Journal of Business Ethics 118 (1):61-72 (2013)
Abstract |
The under-representation of women on boards is a heavily discussed topic—not only in Germany. Based on critical mass theory and with the help of a hand-collected panel dataset of 151 listed German firms for the years 2000–2005, we explore whether the link between gender diversity and firm performance follows a U-shape. Controlling for reversed causality, we find evidence for gender diversity to at first negatively affect firm performance and—only after a “critical mass” of about 30 % women has been reached—to be associated with higher firm performance than completely male boards. Given our sample firms, the critical mass of 30 % women translates into an absolute number of about three women on the board and hence supports recent studies on a corresponding “magic number” of women in the boardroom
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Keywords | Diversity Gender Supervisory board Performance |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | |
DOI | 10.1007/s10551-012-1553-6 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation.Stephen Bear, Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post - 2010 - Journal of Business Ethics 97 (2):207 - 221.
Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Financial Performance.Kevin Campbell & Antonio Mínguez-Vera - 2008 - Journal of Business Ethics 83 (3):435-451.
Women Directors on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical Mass. [REVIEW]Mariateresa Torchia, Andrea Calabrò & Morten Huse - 2011 - Journal of Business Ethics 102 (2):299-317.
Women Board Directors: Characteristics of the Few. [REVIEW]Zena Burgess & Phyllis Tharenou - 2002 - Journal of Business Ethics 37 (1):39 - 49.
The Relationship of Board Member Diversity to Organizational Performance.Julie I. Siciliano - 1996 - Journal of Business Ethics 15 (12):1313 - 1320.
View all 9 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Sustainability Initiatives: Evidence From the Carbon Disclosure Project.Walid Ben-Amar, Millicent Chang & Philip McIlkenny - 2017 - Journal of Business Ethics 142 (2):369-383.
Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective.Siri Terjesen & Ruth Sealy - 2016 - Business Ethics Quarterly 26 (1):23-65.
Corporate Governance and Supplemental Environmental Projects: A Restorative Justice Approach.Muhammad Nadeem - 2021 - Journal of Business Ethics 173 (2):261-280.
Board Gender Diversity and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Firm Size.Haishan Li & Peng Chen - 2018 - Business Ethics: A European Review 27 (4):294-308.
Increasing the Number of Women on Boards: The Role of Actors and Processes.Cathrine Seierstad, Gillian Warner-Søderholm, Mariateresa Torchia & Morten Huse - 2017 - Journal of Business Ethics 141 (2):289-315.
View all 22 citations / Add more citations
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