Board Characteristics and Firm Performance

This study examines relationship between the key board characteristics and firm performance. We use both financial and non-financial variables to develop a conceptual framework. Board characteristics considered include board size, director ownership, CEO duality, gender diversity, educational qualification of board members and number of board meetings. Additionally, we use board size as a moderating variable. Firm performance is measured by ROA. We test our hypotheses on a longitudinal sample of 156 firms over a four-year period from 2004 to 2007, using GLS analyses. The findings show that board size, CEO duality and gender diversity were positively related with firm performance, where as director ownership, board meetings and the number of board members with PhD level education were found to be negatively related. Board size was found to be moderating some of these relationships. Our findings underscore the need for theoretical pluralism to gain insights into boards functioning. They also help firms in designing their boards and scholars to identify the contingency conditions relating to the board characteristics and firm performance.