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CEO gender, firm performance and agency costs: evidence from India

Author

Listed:
  • Nemiraja Jadiyappa
  • Pavana Jyothi
  • Bhanu Sireesha
  • Leila Emily Hickman

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of CEO gender on the performance of Indian firms and to explain the economic channel for any such effect. Design/methodology/approach - Using a panel of 100 Indian firms, the authors test whether there is a significant difference in the performance – measured as return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) – of firms with male vs female CEOs, in both time and space dimensions, using the difference-in-differences approach. Findings - The average ROA of the sample firms decrease by about 10 percent after a female enters the CEO role. This negative result remains robust in both the time series as well as cross-sectional analyses. The decline is also observed when using ROE to measure performance. Further, the authors show that this negative effect is associated with an increase in agency costs that is observed following the appointment of a female CEO. Originality/value - Previous studies have produced mixed results regarding the effect of having a female CEO on firm performance, and the research to date has not explored the economic channel through which this effect occurs. In this study, the authors show that the decline in performance observed among Indian firms flows from an increase in agency costs under female management.

Suggested Citation

  • Nemiraja Jadiyappa & Pavana Jyothi & Bhanu Sireesha & Leila Emily Hickman, 2019. "CEO gender, firm performance and agency costs: evidence from India," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 482-495, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jespps:jes-08-2017-0238
    DOI: 10.1108/JES-08-2017-0238
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. María José Ibáñez & Felipe Vásquez Lavin & Roberto D. Ponce Oliva, 2023. "Female Underperformance Hypothesis Revisited: Methodological Review and Empirical Testing," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Shahid Ali & Muhammad Akram Naseem & Junfeng Jiang & Ramiz Ur Rehman & Fizzah Malik & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad, 2022. "“How†and “When†CEO Duality Matter? Case of a Developing Economy," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, August.
    3. Dah, Mustafa A. & Jizi, Mohammad I. & Kebbe, Reem, 2020. "CEO gender and managerial entrenchment," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    4. Paola Belingheri & Filippo Chiarello & Andrea Fronzetti Colladon & Paola Rovelli, 2021. "Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicatorr," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Jung-Fa Tsai & Phi-Hung Nguyen & Ming-Hua Lin & Duy-Van Nguyen & Hsu-Hao Lin & Anh-Tuan Ngo, 2021. "Impacts of Environmental Certificate and Pollution Abatement Equipment on SMEs’ Performance: An Empirical Case in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    6. Gema Gutierrez-Romero & Antonio Blanco-Oliver & Mª Teresa Montero-Romero & Mariano Carbonero-Ruz, 2021. "The Impact of CEOs’ Gender on Organisational Efficiency in the Public Sector: Evidence from the English NHS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    7. Veena L. Brown & Erica E. Harris, 2023. "The Association of Female Leaders with Donations and Operating Margin in Nonprofit Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 223-243, June.
    8. Hamelin, Anaïs & Lefebvre, Vivien & Weill, Laurent, 2022. "No debt no performance? CEO gender matters," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    9. , Aisdl, 2021. "The Impact of CEOs’ Gender on Organisational Efficiency in the Public Sector: Evidence from the English NHS," OSF Preprints mhcxv, Center for Open Science.
    10. Mihaela Curea & Marilena Mironiuc & Maria Carmen Huian, 2022. "Intangibles, Firm Performance, and CEO Characteristics: Spotlight on the EU Electricity and Gas Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm performance; Gender diversity; CEO gender; Women CEO; G14; G30; J16; L25;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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