This paper examines the role of the board of directors in influencing the value of Italian listed firms from 2003 to 2013. In particular, employing agency, stewardship and resource dependence theories, the study aims to compare board characteristics in family and non-family firms and define the theory that best applies to family firms. Empirical results show that the presence of CEO duality and busy directors has a positive effect on the value of family firms, while gender diversity has a negative impact on the value when a member of the family leads a family firm. Conversely, the size of the board positively affects the value of non-family firms. Our main findings suggest the prevalence, in family firms, of the benefits of the board structure argued by stewardship and resource dependence theories rather than the disadvantages expected from agency theory.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether the board of directors (BoD) diversity affect corporate social performance (CSP), an alternative measure of corporate performance based on social outcomes. The article distinguishes between a structural diversity of boards (proxied by director independence), and a demographic diversity in boards (proxied by gender diversity) and our concept of CSP. The sample is constituted of the firms listed to the FTSE‐MIB index, which comprehends the most Italian capitalized listed firms. The analysis, covering a ten‐year period (2010–2019), provides evidence that independent directors positively affect CSP and that gender has no effect on CSP. We also tested the association between BoD and CSP separately for family firms (FFs) and non‐family firms (NFFs) to investigate whether FF status is a contingent condition modifying the effect of board features on CSP. Our result provide evidence of it.

In this paper, we first build a multi-theoretical framework through which we hypothesise that the governance mechanisms of a board of directors, on the one hand, and the ownership structures of family and nonfamily firms, on the other, can have an impact on corporate environmental performances. We then test this hypothesis against a sample of 83 Italian listed firms, noting the characteristics of their governance and ownership structures over the five years from 2013 to 2017. We also take note of data from the firms’ Sustainability Reports on emissions of greenhouse gases over the 2014–2018 five-year period. The results we obtain support the prediction, made in line with the Agency-Theory perspective, that there is a positive relationship between board independence and the adoption of environmentally responsible practices. Only partial support emerges for the hypotheses, made in line with the Resource Dependence Theory, according to which better corporate environmental performances can be obtained by increasing the resource provision of board members. In particular, we discover a positive effect of a large-size board on corporate environmental performances, but no significant effect arising from the presence of interlocked board members. Finally, our study provides support for the theoretically-based hypothesis according to which the non-economic utility (socioemotional wealth) of family ownership makes family firms likely to have better environmental performances than non-family firms.

Purpose This paper aims to examine empirically the impact of gender diversity on corporate performance by both comparing different positions occupied by female directors on the boards and their personal-specific characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines a sample of Italian listed companies during 2006–2015. To deal with endogeneity issues, the authors use a generalized method of moments as an empirical methodology. Findings The empirical findings show that the positive effect of both independent and executive women directors on firm performance is moderated by the specific characteristics of female directors. Specifically, the analyses show that foreign and busy females negatively impact on performance. Conversely, graduate female directors strengthen the positive link between executive women and firm performance. Originality/value The paper sheds light on the consequences of appointing different types of female directors (i.e. independent, executive, graduate, foreign and busy) on firm performance. Our empirical research that investigates the association between gender diversity and performance in the Italian context based on a longitudinal study, which involves a period of ten years, allowing consideration both of the years before and after the introduction of the gender quota law (Golfo–Mosca law).

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