Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the board of directors in influencing the value of Italian listed firms from 2003 to 2013. In particular, employing agency, stewardship and resource dependence theories, the study aims to compare board characteristics in family and non-family firms and define the theory that best applies to family firms. Empirical results show that the presence of CEO duality and busy directors has a positive effect on the value of family firms, while gender diversity has a negative impact on the value when a member of the family leads a family firm. Conversely, the size of the board positively affects the value of non-family firms. Our main findings suggest the prevalence, in family firms, of the benefits of the board structure argued by stewardship and resource dependence theories rather than the disadvantages expected from agency theory.

Family and non-family women on the board of directors: Effects on corporate citizenship behavior in family-controlled fashion firms

“…Nevertheless, only scant research considers the difference between family and non-family women directors (Rodríguez-Ariza et al, 2017;Rubino et al, 2017). As such, and considering the ongoing debate on the role of women in the family business context (e.g., Campopiano et al, 2017), to our best knowledge this is the first study distinguishing between family and non-family female directors specifically in family firms.…”

Boards of Directors’ Characteristics and Firm Value: A Comparative Study between Egypt and USA

“…The research opens the door for an additional in-depth empirical study on why there are cross-country variations in corporate governance. A topic that is gaining growing attention from scholars of corporate governance is the study of the characteristics that the board of directors should own to ensure efficient management control and valued support in the decision-making process [3] [7]. In the companies, there could be significant conflicts among managers and shareholders, which could have an opportunistic behavior concentrating towards gaining personal benefits, which lead to higher agency costs in the firms.…”

“…As a rule, even though previous studies supported the prevailing theories, they similarly display contradictory proof concerning the relationship between a portion of the board of directors' characteristics and the firm value. Open Access Library Journal In recent years, the studies on corporate governance have focused their attention on the analysis of the structure of the board [3] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]. Yet, the empirical proof on the relationships among board structure and firm value is still uncertain.…”

“…A portion of these researches found that there is a positive relationship among board characteristics and firm value [12] [13], at the same time as different research discovered negative relationships among some variables of corporate governance and firm value [14] [15]. Different results, subject to the variables used to study the corporate governance, econometric methodologies, sampling techniques, study periods, and institutional arrangements that the varied researchers study [7]. Despite the large number of empirical studies on board of directors' characteristics and their impact on firm value, our knowledge in this area is far from perfect, especially in…”

Women Entrepreneurship in Family Business

“…Other studies include gender as a control variable or as one of several variables forming a construct (Vandebeek et al, 2016). Rubino et al (2016) compare board characteristics in family and non-family firms and find that gender diversity has a negative impact on the firm value when a member of the family leads a family firm. Studying the influence of CEOs on family firms' internationalization, Ramón-Llorens et al (2017) find that gender does not significantly predict the propensity to export.…”