
    36. Raheja, Charu G., 2005. "Determinants of Board Size and Composition: A Theory of Corporate Boards," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 283-306, June.
    37. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    38. Pugliese, A. & Bezemer, P.J. & Zattoni, A. & Huse, M. & van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W., 2009. "Boards of Directors’ Contribution to Strategy: A Literature Review and Research Agenda," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2009-013-STR, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    39. Victor Dulewicz & Peter Herbert, 2004. "Does the Composition and Practice of Boards of Directors Bear Any Relationship to the Performance of their Companies?," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 263-280, July.
    40. Gavin J. Nicholson & Geoffrey C. Kiel, 2007. "Can Directors Impact Performance? A case‐based test of three theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 585-608, July.
    41. 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.
    42. Hsu, Hwa-Hsien & Wu, Chloe Yu-Hsuan, 2014. "Board composition, grey directors and corporate failure in the UK," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 215-227.
    43. Singh, Manohar & Davidson III, Wallace N., 2003. "Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance mechanisms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 793-816, May.
    44. Denis, Diane K. & McConnell, John J., 2003. "International Corporate Governance," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 1-36, March.
    45. Veysel Kula, 2005. "The Impact of the Roles, Structure and Process of Boards on Firm Performance: evidence from Turkey," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 265-276, March.
    46. Mark K. Fiegener & Bonnie M. Brown & Dirk R. Dreux & William J. Dennis, 2000. "The adoption of outside boards by small private US firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 291-309, October.
    47. Michael Jensen & Edward J. Zajac, 2004. "Corporate elites and corporate strategy: how demographic preferences and structural position shape the scope of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 507-524, June.
    48. Rajeswararao S. Chaganti & Vijay Mahajan & Subhash Sharma, 1985. "Corporate Board Size, Composition And Corporate Failures In Retailing Industry[1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 400-417, July.
    49. Brian R. Golden & Edward J. Zajac, 2001. "When will boards influence strategy? inclination × power = strategic change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(12), pages 1087-1111, December.
    50. Weisbach, Michael S., 1988. "Outside directors and CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 431-460, January.
    51. Loizos Heracleous, 2001. "What is the Impact of Corporate Governance on Organisational Performance?," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 165-173, July.
    52. O'Connell, Vincent & Cramer, Nicole, 2010. "The relationship between firm performance and board characteristics in Ireland," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 387-399, October.
    53. John, Kose & Senbet, Lemma W., 1998. "Corporate governance and board effectiveness1," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 371-403, May.
    54. 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.
    55. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    56. Raghavan J. Iyengar & Ernest M. Zampelli, 2009. "Self‐selection, endogeneity, and the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(10), pages 1092-1112, October.
    57. Pablo De Andres & Valentin Azofra & Felix Lopez, 2005. "Corporate Boards in OECD Countries: size, composition, functioning and effectiveness," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 197-210, March.
    58. Mak, Y. T. & Li, Yuan, 2001. "Determinants of corporate ownership and board structure: evidence from Singapore," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 235-256, September.
    59. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, 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. Mejbel Al-Saidi, 2020. "Kuwaiti Families and Firm Performance in Non-Financial Listed Firms," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 10(3), pages 11-18, March.

    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. Phillip C. James, 2020. "Understanding the Impact of Board Structure on Firm Performance: AComprehensive Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    2. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, November.
    3. Afzalur Rashid, 2015. "Revisiting Agency Theory: Evidence of Board Independence and Agency Cost from Bangladesh," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 181-198, August.
    4. Aziz Jaafar & Lynn Hodgkinson & Mao-Feng Kao, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Board of Directors and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Working Papers 19011, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    5. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    6. Mertzanis, Charilaos & Basuony, Mohamed A.K. & Mohamed, Ehab K.A., 2019. "Social institutions, corporate governance and firm-performance in the MENA region," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 75-96.
    7. Hsu, Hwa-Hsien & Wu, Chloe Yu-Hsuan, 2014. "Board composition, grey directors and corporate failure in the UK," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 215-227.
    8. Isabel-María García-Sánchez, 2010. "The effectiveness of corporate governance: board structure and business technical efficiency in Spain," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(3), pages 311-339, September.
    9. Mukesh Nepal & Rajat Deb, 2022. "Board Characteristics and Firm Performance: Indian Textiles Sector Panorama," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 47(1), pages 74-96, February.
    10. Booth, James R. & Cornett, Marcia Millon & Tehranian, Hassan, 2002. "Boards of directors, ownership, and regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 1973-1996, October.
    11. Chaur-Shiuh Young & Liu-Ching Tsai & Pei-Gin Hsieh, 2008. "Voluntary Appointment of Independent Directors in Taiwan: Motives and Consequences," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9-10), pages 1103-1137.
    12. Salim Chahine & Assem Safieddine, 2011. "Is corporate governance different for the Lebanese banking system?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(2), pages 207-226, May.
    13. Georgeta Vintila & Stefan Cristian Gherghina, 2013. "Board of Directors Independence and Firm Value: Empirical Evidence Based on the Bucharest Stock Exchange Listed Companies," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 3(4), pages 885-900.
    14. Arosa, Blanca & Iturralde, Txomin & Maseda, Amaia, 2010. "Outsiders on the board of directors and firm performance: Evidence from Spanish non-listed family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 236-245, December.
    15. 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.
    16. Volonté, Christophe, 2015. "Boards: Independent and committed directors?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 25-37.
    17. Bill B. Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Qiang Wu, 2012. "Do corporate boards matter during the current financial crisis?," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 39-52, April.
    18. Eloisa Perez-de Toledo & Maria Pilar Giraldez-Puig & Jose Manuel Hurtado-Gonzalez, 2016. "The effect of environmental jolts on board governance practices and its impact on firm value," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 75-95, February.
    19. A. A. Drakos & F. V. Bekiris, 2010. "Endogeneity and the relationship between board structure and firm performance: a simultaneous equation analysis for the Athens Stock Exchange," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(6), pages 387-401.
    20. Muhammad Imran Nazir & Muhammad Zulfiqar & Muhammad Bilal Saeed & Yasir Habib, 2016. "The Influence of Board Characteristics on Shareholders Assessment of Risk for Small and Large Firms: Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 596-606.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm Performance; Board Composition; Board Structure; Independent Directors.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

    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:lrc:larijb:v:10:y:2020:i:1:p:1-12. 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: Al Hossain (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.thejournalofbusiness.org .

    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.