Assessing the role of diversity in corporate governance has attracted growing interest. In addition, significant relationships are expected between diversity dimensions and firm performance. This research aims to analyze the relationships between female presence in corporate board-firm financial performance and the extent to which such influence is moderated by family ownership. The study's sample, based on the listed firms on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), represents the nonfinancial sector from 2008 to 2019 with 2087 firm-year observations. Fixed-effect regression analysis was applied to examine the proposed hypothesis. The study's findings indicate that the presence of women in corporate governance is positively associated with firm financial performance. Simultaneously, the mentioned relationship is less pronounced when family ownership is a moderator. The empirical findings of the study support the argument that the presence of women in corporate boards is positively associated with financial performance and supports the reforms made by codes of corporate governance (CCG) that make the presence of female directors' mandatory on the corporate boards. Additionally, the study findings partially confirm that a higher proportion of women on the board increases firm performance. This study offers insights for policymakers to implement legislation for a diverse gender placement in the board of directors and exploit the potential benefits of the gender-balanced board, which generally improves firm performance.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of board gender diversity on agency costs in non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Design/methodology/approach Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the impact of board gender diversity on agency cost. The research used panel data consisting of 2,062 firm-year observations of 226 non-financial firms listed on the PSX from 2008 to 2019 to test the proposed hypothesis. In addition, the Blau and the Shannon indices were used to checking for robustness. Findings The results indicate that female presence on the board significantly reduces the agency cost and, hence, mitigates the principal-agent conflict. Moreover, consistent with the critical mass theory, it was found that boards with three or more female directors have a stronger impact on reducing the agency cost, as compared to two or fewer female directors on the board. Research limitations/implications The sample was restricted to non-financial firms listed on the PSX only; therefore, the results reflect the attributes of Pakistan’s business environment. A similar analysis in the context of other countries may generate different results. Practical implications The findings imply that female directors play an important role in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and managers by enhancing monitoring through effective governance mechanisms. The policymakers, therefore, should focus on female career development and encourage professional training programmes to generate a fair, competitive environment for senior female management. Originality/value This study attempts to fill the literature gap in that no similar study covers the non-financial firms’ listed firms in Pakistan. The paper supports the reforms made by the code of corporate governance by making the placement of female directors mandatory on Pakistani corporate boards. Overall, support is provided for the view that regulators should favour gender quotas regarding the composition of the board management team of listed firms to reduce agency conflicts and gain shareholder confidence.

This paper investigates the effect of corporate governance on capital structure, and moderating impact of board gender diversity on this nexus. Using a sample of 2062 firm-year observations of 226 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2008 to 2019, we have conducted multiple regression analysis, and found that larger and independent board positively affect firm leverage, whereas, the negative impact of CEO duality was observed on this relationship. Moreover, we found that gender diversity is associated with better corporate governance quality and positively impact firm’s leverage. Additionally, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation was applied for the robustness and the results obtained confirmed the main findings of the study. The study provides support for the mandatory placement of female directors on the corporate board by Code of Corporate Governance (CCG) regulations Pakistan, and needs for implementation of corporate governance mechanism in the listed firms to gain lender’s confidence.

PurposeThe rapid spread of COVID-19 has dramatic effects on financial market across the globe. This study analyzes the relationship between the COVID-19 cases, age and stock market indexes in Central America, North America, and South America.Design/methodology/approachThe panel regression analysis on three regions from March 10, 2020 to April 9, 2020 was conducted to test the hypothesized model. The authors used Levin et al.’s (2002) panel data unit root test to check the stationarity, and Hausman (1978) test was applied to determine the random and fixed effects.FindingsThe authors’ panel regression results indicate that the COVID-19 cases have a negative impact on stock indexes, whereas the age has a positive impact on the stock indexes. The region-wise analysis supports the panel finding except for South America, which shows an insignificant association between stock indexes and COVID-19 cases.Originality/valueThe study supplements the literature by examining the impact of pandemics on stock indexes and focus on three multicultural regions, comprising developed, developing and emerging countries, which are hitherto unaddressed.

This study tried to shed light on the relationship between strategic orientations and sustainable competitive performance with the mediating effect of strategic flexibility of family-owned SMEs in an emerging economy. This study is significant because family firms need a more flexible and quick organizational structure to respond effectively to external market demands. For achieving fruitful insights, data was collected from family-owned manufacturing firms operating in Islamabad and Rawalpindi verified from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). In addition, structured questionnaires were used to collect the data from top management through an online source; for testing the hypotheses, Smart PLS-SEM was deployed. The finding suggests that strategic flexibility firmly explains the mechanism to support the relationship between both strategic orientations (entrepreneurial and market) and sustainable competitive performance. Thus, our study suggests several recommendations to the policymaker and governmental bodies to support the family-owned firms in modifying existing resources according to the market demand.