IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/corgov/v16y2008i5p386-399.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Governance Regimes and Nationality Diversity in Corporate Boards: A Comparative Study of Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Kees Van Veen
  • Janine Elbertsen

Abstract

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question: In this study, the level of nationality diversity of a corporate board is seen as directly dependent on the governance regime of the country of origin of the company. Therefore, to what extent can differences in nationality diversity in corporate boards be explained by structural differences in governance regimes in different countries? Research Findings: A number of hypotheses about the level of nationality diversity in company boards in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK have been derived. These have been tested and confirmed to a large extent. Governance regime effects are strong, even when controlled for the most relevant company effects. Theoretical Implications: For the first time, the explanation of nationality diversity has been directly connected to the characteristics of a country's governance regime. Additionally, the relative strength of competing country and company forces was discussed and tested. Policy Implications: This study shows how the increase in the diversity of nationalities on corporate boards, as result of global economic forces, are translated through national institutions. On a company level, this implies that the governance regime of a company's country of origin might be either an asset or a liability. It also shows the importance of national‐level institutions when it comes to the ways global economic forces exercise a differentiating effect on the board composition of large multinational enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Kees Van Veen & Janine Elbertsen, 2008. "Governance Regimes and Nationality Diversity in Corporate Boards: A Comparative Study of Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 386-399, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:corgov:v:16:y:2008:i:5:p:386-399
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8683.2008.00698.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2008.00698.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2008.00698.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Gillies & Mark Dickinson, 1999. "The Governance of Transnational Firms: some preliminary hypotheses," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 237-247, July.
    2. Winfried Ruigrok & Simon Peck & Sabina Tacheva, 2007. "Nationality and Gender Diversity on Swiss Corporate Boards," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(4), pages 546-557, July.
    3. Karel Lannoo, 1999. "A European Perspective on Corporate Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 269-294, June.
    4. Jones, Geoffrey, 2005. "Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199269433.
    5. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    6. Hans van Ees & Theo J.B.M. Postma & Elmer Sterken, 2003. "Board Characteristics and Corporate Performance in the Netherlands," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 41-58, Winter.
    7. Heijltjes, Mariëlle & Olie, René & Glunk, Ursula, 2003. "Internationalization of Top Management Teams in Europe," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 89-97, February.
    8. Nicholas Athanassiou & Douglas Nigh, 2000. "Internationalization, Tacit Knowledge and the Top Management Teams of MNCs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(3), pages 471-487, September.
    9. van Veen, Kees & Marsman, Ilse, 2008. "How international are executive boards of European MNCs? Nationality diversity in 15 European countries," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 188-198, June.
    10. Whittington, Richard & Mayer, Michael, 2000. "The European Corporation: Strategy, Structure, and Social Science," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199242085.
    11. Shaker A. Zahra & Igor Filatotchev, 2004. "Governance of the Entrepreneurial Threshold Firm: A Knowledge‐based Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 885-897, July.
    12. Christel Lane, 2003. "Changes in corporate governance of German corporations: convergence to the Anglo-American model?," Working Papers wp259, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    13. repec:ucp:bkecon:9789053569733 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tulung, Joy Elly & Ramdani, Dendi, 2015. "The Influence of Top Management Team Characteristics on BPD Performance," MPRA Paper 79906, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    2. Peter J Baldacchino & Jean Paul Abela & Norbert Tabone & Simon Grima, 2021. "Board of Director Diversity and Its Corporate Governance Implications in Maltese Equity-Listed Companies," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 11(4), pages 37-65.
    3. Szymon Kaczmarek, 2017. "Rethinking board diversity with the behavioural theory of corporate governance: opportunities and challenges for advances in theorising," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(4), pages 879-906, December.
    4. Stefan Schmid & Tobias Dauth, 2012. "Internationale Diversität im Top-Management — Eine empirische Analyse der DAX-30-Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 64(7), pages 772-802, November.
    5. Ravasi, Claudio, 2013. "Les top managers internationaux des grandes entreprises suisses: profils et parcours de carrière," FSES Working Papers 445, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    6. Kravchenko Grygorii, 2021. "International Experts’ Influence on Company Internationalization," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(4), pages 57-90, December.
    7. Adams, Mike & Baker, Paul L., 2021. "Does boardroom nationality affect the performance of UK insurers?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    8. van Veen, Kees & Sahib, Padma Rao & Aangeenbrug, Evelien, 2014. "Where do international board members come from? Country-level antecedents of international board member selection in European boards," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 407-417.
    9. Ponomareva, Yuliya & Uman, Timur & Bodolica, Virginia & Wennberg, Karl, 2022. "Cultural diversity in top management teams: Review and agenda for future research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(4).
    10. Bernard P.A. Santen & Auke de Bos, 2015. "The Effects of Legal Measures to Empower Supervisory Directors: Evidence from a Financial Distress Perspective," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 6(1), pages 45-61, February.
    11. Szymon Kaczmarek & Richard Nyuur, 2022. "The implications of board nationality and gender diversity: evidence from a qualitative comparative analysis," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(3), pages 707-733, September.
    12. Schmid, Stefan & Roedder, Felix, 2021. "Gaijin invasion? A resource dependence perspective on foreign ownership and foreign directors," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    13. Dalilawati Zainal & Norhayah Zulkifli & Zakiah Saleh, 2013. "Corporate Board Diversity in Malaysia: A Longitudinal Analysis of Gender and Nationality Diversity," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 136-148, January.
    14. Szymon Kaczmarek & Winfried Ruigrok, 2013. "In at the Deep End of Firm Internationalization," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 513-534, August.
    15. Du, Xingqiang & Jian, Wei & Lai, Shaojuan, 2017. "Do Foreign Directors Mitigate Earnings Management? Evidence From China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 142-177.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefan Schmid & Tobias Dauth, 2012. "Internationale Diversität im Top-Management — Eine empirische Analyse der DAX-30-Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 64(7), pages 772-802, November.
    2. Szymon Kaczmarek & Winfried Ruigrok, 2013. "In at the Deep End of Firm Internationalization," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 513-534, August.
    3. Greve, Peder & Biemann, Torsten & Ruigrok, Winfried, 2015. "Foreign executive appointments: A multilevel examination," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 674-686.
    4. Sabina Nielsen, 2010. "Top Management Team Internationalization and Firm Performance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 185-206, April.
    5. Oxelheim, Lars & Randoy, Trond, 2003. "The impact of foreign board membership on firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2369-2392, December.
    6. Dalilawati Zainal & Norhayah Zulkifli & Zakiah Saleh, 2013. "Corporate Board Diversity in Malaysia: A Longitudinal Analysis of Gender and Nationality Diversity," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 136-148, January.
    7. Davoine, Eric & Ravasi, Claudio, 2013. "The relative stability of national career patterns in European top management careers in the age of globalisation: A comparative study in France/Germany/Great Britain and Switzerland," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 152-163.
    8. Florence Villesèche & Evis Sinani, 2023. "From Presence to Influence: Gender, Nationality and Network Centrality of Corporate Directors," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(2), pages 486-504, April.
    9. Szymon Kaczmarek & Richard Nyuur, 2022. "The implications of board nationality and gender diversity: evidence from a qualitative comparative analysis," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(3), pages 707-733, September.
    10. Mehdi Nekhili & Hayette Gatfaoui, 2013. "Are Demographic Attributes and Firm Characteristics Drivers of Gender Diversity? Investigating Women’s Positions on French Boards of Directors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 227-249, December.
    11. Du, Yan & Deloof, Marc & Jorissen, Ann, 2015. "The Roles of Subsidiary Boards in Multinational Enterprises," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 169-181.
    12. Mike Burkart & Samuel Lee, 2008. "One Share - One Vote: the Theory," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 12(1), pages 1-49.
    13. Oxelheim, Lars & Gregori, Aleksandra & Randøy, Trond & Thomsen, Steen, 2013. "On the Internationalization of Corporate Boards," Working Paper Series 951, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    14. Gull, Ammar Ali & Nekhili, Mehdi & Nagati, Haithem & Chtioui, Tawhid, 2018. "Beyond gender diversity: How specific attributes of female directors affect earnings management," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 255-274.
    15. Adegbite, Emmanuel & Amaeshi, Kenneth & Nakajima, Chizu, 2013. "Multiple influences on corporate governance practice in Nigeria: Agents, strategies and implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 524-538.
    16. Luigi Lepore & Francesco Paolone & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2018. "Ownership structure, investors’ protection and corporate valuation: the effect of judicial system efficiency in family and non-family firms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(4), pages 829-862, December.
    17. Jianjun Zhang & Hao Ma, 2009. "Adoption of professional management in Chinese family business: A multilevel analysis of impetuses and impediments," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 119-139, March.
    18. Georgakakis, Dimitrios & Dauth, Tobias & Ruigrok, Winfried, 2016. "Too much of a good thing: Does international experience variety accelerate or delay executives’ career advancement?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 425-437.
    19. Michael N. Young & Mike W. Peng & David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton & Yi Jiang, 2008. "Corporate Governance in Emerging Economies: A Review of the Principal–Principal Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 196-220, January.
    20. Muellner, Jakob & Klopf, Patricia & Nell, Phillip C., 2017. "Trojan Horses or Local Allies: Host-country National Managers in Developing Market Subsidiaries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 306-325.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:corgov:v:16:y:2008:i:5:p:386-399. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0964-8410&site=1 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.