Forthcoming
Journal of Risk Finance 20102 ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dividend policy and share price changes in the UK stock market. Following Baskin (1989) and Allen and Rachim (1996), we use a multiple regression analyses to explore the association between share price changes and both dividend yield and dividend payout ratio.
Methodology:
Findings:We find a positive relationship between dividend yield and stock price changes and a negative relationship between dividend payout ratio and stock price changes. In addition, our results show that firm's growth rate, debt level, size and earnings explain stock price changes.
Practical implications:The study supports the fact that dividend policy is relevant in determining share price changes for a sample of firms listed in the London Stock Exchange. The challenge for managements/accountants is to generally improve the quality of the financial statements (i.e. income statement) to avoid producing wrong information which could lead to wrong decisions by investors.
Originality:To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to show that corporate dividend policy is a key driver of stock prices changes in the UK.
This paper considers the effects of female representation and the proportion of female representation on corporate boards and audit committees on financial performance in an African context where institutions are weak. Employing a panel of 77 firms, our results show that female board representation exerts a positive and significant influence on firm financial performance. The study also finds that the performance effect of gender diversity is stronger for firms with two or more female directors, suggesting that building a critical mass of female representation enhances firm financial performance. Further analysis indicates that the inclusion of females on the audit committee appears to have a positive impact on firm financial performance. Our results are robust after controlling for endogeneity and the use of alternative measures of board gender diversity.
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) on firm performance and the moderating role of corporate governance on the CSRD–firm performance relationship of listed companies in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a panel data set comprising 841 firm-year observations for the period covering 2007-2016. Fixed effect regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CSRD and firm performance, and the moderating role of corporate governance in the CSRD–firm performance relationship.
Findings
The results of the study show that there are positive performance implications for firms that engage in CSRD. Although this study finds no effect of board size on the CSRD–firm performance relationship, it provides a strong evidence of a positive effect of board independence on the CSR–firm performance relationship.
Practical implications
The study contributes to the understanding of CSRD–firm performance relationship by providing evidence of the moderating role of corporate governance. It is, therefore, recommended that a stronger regulation be put in place for CSR engagement and the disclosure of same in Nigeria as well as robust measures for the enforcement of corporate governance mechanisms because there are economic benefits to be derived.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the literature by providing up-to-date and original insights on the CSRD–firm performance relationship within a developing country context. It also uses an uncommon method of measuring CSRD, taking into account the institutional biases that may arise from other methods used in studies on developed countries.
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