A Moderated Mediation Model for Board Diversity and Corporate Performance in ASEAN Countries

Abstract

Despite the major investigations in prior studies for direct links among board diversity and corporate performance, the literature has not covered many indirect associations among them. This article analyzes the association between board diversity (gender and foreigner) and corporate performance by focusing on the mediating role of corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR) and the moderated mediation role of South East Asian (ASEAN) countries through new institutional theory, which consists of legitimacy and institutional theories. According to a sample of 264 corporates from all industries by using GRI G3 guideline from 2011 to 2013, we found that foreign and gender diversity have partial and full mediation effects in ASEAN countries. The main conclusion of the current article indicates that board diversity affects directly with corporate performance and indirectly with CSRR through moderated path analysis. The implications are valuable for academics, managers, and policy makers who are interested to determine the impact of intervening variables on the board diversity and corporate performance relationship in ASEAN countries.

Financial performance under board gender diversity: The mediating effect of corporate social practices

“…His findings largely support the proposition that the link between gender diversity on boards and firms' financial performance is indirect and mediated by CSP, which serves as a means of responding to stakeholders' needs and interests. Moreover, E‐Vahdati et al (2018) studied the indirect relationship between board diversity, defined as gender diversity and foreign director representation, and the performance of firms from the Association of Southeast Asian Countries. They emphasise that the disclosure of information about CSR per the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines plays a mediating role in the relationship between the proportion of women on boards and the firms' financial performance.…”

“…More specifically, Galbreath (2018) offers evidence of an indirect effect between board gender diversity and financial performance through the mediating role of CSR. Furthermore, E‐Vahdati et al (2018) have investigated the relationship between board diversity (gender and foreignness) and corporate performance by focusing on the mediating role of CSR reporting.…”

Gender makes the difference: the moderating role of gender on the relationship between management structure and performance in banking

“…A study in emerging markets explains that gender diversity affects corporate performance directly and indirectly through social responsibility. These interactions could be additionally moderated by cultural effects (E-Vahdati et al , 2018). The interaction is further confirmed in developed economies, indicating that the effect was full and not partial (Galbreath, 2018).…”

Reaching Sustainable Financial Health: Gender Differences in Risk-Taking Patterns of Financially Excluded People

“…Also, if a group is mainly composed of females, individuals in the group tend not to delay their loan payments [21]. Another line of studies has reported that the presence of females on the board positively affects a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) rating and performance [22,23].…”