IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/fbbsrw/v12y2023i1p100-108.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Board Quality and Promoters’ Holdings Affect Firm Performance? Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Shweta Mehrotra
  • Birajit Mohanty
  • Tanushree Sharma

Abstract

Unlike large businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), being a key growth driver in accomplishing immeasurable socio-economic objectives, possess different governance structures and face unique governance issues. Through the agency perspective, this research endeavours to pore over how the quality of their board affects the performance of SMEs in India. A regression model was run applying heteroscedasticity robust standard errors (RSE) on a sample of 68 BSE-listed SMEs for the period from 2013–2014 to 2017–2018. The results of the regression of the performance of the SMEs against their board attributes showed the prominent contribution of high promoters’ shareholding, signifying that SMEs with a highly concentrated ownership structure demonstrate better performance. Firm leverage and firm performance were shown to have a positive and significant relationship with each other, suggesting that levered firms display substantially better performance. On the other hand, it was found that increasing the number of independent directors and female directors does not necessarily result in improved firm performance. This finding suggests that tokenism, that is, appointing independent directors and female directors merely to comply with norms but not in true spirit, can reduce a firm’s performance. This research effort contributes to the literature constructively through explaining the linkage between board quality and the performance of SMEs, particularly in the Indian context, and has implications for the escalation of governance standards through bringing more clarity to and streamline policy and disclosure.

Suggested Citation

  • Shweta Mehrotra & Birajit Mohanty & Tanushree Sharma, 2023. "Do Board Quality and Promoters’ Holdings Affect Firm Performance? Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(1), pages 100-108, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:fbbsrw:v:12:y:2023:i:1:p:100-108
    DOI: 10.1177/2319714520980286
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2319714520980286
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2319714520980286?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. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 2000. "Investor protection and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-27.
    2. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    3. Yi Wang & Bob Clift, 2009. "Is there a “business case” for board diversity?," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(2), pages 88-103, September.
    4. Jayati Sarkar & Subrata Sarkar, 2000. "Large Shareholder Activism in Corporate Governance in Developing Countries: Evidence from India," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 1(3), pages 161-194, September.
    5. Daily, Catherine M. & Dalton, Dan R., 1992. "The relationship between governance structure and corporate performance in entrepreneurial firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 375-386, September.
    6. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    7. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2011. "Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 635-639, May.
    8. Raheja, Charu G., 2005. "Determinants of Board Size and Composition: A Theory of Corporate Boards," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 283-306, June.
    9. Lins, Karl V., 2003. "Equity Ownership and Firm Value in Emerging Markets," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 159-184, March.
    10. Bonn, Ingrid, 2004. "Board Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 14-24, January.
    11. Marinko Škare & Tea Hasić, 2016. "Corporate governance, firm performance, and economic growth -- theoretical analysis," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 35-51, February.
    12. Low, Daniel C.M. & Roberts, Helen & Whiting, Rosalind H., 2015. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: Empirical evidence from Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 381-401.
    13. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, September.
    14. Jonas Gabrielsson & Morten Huse, 2004. "Context, Behavior, and Evolution: Challenges in Research on Boards and Governance," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 11-36, January.
    15. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    16. Sarkar, Jayati & Sarkar, Subrata, 2009. "Multiple board appointments and firm performance in emerging economies: Evidence from India," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 271-293, April.
    17. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 1991. "The Effects of Board Composition and Direct Incentives on Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 20(4), Winter.
    18. Nermeen Shehata & Ahmed Salhin & Moataz El-Helaly, 2017. "Board diversity and firm performance: evidence from the U.K. SMEs," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(48), pages 4817-4832, October.
    19. Jayesh Kumar, 2004. "Does Corporate Governance Influence Firm Value? Evidence from Indian Firms," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 9(2), pages 61-92, Summer.
    20. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    21. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Jaana Lappalainen & Mervi Niskanen, 2009. "Does Board Composition and Ownership Structure Affect Firm Growth? Evidence from Finnish SMEs," Research in Economics and Business: Central and Eastern Europe, Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, vol. 1(1).
    23. Dechun Wang, 2006. "Founding Family Ownership and Earnings Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 619-656, June.
    24. Caspar Rose, 2007. "Does female board representation influence firm performance? The Danish evidence," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 404-413, March.
    25. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2011. "Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, pages 635-639.
    26. Henriette Scholtz & Suzanne Kieviet, 2018. "The Influence Of Board Diversity On Company Performance Of South African Companies," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 105-123, January.
    27. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Sheeba Kapil & Rakesh K Mishra, 2019. "Corporate Governance structure and firm performance in Indian context: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Working Papers 1937, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    2. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, July.
    3. Amitava Roy, 2014. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: An Exploratory Analysis of Indian Listed Companies," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 3(1-2), pages 93-120, June.
    4. Isabel-María García-Sánchez, 2010. "The effectiveness of corporate governance: board structure and business technical efficiency in Spain," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(3), pages 311-339, September.
    5. Le, Quyen & Vafaei, Alireza & Ahmed, Kamran & Kutubi, Shawgat, 2022. "Independent directors' reputation incentives and firm performance – an Australian perspective," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Ahmed Abousamak, 2016. "Principal-principal internal governance mechanisms and the firms' performance: evidence from an emerging market," International Journal of Economics and Business Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(2), pages 145-169.
    7. Muhammad Imran Nazir & Muhammad Zulfiqar & Muhammad Bilal Saeed & Yasir Habib, 2016. "The Influence of Board Characteristics on Shareholders Assessment of Risk for Small and Large Firms: Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 596-606.
    8. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    9. Mertzanis, Charilaos & Basuony, Mohamed A.K. & Mohamed, Ehab K.A., 2019. "Social institutions, corporate governance and firm-performance in the MENA region," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 75-96.
    10. Jean-Christophe Duhamel & Réda Sefsaf, 2017. "Valeur de la gouvernance d'entreprise et gouvernance des valeurs de l'entreprise. Recherche sur les effets des codes de gouvernance et les stratégies de communication en matière de gouvernance," Working Papers halshs-01633982, HAL.
    11. Chenglong Zheng & Roy Kouwenberg, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Global Research on Corporate Governance and Board Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, June.
    12. Panagiotis Staikouras & Christos Staikouras & Maria-Eleni Agoraki, 2007. "The effect of board size and composition on European bank performance," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-27, February.
    13. Aziz Jaafar & Lynn Hodgkinson & Mao-Feng Kao, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Board of Directors and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Working Papers 19011, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    14. Shkendije Himaj, 2014. "Corporate Governance in Banks and its Impact on Risk and Performance: Review of Literature on the Selected Governance Mechanisms," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 3(3), pages 53-85.
    15. Phillip C. James, 2020. "Understanding the Impact of Board Structure on Firm Performance: AComprehensive Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    16. Dahya, Jay & Dimitrov, Orlin & McConnell, John J., 2008. "Dominant shareholders, corporate boards, and corporate value: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 73-100, January.
    17. Phillip C. James, 2020. "Understanding the Impact of Board Structure on Firm Performance: AComprehensive Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    18. Andreou, Panayiotis C. & Louca, Christodoulos & Panayides, Photis M., 2014. "Corporate governance, financial management decisions and firm performance: Evidence from the maritime industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-78.
    19. Yuan George Shan, 2019. "Managerial ownership, board independence and firm performance," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(2), pages 203-220, July.
    20. Booth, James R. & Cornett, Marcia Millon & Tehranian, Hassan, 2002. "Boards of directors, ownership, and regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 1973-1996, October.

    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:sae:fbbsrw:v:12:y:2023:i:1:p:100-108. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.