IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/globus/v23y2022i4p1031-1053.html

Corporate Governance, Political Connections and Firm Performance: The Role of Political Regimes and Size

Author

Listed:
  • Sabeeh Ullah
  • Yasir Kamal

Abstract

This article empirically examines the relationship between corporate governance and firm financial performance, and the interplay of political connections of 150 non-financial listed Pakistani firms ranging from 2001 to 2014. Generally, and consistent with the prior researchers, we reported that corporate governance is an essential predictor of firm financial performance in Pakistan. Moreover, the results indicate that political connections substitute non-executive directors (NXD), executive directors (EXD) and board meetings (BM) in terms of firm performance measure return on asset (ROA), whereas NXD and EXD complement in terms of Tobin’s Q. We also found some variations in these effects, when moving from large to small size sampled firms and dictator to democratic regimes. Theoretically, our results support the Agency, Resource Dependency and Stewardship theories.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabeeh Ullah & Yasir Kamal, 2022. "Corporate Governance, Political Connections and Firm Performance: The Role of Political Regimes and Size," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(4), pages 1031-1053, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:23:y:2022:i:4:p:1031-1053
    DOI: 10.1177/0972150919876520
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0972150919876520
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0972150919876520?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruno, Valentina & Claessens, Stijn, 2010. "Corporate governance and regulation: Can there be too much of a good thing?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 461-482, October.
    2. Mohamed Belkhir, 2009. "Board of directors' size and performance in the banking industry," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 201-221, April.
    3. Zhang, Yan & Zhou, Jian & Zhou, Nan, 2007. "Audit committee quality, auditor independence, and internal control weaknesses," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 300-327.
    4. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 58-76, February.
    5. 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.
    6. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    7. 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.
    8. Husam Aldamen & Keith Duncan & Simone Kelly & Ray McNamara & Stephan Nagel, 2012. "Audit committee characteristics and firm performance during the global financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52(4), pages 971-1000, December.
    9. Chen, Yenn-Ru & Chuang, Wei-Ting, 2009. "Alignment or entrenchment? Corporate governance and cash holdings in growing firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 1200-1206, November.
    10. repec:eme:mfppss:v:40:y:2014:i:8:p:787-803 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. 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.
    12. Shams Pathan & Michael Skully & J. Wickramanayake, 2007. "Board Size, Independence and Performance: An Analysis of Thai Banks," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 14(3), pages 211-227, September.
    13. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    14. Kuan, Tsung-Han & Li, Chu-Shiu & Liu, Chwen-Chi, 2012. "Corporate governance and cash holdings: A quantile regression approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 303-314.
    15. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    16. Mohamed Belkhir, 2009. "Board of directors' size and performance in the banking industry," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 201-221, April.
    17. John A. Pearce & Shaker A. Zahra, 1992. "Board Composition From A Strategic Contingency Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 411-438, July.
    18. Matthew Hill & Kathleen Fuller & G. Kelly & Jim Washam, 2014. "Corporate cash holdings and political connections," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 123-142, January.
    19. Rosenstein, Stuart & Wyatt, Jeffrey G., 1990. "Outside directors, board independence, and shareholder wealth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 175-191, August.
    20. Roszaini Haniffa & Mohammad Hudaib, 2006. "Corporate Governance Structure and Performance of Malaysian Listed Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1034-1062, September.
    21. Qi, Yaxuan & Roth, Lukas & Wald, John K., 2010. "Political rights and the cost of debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 202-226, February.
    22. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    23. Lin, Chen & Ma, Yue & Malatesta, Paul & Xuan, Yuhai, 2011. "Ownership structure and the cost of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 1-23, April.
    24. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. S. Lim & Z. Matolcsy & D. Chow, 2007. "The Association between Board Composition and Different Types of Voluntary Disclosure," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 555-583.
    26. 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.
    27. Charlie Weir & David Laing, 2000. "The Performance-Governance Relationship: The Effects of Cadbury Compliance on UK Quoted Companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 4(4), pages 265-281, December.
    28. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    29. Daily, Catherine M. & Dalton, Dan R., 1992. "The relationship between governance structure and corporate performance in entrepreneurial firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 375-386, September.
    30. Eitan Goldman & Jörg Rocholl & Jongil So, 2009. "Do Politically Connected Boards Affect Firm Value?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2331-2360, June.
    31. Jun Du & Sourafel Girma, 2010. "Red Capitalists: Political Connections and Firm Performance in China," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(4), pages 530-545, November.
    32. 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.
    33. Sinha, Rajeeva, 2006. "Regulation: The market for corporate control and corporate governance," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 264-282, March.
    34. 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.
    35. Melinda Muth & Lex Donaldson, 1998. "Stewardship Theory and Board Structure: a contingency approach," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 5-28, January.
    36. 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.
    37. Bebchuk, Lucian A. & Fried, Jesse M., 2003. "Executive Compensation as an Agency Problem," Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics, Working Paper Series qt81q3136r, Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics.
    38. Fee, C. Edward & Hadlock, Charles J., 2004. "Management turnover across the corporate hierarchy," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 3-38, February.
    39. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Saffar, Walid, 2008. "Political connections of newly privatized firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 654-673, December.
    40. Brickley, James A. & Coles, Jeffrey L. & Terry, Rory L., 1994. "Outside directors and the adoption of poison pills," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 371-390, June.
    41. Becher, David A. & Frye, Melissa B., 2011. "Does regulation substitute or complement governance?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 736-751, March.
    42. 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.
    43. Paul Guest, 2009. "The impact of board size on firm performance: evidence from the UK," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 385-404.
    44. Lucian Arye Bebchuk & Jesse M. Fried, 2003. "Executive Compensation as an Agency Problem," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 71-92, Summer.
    45. Claessens, Stijn & Feijen, Erik & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "Political connections and preferential access to finance: The role of campaign contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 554-580, June.
    46. Cheng, Shijun, 2008. "Board size and the variability of corporate performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 157-176, January.
    47. Junaid Ashraf & Waqar I. Ghani, 2005. "Accounting in a Country : The Case of Pakistan," Macroeconomics Working Papers 22246, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    48. Mak, Y.T. & Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2005. "Size really matters: Further evidence on the negative relationship between board size and firm value," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 301-318, June.
    49. Yeh, Yin-Hua & Shu, Pei-Gi & Chiu, Shean-Bii, 2013. "Political connections, corporate governance and preferential bank loans," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1079-1101.
    50. Brown, Lawrence D. & Caylor, Marcus L., 2006. "Corporate governance and firm valuation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-434.
    51. Abubakr Saeed & Yacine Belghitar & Ephraim Clark, 2014. "Theoretical motives of corporate cash holdings and political connections: firms level evidence from a developing economy," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 813-831, September.
    52. Charlie Weir & David Laing & Phillip J. McKnight, 2002. "Internal and External Governance Mechanisms: Their Impact on the Performance of Large UK Public Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5&6), pages 579-611.
    53. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2008. "Boards: Does one size fit all," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 329-356, February.
    54. Dahya, Jay & Dimitrov, Orlin & McConnell, John J., 2008. "Dominant shareholders, corporate boards, and corporate value: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 73-100, January.
    55. Mejbel Al-Saidi & Bader Al-Shammari, 2013. "Board composition and bank performance in Kuwait: an empirical study," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(6), pages 472-494, June.
    56. Mohamed Belkhir, 2009. "Board of directors' size and performance in the banking industry," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 201-221, April.
    57. Weisbach, Michael S., 1988. "Outside directors and CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 431-460, January.
    58. Doidge, Craig & Andrew Karolyi, G. & Stulz, Rene M., 2007. "Why do countries matter so much for corporate governance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 1-39, October.
    59. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    60. Charlie Weir & David Laing & Phillip J. McKnight, 2002. "Internal and External Governance Mechanisms: Their Impact on the Performance of Large UK Public Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5‐6), pages 579-611.
    61. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2014. "Escaping political extraction: Political participation, institutions, and cash holdings in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 98-112.
    62. Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Atif Mian, 2005. "Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms? Rent Provision in an Emerging Financial Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(4), pages 1371-1411.
    63. Pramuan Bunkanwanicha & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2009. "Big Business Owners in Politics," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2133-2168, June.
    64. Choi, Jongmoo Jay & Park, Sae Woon & Yoo, Sean Sehyun, 2007. "The Value of Outside Directors: Evidence from Corporate Governance Reform in Korea," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 941-962, December.
    65. Ronald W. Masulis & Shawn Mobbs, 2011. "Are All Inside Directors the Same? Evidence from the External Directorship Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(3), pages 823-872, June.
    66. Roszaini Haniffa & Mohammad Hudaib, 2006. "Corporate Governance Structure and Performance of Malaysian Listed Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7-8), pages 1034-1062.
    67. 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.
    68. David A. Carter & Betty J. Simkins & W. Gary Simpson, 2003. "Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 38(1), pages 33-53, February.
    69. Shen, Chung-Hua & Lin, Chih-Yung & Wang, Yu-Chun, 2015. "Do strong corporate governance firms still require political connection, and vice versa?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 107-120.
    70. Bernard S. Black & Hasung Jang & Woochan Kim, 2006. "Does Corporate Governance Predict Firms' Market Values? Evidence from Korea," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 366-413, October.
    71. 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)

    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. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, March.
    2. 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).
    3. Sabeeh Ullah & Yasir Kamal, 2017. "Board Characteristics, Political Connections, and Corporate Cash Holdings: The Role of Firm Size and Political Regime," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 9(1), pages 157-179, March.
    4. 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.
    5. María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez & Isabel Gallego-Álvarez, 2020. "Do board characteristics drive firm performance? An international perspective," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1251-1297, December.
    6. Le, Quyen & Vafaei, Alireza & Ahmed, Kamran & Kutubi, Shawgat, 2022. "Independent directors' reputation incentives and firm performance – an Australian perspective," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Muniandy, Balachandran & Hillier, John, 2015. "Board independence, investment opportunity set and performance of South African firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 108-124.
    11. Akshita Arora & Chandan Sharma, 2015. "Impact of Firm Performance on Board Characteristics: Empirical Evidence from India," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 4(1), pages 53-70, January.
    12. Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2021. "The Effect of Board Composition and Managerial Pay on Saudi Firm Performance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Online fi.
    13. Martin Kyere & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Corporate governance and firms financial performance in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1871-1885, April.
    14. 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.
    15. Volonté, Christophe, 2015. "Boards: Independent and committed directors?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 25-37.
    16. Premepeh, kwadwo Boateng & Odartei-Mills, Eugene, 2015. "Corporate governance structure and shareholder wealth maximisation," MPRA Paper 68087, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. 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.
    18. Muhammad Haris & Hongxing Yao & Gulzara Tariq & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid & Qurat Ul Ain, 2019. "Corporate Governance, Political Connections, and Bank Performance," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-37, October.
    19. Conheady, Brian & McIlkenny, Philip & Opong, Kwaku K. & Pignatel, Isabelle, 2015. "Board effectiveness and firm performance of Canadian listed firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 290-303.
    20. Darmadi, Salim, 2010. "Board diversity and firm performance: the Indonesian evidence," MPRA Paper 38721, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:sae:globus:v:23:y:2022:i:4:p:1031-1053. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.imi.edu/ .

    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.