Board of Directors Characteristics and Performance in Family Firms

23 Pages Posted: 19 May 2016

See all articles by Elisabete Simões Vieira

Elisabete Simões Vieira

Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administracao da Universidade de Aveiro (ISCA-UA)

Date Written: May 18, 2016

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between board of director characteristics and performance in family businesses, providing evidence on whether family firms differ from non-family ones and focusing also on the possibility of asymmetrical effects between periods of stability and economic adversity. To fulfill this objective, a sample of Portuguese listed firms was analysed for the 2002-2013 period, using a panel data approach. The results show that family firms are likely to have lower proportion of independent members and higher gender diversity on their boards than non-family firms. Family firms’ performance is positively related with ownership concentration and gender diversity. There are performance premiums for family businesses with more gender diversity relative to their counterparts. These effects also depend on whether the economy is in recession or not. The evidence suggests that the presence of women on board and the firms’ leverage and size impact more significantly on family firms’ performance in periods of economic adversity.

Keywords: Corporate governance, Board of directors, Performance, Family firms, Crisis

JEL Classification: G30, G32, C23

Suggested Citation

Vieira, Elisabete Fátima Simões, Board of Directors Characteristics and Performance in Family Firms (May 18, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2781467 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2781467

Elisabete Fátima Simões Vieira (Contact Author)

Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administracao da Universidade de Aveiro (ISCA-UA) ( email )

Aveiro
Portugal

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