The role of national culture in the impact of board gender diversity on firm performance: evidence from a multi-country study
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
ISSN: 2040-7149
Article publication date: 11 February 2021
Issue publication date: 8 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to add more insights to the debate on “whether”, “how”, and “under which condition” women representation on the board contributes to firm performance. More specifically, the current study aims to investigate if the effect of board gender diversity on firm performance is dependent on macro factors of national cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the generalized method of moments regression and a data set consists of 2,550 company year observations over 10 years.
Findings
The results indicated that cultural variables interact with board diversity to influence firm performance. Having women on the board in countries with high power distance, individualist, masculine and low-uncertainty avoidance culture influences the firm performance negatively.
Originality/value
The findings indicate that the effects of corporate governance structure on firm performance depends on culture-specific factors, providing support for the argument that institutional norms that are governed by cultural norms affect the effectiveness of corporate governance structure.
Keywords
Citation
Naghavi, N., Pahlevan Sharif, S. and Iqbal Hussain, H.B. (2021), "The role of national culture in the impact of board gender diversity on firm performance: evidence from a multi-country study", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 40 No. 5, pp. 631-650. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2020-0092
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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