Corporate Board Structure and Corporate Performance:Empirical Analysis of Listed Companies in China

Using cross section data of 3 years 2000,2007,and 2014 for non-financial listed firms in China,this study quantitatively analyzes the relationship between government-affiliated corporate executives and corporate performance.We classify the sample firms into two groups,based on whether their chief executive officers(CEOs)and independent directors are prior government officials or not.Then,we empirically examine the difference in corporate performance between the two groups.We find that the appointment of CEOs and directors of listed companies in China is significantly affected by government shareholders.The results also suggest that prior to 2000 government-affiliated CEOs impaired corporate performance.But with the establishment of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Committee and the completion of the Split-Share Structure Reform in 2006,government as a shareholder began to give priority to corporate value maximization,and government-affiliated CEOs began to help improve corporate performance.However,due to the slowdown of economic growth after 2012,problems such as inefficiency and corruption brought by government-affiliated executives manifested again,and therefore,corporate performance deteriorated.Meanwhile,government-affiliated independent directors have limited influence on these factors.