Women on Boards of Directors

This research aims to measure the current gender representation in membership of boards of directors,and to study the factors affecting the presence of women on boards.The results of the study will support the decision makers and policy makers at all levels by providing knowledge that contributes to bridging the current gap in participation of women boards.The methodology used in this research is the descriptive analytical approach,which relies on quantitative methods in the process of collecting and analyzing data.This study represents the boards of directors in the three sectors(public,private,and non-profit)in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,The study sample contained 350 targets,where a random sample of 150 people in the public sector,100 people in the private sector,and 100 people in the non-profit sector were selected.The research result found that the majority of the responses believe that the lack of experience and training,and social factors,are the most impact areas of explaining the reasons for the existence of a gap in women’s membership in boards of directors in the three sectors.And the most important reasons for the existence of a gender gap in board membership are:there is no statutory minimum percentage for women’s representation on boards of directors,and scarcity of female competencies in general,and the lack of women occupying leadership positions.

A study on directors＇ remuneration and board committee in Malaysia

Researches on company directors＇ remuneration and its links with firms＇ performance and corporate governance have drawn wide attention as stakeholders are interested to find out whether directors received the right package of remuneration and whether it is always in line with the firm＇s performance and corporate governance policy. However, there is a lack of study examining the impact of specific board committee on directors＇ remuneration, particularly in emerging capital and financial market. This study, involving 120 Malaysian public listed companies, aims to examine this association. The study employs descriptive analysis, Pearson＇s correlation test and multivariate stepwise statistical technique. The result of the study indicates that there is a positive relationship between directors＇ remuneration with board executive committee, remuneration committee, nomination committee and corporate governance committee. The result also indicates negative relationship between directors＇ remuneration with employees share option scheme committee. However, all these associations are not significant, except ownership structure that is used as a control variable. This result prompts a need to reexamine the effectiveness of corporate governance practice through establishment of board committee in determining directors＇ remuneration.

The Effect of the Board of Directors and Audit Quality on Disclosure of Internal Control Practices: Evidence from European Companies

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the board of directors,namely board size,board independence,and CEO duality,as well as audit quality on the disclosure of internal control information.The sample consists of 164 European companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600.Based on positive agency theory,the authors posit that board of directors and audit quality influence corporate internal control disclosure practice.The content analysis and the design of the evaluation criterion were used to calculate the disclosure index of internal control.Thus,multiple regression analysis is utilized to analyze the results of this paper.The average internal control information disclosure index was 0.285,indicating that most of the companies in our sample do not disclose enough information about the internal control.This low level of forward-looking information disclosure makes it very difficult for corporate stakeholders to determine the future performance of the company.Multivariate results indicate that internal control disclosure is positively and significantly associated with board independence,CEO duality,and audit quality.This study contributes to the literature on the various governance characteristics and disclosure by showing that the disclosure of internal control information in European countries is positively and significantly associated with board independence,separation of duties,and audit quality.Our study was based on a sample of European companies including countries regulating IC disclosure as well as unregulated settings.As noted by Bedard and Graham(2014),regulatory differences in countries can contribute insights on the costs and benefits of disclosure.Findings also have policy implications for investors,managers,and regulators.

Directors＇ Board Characteristics and Audit Quality： Evidence From Belgium

This study investigates the relationship between board characteristics and external audit quality on a sample of 97 Belgian listed companies during the period 2003-2007. Board characteristics proxies are the composition of the board, its independence, its structure in terms of duality or independence and its diligence. Our results are consistent with board independence and size being complements with external audit, rather than substitutes

Board of Directors, Independent Directors and Audit Fees： Based on the Empirical Data of the GEM of China

As one of the alternative variables of audit quality, audit fees have been researched widely in the Mainboard of China stock market, but empirical research based on the GEM （Growth Enterprise Market） of China is very few. From the perspective of GEM of China, this article observes and studies the impact of corporate governance structure represented by board of directors and independent directors on audit fees. This article selects the data of 348 listed companies in the GEM of China in 2012, proves that there is a positive correlation between the number of meetings, independent directors＇ salaries and audit fees through the use of multiple linear regression model, and accordingly proposed suggestions that improve the corporate governance structure of the GEM of China.

Analysis of Boards of Directors of Listed Companies --Empirical Evidence from China Stock Market

Since stock markets came forth in China only about 15 years ago, there are many different characteristics of Chinese listed companies compared with those of western. According to the regulation on Chinese security markets, an effective internal governance system is composed of systems of general meeting of shareholders, board of directors, board of supervisors and managers. The general meeting of shareholders, as the highest agency of power, makes decisions on important affairs of the company and one of its most important rights is to select qualified members for the board of directors. Board of directors exercises the resolution made by general meeting of shareholders and fulfil the responsibilities authorized by general meeting of shareholder during adjournment. Among the system arrangements above-mentioned, board of directors is the most important. However, the efficiency of internal governing system of the whole company depends on board of directors. Combined with ownership structure analysis, this paper analyses the status quo of boards of directors in China and demonstrates every attribute of Chinese listed companies＇ board of directors.

An Empirical Research on the Relationship between Board of Directors Governance and Corporate Performance of Chinese Public Companies

Board of directors is an important component part of corporate governance. As a governance mechanism, we empirically study relationship among the scale of the board of directors, the structure of the board of directors and the duality leadership structure with corporate performance in Chinese public companies. The result shows that the smaller scale of the board of the directors is, the better performance is. With the ownership structure changing better, the structure of the board of directors will change better and promote the performance. The duality leadership structure doesn＇t affect the corporate performance. The fundamental method for the governance effectiveness of the board is to set up the reasonable ownership structure and the marketing mechanism for occurrences in human .

A Study of the Role of the Board of Directors in Corporate Governance Based on UK Listed Companies

Companies are directed and controlled by corporate governance.It acts on the company internally and externally.The board of directors is responsible for the governance of the company;that is to say,the board of directors is the brain of the company,while corporate governance is the blood distributed throughout the company,which not only supplies blood to the whole,but also reflects the situation.Therefore,with regard to the role of the board of directors in corporate governance,this paper objectively analyzes the importance of the board of directors in corporate governance from theory to practice and from the internal composition of the board of directors to the impact of the board’s actions on the enterprise as a whole based on United Kingdom(UK)listed companies.

Impact of Multiple Directorships on Performance for Companies Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange （JSE）

The study investigates the plausible link between multiple directorships and company performance for Johannesburg Stock Exchange （JSE） listed companies in South Africa. This study also interrogates whether companies with busy boards perform better or worse than non over-boarded companies. The incidence of multiple directorship on JSE is low, therefore the hypothesis is rejected at 5%. Over-boarded company directors attend significantly less board meetings. The Pearson correlation between connectedness and log-transformed financial ratios is not significant between all the six financial ratios. The study finds no difference in performance between over-boarded and non over-boarded companies, and no association between multiple directorships and company performance.

Board Effectiveness in Pharmaceutical Industry： The Case of TAPIC Pharmaceutical Group

Pharmaceutical industry plays a strategic role in economy of Iran. Corporate governance, in pharmaceutical companies as the very core of an organization, and the driving force of corporate leadership, plays a significant role in business success and overall productivity of the firms. As yet, the characteristics, factors causing success and failure of core governance in Iranian pharmaceutical industry have remained unsearched. Furthermore, the applicability of western theories and models to the traditional societies such as Iran are largely unknown. This study is an attempt to explore the pattern of board effectiveness and firm performance in Iranian pharmaceutical industry and suggesting an alternative good governance model suitable to apply to less developed countries （LDC） pharmaceutical industry, with emphasis on Iranian context. After An intensive literature review the model suggested by Ingley and Van der Walt （2001） was found to be more comprehensive, practical and suitable for this study. However, after empirical evaluation further development to the model to fit the pharmaceutical industry and the context of LDCs, especially Iran, is suggested. Empirically the paper stands upon a rich database consisting of Tamin Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Investment Company （TAPIC） and its 11 subsidiary companies which are treated as 11 mini-cases. Data were collected by document analysis, questionnaire and interviews. Since two of the authors have many years experience as managers in the same industrial group, we got access to rich information that normally are not accessible to researchers in less developed countries. The results suggest some improvements to the earlier models and show that the pattern of board effectiveness in Iranian pharmaceutical industry can be influenced by： （1） Internal factors including： （a） board members, the personality and background, （b） board composition, which is influenced by selection criteria, Tribalism, interpersonal relationship and belonging to the same ideological group, （c） board interactions, and （d） power distribution in the board, which is influenced by parenting power in holding companies. All internal factors are directly or indirectly affected by political issues as well as socio-cultural forces. （2） External factors including： （a） industrial complexity and the nature of industry, （b） industrial ethos, （c） legislation, and political forces, （d） economy, which the last two factors are influenced by international environment as well.

Board Characteristics and Firm Performance

Based on agency theory, the importance of corporate governance is to reduce agency conflicts between those who control and those who own the residual claims in a firm. In other words, corporate governance as a mechanism helps to align management＇s goals with those of the stakeholders that are to increase firm performance. Since, the value creation of corporate governance can be measured through the firm performance; the aim of this study is to answer this question： ＂is there any relationship between corporate governance and firm performance？＂ Therefore, the four board characteristics that are of interest in this study are board independency, CEO duality, ownership structure, and board size. Based on a randomly selected sample of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia and applying the linear multiple regression as the underlying statistical tests, it is found that CEO duality has a negative relationship with firm performance---Return on Equity （ROE） and Return on Asset （ROA）, but there is no significant relationship among board independency, board size, and ownership structure as independent variables and firm performance as dependent variable.

Board Characterstics and Capital Structure： An Empirical Study on China＇s Private Listed Companies

Board of directors is one of the important parts of the corporate internal governance mechanism. Using panel data from 144 China＇s private listed companies during 2001-2003, this paper empirically studies the relationship between board characteristics and capital structure with the methods of pooled OLS, first-order difference model and fixed ,effect model.

Professional Board Members and Firm＇s Performance

This paper explores the connection between company director membership of a professional institute of directors and the financial performance of their companies. Prior research has established links between various governance variables and financial performance, and this study extends this work to the realm of professional directors. It is timely in New Zealand to ask whether directors need to be members of a professional body as the financial markets authority is now prosecuting directors of failed companies and has promulgated new regulations concerning the offering of financial advice. Would directors who are bound by an ethics code and committed to ongoing professional development be good for shareholders？ The issue whether membership enhances financial performance is addressed in this paper. An ordinary least square regression was employed and a statistically significant positive relationship among boards that had institute of director （IOD） members and financial performance was found.

Fifth Definition for Strategic HRM:HRM Involvement

This study aims to contribute to development of SHRM field.Because personnel management and human resource management are in practice by firms,however,firms do not apply strategic HRM yet.There are four definitions of SHRM so far.This study presents a new approach for the development of the field.It is HRM involvement.HRM involvement is related to appointment of managers and board of directors.Because board of directors appoints managers in firms,HR must be member of board of directors.Because managers achieve firm performance(market share and profit),and Board of Directors appoints managers.Therefore,HRM manager must be involved with board of directors to affect appointments.This study uses semantic content analysis and systematic review methods as a research methodology.To conclude,organizations may apply strategic HRM through strategic HR Directors at top level,appointment of C-level Executives and HRM involvement.

Tracing back to the source: Understanding the corporate governance of boards of directors in Chinese SOEs

Based on the relevant theories of corporate governance and the special institutional background of Chinese state-owned enterprises(SOEs),this paper systematically reviews the literature on the independence and governance effect of SOE boards.We find that the governance effect of SOE boards is driven by the dual characteristics of SOEs:state involvement in ownership and market incentives.With the state involved in ownership,SOEs adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China(CPC),which results in an enhanced governance effect.Under market incentives,SOEs tend to have an optimal board structure that helps mitigate both the shareholder–management agency problem(Type I agency problem)and the controlling shareholder–minority shareholder agency problem(Type II agency problem).In terms of the governance effect of boards,directors appointed by non-controlling shareholders are effective in alleviating Type I and Type II agency problems,and this highlights the importance of mixed-ownership reforms in SOEs.Independent directors,especially those with a professional background,also play a role in improving corporate governance.However,independent directors in SOEs have relatively weak incentives to monitor,which limits their governance effect.This paper shows positive implications for promoting mixed-ownership reforms and improving board governance in SOEs.

Women on boards of directors and corporate philanthropic disaster response

In this study we conduct firm-level analysis of the impact of women in the boardroom on corporate philanthropic disaster response(CPDR).We propose that CPDR contains agency costs and that female directors are more likely to restrain the associated agency costs of CPDR.We predict a negative relationship between the ratio of women on boards of directors(WoBs) and philanthropic contribution,which is weaker in firms with political connections and stronger in firms with better-developed institutional environments.Data was collected from the philanthropic responses to the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12,2008 of privately-owned listed Chinese firms.The results support the hypothesized negative relationship,which is found to be weaker in firms with political connections.However,marketization-related factors do not significantly moderate this relationship.These results indicate that CPDR contains agency costs and that female directors do not facilitate the corporate donation process,but rather evaluate the benefits and restrain the associated agency costs.

The effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia

This study investigates the effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia using a sample of 164 companies listed on the Main Board in Bursa Malaysia from 5 different industries （consumer, trading ＆ services, industrial, constructions and properties） within 2001 to 2005. Throughout, this study will use correlation and regression analysis in the SPSS software to determine the effects of corporate governance practices on Market Valuation. In analyzing firms＇ market valuation, we will use the Tobin＇s Q formula and for the corporate governance compliance, we will look at 4 criteria to compare with market valuation, which are （1） Board of Director＇s composition, （2） Board of Director＇s remuneration （salaries）, （3） Board of Director＇s training and development, （4） Board of Director＇s meeting. In order to determine the effects between the corporate governance compliance and market valuation, we will use regression analysis. Based on the correlation analysis, the first null hypothesis must be rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted, in which dependent variable and independent variables are significantly correlated with BOD remuneration and BOD training availability. Overall, there is a significant relationship between Tobin＇s Q and independent variables （BOD remuneration and BOD training）. This study also recommends that for the company who did not comply with the code, they should follow the best practice because it will be a pivotal weapon in facing with the fierce competition in era globalization.

Governance Structure, Surplus Free Cash Flow （SFCF）, and Earnings Quality： Evidence From Malaysia＊

Prior researches focus mainly on the relationship between governance structure and earnings quality. Unlike the previous researches, this study attempts to empirically examine the role of surplus free cash flow （SFCF） as a moderator in the relationship with the new requirements of Malaysian code on corporate governance （MCCG）. By using the estimated generalized least square （EGLS） upon a sample of Malaysian firms, the results show that firms with an independent chairman experience persistent earnings numbers. The results also demonstrate that the current earnings of finns with small boards and independent audit committee members are more likely to persist in the future, when SFCF is high. However, in contradiction to the authors＇ expectation is the significant, but negative and interactive effect of current earnings and audit committee competence on earnings persistence. The findings, though disappointing, suggest investors to consider both the governance structure and free cash flow （FCF） agency problem when evaluating the sustainability of firms＇ earnings. They also call for more independent directors, effective meetings, and more competent audit committee members.