Chief Executive Officer (CEO) attributes and the value of quoted firms in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined relevant CEO attributes and their influence on the value of quoted firms by obtaining empirical evidence from listed non-financial service firms in Nigeria. Anchored on the study’s conceptual and theoretical framework, alongside the study’s postulated hypotheses, models were specified to guide the analytical procedure adopted. The data used in this study are secondary in nature and were collated from the financial statements of 67 sampled firms, that were drawn from a population of 107 firms quoted on the Nigerian Exchange as at 31st December, 2021. The data used in this study covered a period of 11 years and spanned from 2011 to 2021. Tobins’ Q was used as the proxy for the dependent variable (firm value), while the independent variable (CEO attributes) was measured using CEO gender, CEO nationality, CEO tenure and CEO ownership. In the course of this study, Economic value added was adopted as a moderating variable. The variables were however subjected to diagnostic tests (unit roots, multicollinearity, heteroscedasticity and Hausman tests respectively). The overall results revealed that CEO attributes (gender, nationality, tenure and ownership) significantly affects the value of quoted firms in Nigeria. This study thus recommends to corporate boards and relevant stakeholders to pay particular attention to these key attributes of CEO especially with respect to decisions relating to the appointment, replacement and tenure consideration of CEOs. Keywords: CEO Attributes, CEO Gender, CEO Nationality, CEO Tenure, CEO Ownership, Economic Value Added, Firm Value, Tobins’Q.