Boards and Sustainability: the Contingent Influence of Director Interlocks on Corporate Environmental Performance

This paper highlights the importance of a firm's board with respect to sustainability issues by analysing the relationship between director interlocks, i.e. directors who simultaneously belong to the boards of directors of several companies, and a firm's environmental performance. The previous literature has focused on the influence of firm‐level resources on corporate environmental performance. This study utilizes insights from a resource‐based view and research on social capital to demonstrate that the environmental performance of a firm is also influenced by the difficult‐to‐imitate capabilities that are embedded in the network relationships of its directors. Our results support a contingency perspective of the social capital theory that finds that director interlocks are positively connected with the environmental performance of a firm in two specific situations: (1) when the firm is linked to a larger parent company and (2) in cases of low and high levels of interlock diversity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Antecedents of New Director Social Capital

Prior research shows that firms benefit from the social capital of their boards of directors but has not explored the antecedents of new director social capital. We argue that firms can attract directors with social capital by offering more compensation. We also argue that more complex firms (firms with a greater scale and scope of operations) are more attractive to such directors because of the greater experience and exposure that such directorships provide. Similarly, we argue that firms with high‐status directors on their current boards will be more attractive to directors with social capital. We analyse the social capital of new outside directors added to boards of semiconductor firms between 1993 and 2007. Surprisingly, we find no support for the hypothesis that higher compensation is associated with adding directors with high status or board ties. However, firm complexity is associated with the ability to add new directors who have social capital, and the status of current board members is associated with the ability to add new directors who also have high status.     

Social Capital and Social Influence on the Board of Directors

It is often assumed that directors with human capital such as prior management experience or independence from the company are the most influential board members. By contrast, in a survey of all the board members in 14 companies we found that ties to others in a network of strong ties among those who meet outside of board meetings were more important predictors of social influence than human capital or ties across boards. These ties within the board represent the social capital of members in the form of prior relationships with other directors, ties to others on the board, and membership in cliques within the board's network of ties. These results support a social capital perspective on influence that emphasizes relationships with others on the board as important factors in the social dynamics of board decision-making.     

Human Capital and CEO Compensation during Institutional Transitions

Firms appoint CEOs with different types of human capital in order to manage resource dependencies. How CEOs are compensated thus can be conceptualized as a valuation process of how boards view the value of CEOs' human capital. Two types of human capital – international experience and political ties – have emerged as potential drivers of CEO compensation during institutional transitions. But how they impact CEO compensation has remained unclear. We develop a resource dependence‐based, contingency framework to focus on the external and internal factors that enable or constrain human capital to impact CEO compensation. Because of the tremendous regional diversity within China, externally, we focus on the level of marketization of the region in which firms are headquartered. Internally, we pay attention to two corporate governance mechanisms: politically connected outside directors and compensation committee. Data from 10,329 firm‐year observations at 94 per cent of listed firms in China largely support our framework. Overall, our study contributes to resource dependence research by extending this research to the context of institutional transitions with a focus on how human capital impacts CEO compensation.     

Service on a Stigmatized Board,Social Capital,and Change in Number of Directorships

This article seeks to develop a nuanced understanding about the relationship between service on a stigmatized board and reduced opportunities for future directorships on other boards by examining the moderating effects of different dimensions of director social capital on this relationship. Evidence based on a unique sample of firms with boards that were viewed as being stigmatized by a group of corporate governance experts suggests that while serving on a stigmatized board is related to a reduction in future number of directorships held, this relationship is significantly mitigated for directors of upper‐class origins. However, social capital related to affiliations with other elite institutions does not appear to mitigate reduction in future number of directorships held by outside directors who serve on a stigmatized board. Implications and future directions in research on class‐based influence in the corporate community and stigmatization and devaluation of elites associated with corporate failures are discussed.     

董事会特徵与资本结构：基于中国民营上市公司的实证研究

董事会是公司内部治理机制的重要组成部分。本文选择了144家民营上市公司最近三年的面板数据，分别运用混合OLS、一阶差分和固定效应估计等方法对董事会特徵与资本结构之间的关系进行了实证分析。     

Gender and management on Spanish SMEs: an empirical analysis

Few studies have investigated the presence of women on the boards of directors of companies. Those that have been done have focused on large firms. In this study we analyzed the gender diversity of a sample of Spanish small and medium enterprises. These firms are of great importance in terms of their number, the employment they provide, and their sales. Furthermore, there is an open debate in Spain about gender equality after the passing of several laws against gender discrimination. We found that women's presence on boards generates a negative impact on firm performance and this result may be due to less risky strategies implemented by women directors. This finding is interesting because it sheds light on how women can affect the functioning of a board. We also found that family firms and firms with a financial institution as the main shareholder tend to have more women on the board. Finally, we show that firms with less debt, more assets, and larger boards have more women as directors.     

国有企业双重目标与投资效率改进——基于独立董事网络和国企混改视角

立足国有企业具有社会和经济双重目标的理论逻辑,本文选取2007~2016年A股国有上市公司作为研究样本,分析了独立董事网络和国有股比例对投资效率的影响以及调节效应。研究发现:独立董事网络降低了国有上市公司的投资效率,较高比例的国有持股抑制了投资效率,但当国企更加关注经济目标时,则有助于改善投资效率;进一步研究发现,相比于特定功能类企业,独立董事网络在商业竞争类企业中发挥投资效率的改善作用更加显著。因此,独立董事应因地制宜在国企中发挥治理作用;政府应分类推进国企混合所有制改革;竞争性国企应引入较大比例的优质民营资本,优化投资决策、提高投资效率。     

Boards of directors in SMEs: a review and research agenda

This paper aims at reviewing research and presenting a research agenda on boards of directors in SMEs. While most publications about boards in SMEs focus on the lack of research in the area, this paper presents some of the work that has been conducted. Publications on boards of directors during the 1990s in outlets for SME research are reviewed. Boards of directors in small and medium-sized companies are getting increased attention, but the knowledge about boards in such companies is still fragmented. This paper presents research challenges based on a holistic model of directorates in SMEs that is elaborated from previous research about directorates. The papers selected for this special issue on boards of directors in SMEs are presented in this framework.     

Intra‐ and intersectoral effects in environmental disclosures: evidence for legitimacy theory?

Environmental disclosures were recorded from the annual reports of a sample of ten UK FTSE 100 companies in five sectors between 1974 and 2000. ‘Environmental sensitivity’ was employed as a proxy for corporate vulnerability to environmental concern, and intra‐ and intersectoral differences were tested for in the belief that difference in industry response will signify differing perceptions on the need to provide voluntary disclosure and hence restore or maintain legitimacy. Intrasectoral agreements at given points in time were also taken to be evidence for legitimacy theory in that more than one company in a sector perceived a need to change disclosure behaviour at the same time. Legitimacy theory as an explicator for variability in environmental disclosure is supported. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

知识资本的过程管理对企业竞争力的影响

在知识经济时代下,知识资本越来越受到企业的重视。它作为企业的第三资源,发挥了越来越重要的作用。首先对知识资本作了简要的介绍;进而介绍了知识资本过程管理模式及企业竞争力,分析了知识资本过程管理模式对企业竞争力的影响,突出了动态管理模式的优势,强调了知识资本是企业创造价值的源泉。     

Why Do Board Members Receive Excess Compensation?

This paper examines compensation to the boards of directors and supervisors for a sample of 656 firms over the period 1999–2008. I find in Taiwan that about 53.21% of firms pay excess compensation to their boards and 13.72% of the boards are overpaid by more than 50%. This paper conjectures that firms reward directors and supervisors in order to retain their valuable human capital and notes a robust positive effect of excess compensation on future firm performance. Because directors and supervisors are rewarded for future success, their excess pay may not be considered all that bad. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How and when female directors effectively cut down acquisition premiums

Grounded upon the group dynamics and the human capital literature, this paper proposes that the presence and conditions of female directors on a board substantially affect the acquisition decision. In detail, it argues that female board representation decreases the acquisition premium offered. It also examines the effects of female directors are contingent upon their conditions. When the females are inside, rather than outside, directors, their influence is greater. When the female directors have more prior acquisition experiences than male directors, the negative impact on premiums is strengthened, particularly when their acquisition experiences are those accumulated at acquirers rather than at targets. Empirical analyses on a sample of 1750 acquisitions made by US public firms in 2003–2013 provide evidence to support our predictions.     

The Influence of Board Composition on Sustainable Development Disclosure

Despite knowing the potential effect of social reporting on firms' continuity, there is limited research into the influence of the composition of boards of directors on CSR disclosure. This paper adds to the emerging CSR literature empirical evidence by examining how board composition relates to a firm's social and environmental disclosure as well as the implementation of social policies. Using a sample of FTSE 350 firms for the period 2007–2012, the results show that higher board independence facilitates the conveying of firms' good citizenship image through enhancing societal conscience. The results also show that female participation on boards is favorably affecting CSR engagement and reporting as well as the establishment of ethical policies. Hence, the research suggests that boards with higher female participation and independence boost the legitimacy of CSR reporting. Board gender diversity and independence facilitates directing part of the firm's scarce resources toward value maximizing social projects and subsequent reporting on these. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

How do employment relationships enhance firm innovation? The role of human and social capital

Aiming to explore the effect of human resource management on innovation, this study examined how employment relationships (ER), human capital and social capital work together in influencing innovation in a sample of Spanish firms. We defined an indirect effects model in which both human and social capital mediate between ERs and innovation. We also expected that social capital would enhance human capital. Tests on a sample of 160 innovative Spanish firms confirmed that ERs are not directly associated with innovation. Nevertheless, there is an indirect effect of the mutual investment employment model on innovation through human and social capital. Finally, we observed a positive effect of social capital on human capital.     

社会资本与非金融企业影子银行化

以2003—2019年我国非金融上市公司为样本,研究我国各省份社会资本水平差异对非金融企业影子银行化的影响及其内在作用机理。研究发现,地区社会资本与非金融企业影子银行化之间呈现显著的U型关系。机制检验发现,社会资本通过影响融资约束和信息不对称这两条渠道对非金融企业影子银行化产生影响。进一步分析发现,经济政策不确定性会弱化社会资本与非金融企业影子银行化的关系,且社会资本与非金融企业影子银行化之间的关系存在企业异质性,以上结论通过了稳健性检验。     

基于模糊综合评价法的企业社会资本核心竞争力评价

企业社会资本是反映企业内外部社会关系特征的一种资源。它可以使企业在内外部的社会关系网络获得"合作租金"和"位置",为企业带来竞争优势。文章通过模糊综合评价法对企业社会资本核心竞争力进行评价,说明企业社会资本确实能给企业带来竞争优势。     

Knowledge flow and inter-firm networks: The influence of network resources,spatial proximity and firm size

The objective of this paper is to analyse the characteristics and nature of the networks that firms utilize to access knowledge and facilitate innovation. The paper draws on the notion of network resources, distinguishing two types: social capital–consisting of the social relations and networks held by individuals; and network capital–consisting of the strategic and calculative relations and networks held by firms. The methodological approach consists of a quantitative analysis of data from a survey of firms operating in knowledge-intensive sectors of activity. The key findings include: social capital investment is more prevalent among firms frequently interacting with actors from within their own region; social capital investment is related to the size of firms; firm size plays a role in knowledge network patterns; and network dynamism is an important source of innovation. Overall, firms investing more in the development of their inter-firm and other external knowledge networks enjoy higher levels of innovation. It is suggested that an over-reliance on social capital forms of network resource investment may hinder the capability of firms to manage their knowledge networks. It is concluded that the link between a dynamic inter-firm network environment and innovation provides an alternative thesis to that advocating the advantage of network stability.     

Social Context,Management, and Organizational Performance: When human capital and social capital serve as substitutes

Do internal (administrative human capital) and external (social capital) resources work to reinforce the effects of each other? Work from multiple disciplines has approached this question, and we advance this literature with a theory of social and administrative resources as potential substitutes for each other in the production of public education outcomes. We argue that social capital benefits some groups more than others and that it interacts with management to improve performance. We therefore expect the benefits associated with social capital to be non-uniform across community groups. Using education as our area of study, we find that social capital offers the most direct and unconditional benefits to white students but that management can use human capital resources to compensate disadvantaged students who may lack support and resources outside of the classroom. We do not find support for the expectation that social capital and human administrative capital reinforce the benefits of each other, but we find evidence that the two resource types are substitutable. This implies that management may substitute human capital resources when social capital is low to benefit public program performance.     

Motivations and differences upon reconciling professional and personal life: an empirical study of businesswomen and businessmen in the Valencian Community

According to the last report “Women FTSE 2009” developed by Cranfield School of Management and the IE Business School and sponsored by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Sainsbury, Enlivens, HSBC and Pearson, the number of European companies with women in positions of executive direction has been reduced from 16 to 15 and the number of women in the board meetings from 39 to 37 has fallen. Moreover, there has been a decrease in the number of total of businesses with women in their counsels, since 1 of each 4 businesses has an exclusively male counsel. The study, reveals a pessimistic panorama for women from the analysis of the number of guidelines that work in the companies that belong to FTSE 100, the British index that includes the 100 main values of the London stock market. The study also reflects a descent in the number of women that occupy key positions in the businesses of the FTSE 100. In the year 2008 there were only 5 women CEOs and 3 regional executive directors. In the 2009 only there were 4 CEOs. The purpose of this article is to see if the origin of this situation is a direct consequence of businesswomen confronting more difficulties than the businessmen upon putting in common its professional and personal life or if by contrast this corresponds to an stereotyped perception of gender inequality. With this end we conducted a study using a sample of businesswomen and men with experience analyzing its motivations to create business, difficulties that they find, and the solutions to improve the conciliation of its professional and personal lives. The results show that there are no significant gender differences in the motivations, regardless of who the head of the family is (bearing main responsibility for the house and children). On the other hand, we show that businesswomen diverge from businessmen in the perception of motivations and challenges they have. Indeed, businessmen agree with businesswomen in the motivations and difficulties that these have, and consider that they give to them more importance than women themselves.