Female directors in the boardroom and intellectual capital performance:Does the“critical mass”matter?

This research aims to investigate the influence of female directors on Intellectual Capital Performance(ICP)using a sample of manufacturing-listed companies in China.Our study investigates the link between having two or more female directors and the Modified Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient(MVAIC)methodology,employing the critical mass theory from 2004–2017.We find that having a critical mass of female directors(three or more)shows a significant positive impact on MVAIC and its components,including human capital efficiency,structural capital efficiency,relational capital efficiency,and physical capital efficiency,with physical capital being the critical driver.Our study reveals that the critical mass participation of female directors substantially influences the IC efficiency of privately owned companies compared to state-owned companies.Moreover,the number of female directors also affects the IC performance of manufacturing companies in multiple regions.Our findings support the validity of group classification identified by Kanter and Critical Mass Theory.To the best of our knowledge,this is one of the few pieces of research that studies the role of female board directors in IC performance and Chinese manufacturing firms using MVAIC as an IC measure.

Can Female Directors Enhance the Value of Private Firms？ Evidence from China＇s Listed Companies

Female directors have become common in private companies. Using data from private listed companies in China＇s A-share stock market from 2000 to 2009, this paper analyzes whether the existence of female directors can enhance firm value. Results show that female directors have a significantly positive impact on firm value. Moreover, female directors promote enterprise value less significantly in regions with better institutional environment, which implies that there is a substitution relationship between female directors and institutional environment. Furthermore, we use 2SLS （two-stage least squares） and LEVOP （lag the explanatory variables one period） to control endogeneity, and the research conclusion remains robust. Our study provides additional empirical evidence for economic consequence of female directors, and expands research on the relationship between board structure and firm value.

Female directors and real activities manipulation:Evidence from China

Unlike previous studies that focus on accrual-based earnings management, this study analyzes real activities manipulation and investigates whether female directors on boards of directors(Bo Ds) affect managers' real activities manipulation. Using a large sample of 11,831 firm-year observations from Chinese listed companies from the 2000 to 2011 period, we find that higher female participation on Bo Ds is associated with lower levels of real activities manipulation, and that this negative relationship is stronger when female directors have higher ownership. These results hold for a battery of robustness checks.Overall, our findings indicate that board gender diversity may serve as a substitute mechanism for corporate governance to curb real activities manipulation and thus provide interested stakeholders with higher quality earnings reports.