Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it aims to investigate the dynamic impact of board composition (board size, board independence and board diversity) on independent corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices (marketplace, environment, community and workplace). Second, it tends to examine the mutual effect of board composition and CSR practices on organizational returns (return on assets and Tobin’s Q) of 631 Malaysian PLCs listed on Bursa Malaysia during 2006-2017. Design/methodology/approach The dynamic model (system GMM) provided by Arellano and Bond (1991) and Arellano and Bover (1995) is used for estimations that control for potential dynamic endogeneity, reverse causality, unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity problems. Findings Findings reveal weak linkage between board composition and CSR practices where only board diversity is found to be positively linked to marketplace practices of CSR. Further, the mutual impact of board composition and CSR practices on organizational returns suggests board size be positive and board independence to be negative with Tobin’s Q. Board diversity is negative with ROA and positive with Tobin’s Q. Conversely, CSR practices indicate marketplace practices are positive and community practices are negative with Tobin’s Q, environment practices are insignificant with performance, whereas workplace practices are positive with ROA and negative with Tobin’s Q. Practical implications This research is practically considerable for Bursa Malaysia, Securities Commission Malaysia, policymakers, stakeholders, investors and managers. For academia, the theoretical linkages between agency theory, resource dependence theory, resource-based view and stakeholder theory are highlighted. Moreover, methodological underpinnings are also novel for academicians as well as for practitioners. Originality/value The paper uncovers multiple aspects: first, it elaborates the dynamic relationship between board composition and CSR practices; second, it examines the combined effect of board composition and CSR practices on company’s accounting and market gains; finally, the study controls for dynamic endogeneity that is the main econometric problem for CG-CSR-performance relationships.

This article serves two purposes. First, it attempts to examine the joint impact of corporate governance mechanisms and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice on firm performance. Second, the moderating role of board independence is investigated on 588 non-financial Malaysian firms listed on Bursa Malaysia during the period 2006–2017. Both accounting-based return on assets (ROA) and market-based (Tobin’s Q) performance measures have been used for measuring performance. Dynamic model using Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) has been employed on the data set to control for potential endogeneity, reverse causality and dynamic heterogeneity. Findings indicate that ROA is a better determinant of firm performance than Tobin’s Q, where ownership concentration, managerial ownership and money spent on CSR negatively affect ROA; however, an insignificant relationship is observed with Tobin’s Q. Finally, board independence negatively moderates governance-CSR and firm performance relationship. Findings of this article have implications for Bursa Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia to reset the limit of independent directors on board so that their unnecessary interference in operations of management may be avoided. Furthermore, companies need to reassess their CSR strategies whether they are spending on CSR activities or hiding their financial malfeasance in the name of money spent on CSR.

The financial crises over the past two decades were identified as the main reason for the economic collapse. Malaysia suffered the same fate when many organisations crumpled from inappropriate compliance of governance mechanisms and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices. Given this condition, this study intends to examine the effects of governance mechanisms and CSR practice on firm performance and the moderating effect of board independence is investigated on corporate governance-CSR (CG-CSR) and performance nexus of 588 Malaysian companies listed on Bursa Malaysia between 2006 and 2017. Both accounting-based (ROA) and market-based (Tobin’s Q) performance measures have been used for measuring performance. Dynamic model using Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) has been employed on the dataset to control for potential endogeneity, reverse causality, and dynamic heterogeneity. Findings indicate that ownership concentration negatively affects ROA; chief executive officer (CEO) duality positively affects ROA and negatively affects Tobin’s Q. Moreover, investment on CSR is negatively related to both performance measures. Finally, board independence negatively moderates the CG mechanisms, CSR practice, and performance relationship. Findings of the study have implications for Bursa Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia to reset the limit of independent directors on board so that their unnecessary interference in operations of management may be avoided. Furthermore, companies need to reassess their CSR strategies whether they are spending on CSR activities or hiding their financial malfeasance in the name of investment on CSR.

This paper examines the impact of commodity prices (palm oil price, oil price, and gold price), interest rate, and exchange rate on the Malaysian stock market performance. Employing the bounds test approach, the results of the study showed cointegrating relationships among variables. Specifically, the results revealed a significant influence of palm oil price on the stock market index. However, no significant influence was observed for both the oil price and gold price. Interest rate and exchange rate showed significant influences, which are consistent with past empirical studies. One important policy implication from this study is that the authorities should also pay attention to the effect of commodity prices, in addition to macroeconomic variables, in implementing relevant polices, as they may have a negative impact on the Malaysian stock market.

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The prime objective of this study is to investigate the legitimate role of corporate boards and corporate social responsibility on the performance of Malaysian listed companies during 2006–2017. Elements of corporate boards include board size, board independence and board diversity, whereas corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions constitute marketplace, environment, community and workplace. Both accounting-based (return on assets [ROA], return on equity [ROE]) and market-based (earnings per share [EPS]) performance measures have been employed for measuring performance. Pooled ordinary least squares method (OLS) and multiple regressions are used to estimate the dataset. Findings reveal larger board size and higher board independence positively affect firm performance and significantly legitimise the board role in firms. However, the presence of women on Malaysian corporate boards does not legitimate the performance due to their lower percentage on board, hence insignificantly affecting firm value. Additionally, out of four CSR dimensions, only marketplace is positively and significantly related to EPS and negatively and significantly related to ROA. Conversely, environment, community and workplace are insignificantly related to all performance measures, leaving firms in a questionable legitimate state. This study embraces support from agency theory, resource dependence theory, legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory. However, this research raises questionable insights for regulatory bodies and academicians in the form of corporate legitimacy.

PurposeThis study serves two objectives; first, it examined the impact of ownership structure and board characteristics on firm value; second, the moderating effects of board gender diversity (women appearance on board) and board ethnic diversity (Chinese, Indian, and Foreign ethnicities) have been examined on the relationship between ownership structure, board characteristics, and firm value.Design/methodology/approachThe dynamic model, system generalized method of moments (S-GMM hereafter), is employed to control potential dynamic endogeneity, reverse causality, simultaneity and unobserved heterogeneity persistent in corporate governance-performance relationships during 2006–2017 of 483 Malaysian listed companies.FindingsFindings pertaining to objective one reveal that there is a weak linkage between ownership structure and firm value, whereas board characteristics significantly affect firm performance based on resource dependence theory. While considering the results of objective two, there is mixed evidence of moderating impact of board gender and ethnic diversity on ownership structure, board characteristics and performance nexus.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study are practically significant for regulatory bodies, namely, Bursa Malaysia, Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia, and policymakers to develop guidelines for ownership structure variables. Moreover, Malaysian firms need to disperse their concentrated ownership structure for enhanced firm value. In addition, board characteristics significantly affect firm performance in Malaysian listed companies.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to multiple aspects: first, it examined the impact of ownership structure and board characteristics on firm performance. Second, the moderating effect of board gender and board ethnic diversity contributes to research significant and valuable for the researchers and practitioners. Finally, the study employed S-GMM, controlling for dynamic endogeneity considered a main econometric problem for CG-performance relationships.

This study aims to examine the determinants of accounting-based performance of 531 non-financial Malaysian listed companies over the period 2004 to2012. System generalized method of moments reveals that both prior risk-taking behaviour and size are found to be important determinants of performance. A significant positive influence of prior risk-taking behaviour on performance implies that risk-averse managers are cognitively influenced by their capability in handling risky investments in the past; consequently enhance confidence in their ability to manage profitable investments. The result appears to support the capital asset pricing model implication. Meanwhile, a significant positive size-performance relationship suggests that investors and fund managers should focus on larger companies as they can have better stock performance. Keywords: Risk-Return Relationship; Reverse Size Effect; System-GMM