The issues surrounding sustainability continues to be at the forefront of the human agenda and firms are increasingly being held accountable by their stakeholders to assist in bringing about sustainability. Despite this, there is a tension surrounding the role of firms and the benefits implementing sustainability practices and policies has for these actors. On the one hand, being sustainable underpinned by a strong CSR-oriented governance board with the right compositional factors results in superior firm performance. On the other hand, sustainability is suggested to increase costs and reduced competitiveness thereby reducing firm performance. These contrasting results supported by mixed scholarly findings concerning different mediating factors influencing the overarching relationship creates a confusion gap that warrants this current study. As such, the study’s purpose is to investigate the relationship between two distinct yet interrelated relationships, the impact of board of directors’ composition on CSR performance measured by ESG scores and the impact of CSR performance on firm performance so as to contribute to the debate on these notion that continues to plague academia and the pragmatic world. This study is realized through a quantitative archival-longitudinal study design underpinned by metaphysical assumptions. Regression analyses using panel data on a sample of 123 listed companies headquartered in the Nordic Countries for the period 2010-2018 is undertaken to analyze the potential relation between CSR performance and five board composition factors, specially the gender diversity, independence, size, frequency of meetings and the presence of CSR committee. The association between CSR performance and firm performance is investigated in a similar way. Under rigorous statistical testing and analysis, the results indicate that there potentially is a relation between board composition and firms’ ESG performance. The results derived from the relationship between CSR and firm performance is inconsistent and cannot be fully accepted. This study contributes theoretically to CSR, corporate governance and finance literature by expanding upon how these three notions are linked in light of the sustainability trend that is gripping modern society. Socially, this research is useful for providing empirical evidence on the value of strong governance structures so as to foster sustainability and encourage debate on its value. Pragmatically, our study suggests what board composition factors are most conducive for supporting CSR that may assist firms’ corporate governance structuring and focus.

Corporate governance (CG) is a popular topic that gets more concerns today, especially infast developing countries. Numbers of projects and studies relating to CG and their effectson financial performance of companies have been done in many countries, but still this kindof topic is quite new in Vietnam.This paper tries to find out if there is any relationship between board size & composition,board activity, and ownership concentration and firm performances. Based on collectinginformation of listed companies in Vietnam, I use statistical analysis and quantitativemethod to get the paper’s objectives.Based on CG theory and the role of CG structures such as board of directors, ownershipstructure, and this paper also make a review on the compliance of listed companies with CGrules at Vietnamese market recently.Our empirical findings show that independent directors enhanced firm performance;inversely, the dual position of CEO and Chairman has a positive relation with firm value.Besides, age of director and the number of directors meeting play important roles in firmvalue. However, no significant impact of board size, board gender diversity, top tenshareholders concentration and levels of state ownership on firm performance. Lastly,regression model of market performance shows that the duality of CEO and Chairman andthe number of independent directors are significant impact on firm value.

This research is the result of the author’s quest to answer the question whether Corporate Governance is effective in Emerging Markets. Literature on Corporate Governance in the emerging markets of Latin America is limited mostly due to the relatively slower development of capital markets and the late adoption of corporate governance principles. Corporate Governance laws, which largely follow Sarbanes Oxley guidelines, were published and implemented in the mid 00´s and no research has checked their impact on corporate value in Latin America. This research reports compromises two empirical projects. The first project focused on the relationship between boards of directors attributes such size and composition, Corporate Governance law and firm value for Colombia. The second project focused on another Corporate Governance variable, CEO Duality and tested whether it has had any impact in Mexico. This second project also studied whether board attributes such as size and composition and Corporate Governance law were related to firm value. Based on the listed companies from Colombia and Mexico for the years 2001 to 2012 the author found no relationship between board size or composition and firm value. Results from Mexico, where CEO duality is allowed showed that it has no relationship with firm value. These results do not support or contradict either Agency theory or stewardship theory. Results on the impact of the adoption of a Corporate Governance law in firm value are mixed. Results for Colombia contradict previous literature by reporting a positive relationship between Corporate Governance laws and firm results while results from Mexico support previous research by reporting no relationship between these variables. This research is valuable for regulators and policy makers in their quest to assess the impact of the adoption of Corporate Governance laws in emerging markets. . Since effective Corporate Governance is important in easier access to financing it is important for shareholders to know which Corporate Governance mechanisms are positively related to firm value. Similarly, it is also important for investors (both foreign and local) in assessing the risk for equity investments in Colombia and Mexico.

The number of multinational corporations (MNCs) has increased tremendously since the 1990s, as companies have started to act in a more global environment. This has resulted in more integration between economies, where companies have to adjust to this changing environment. In this paper, we study the impact of internationalization on nationality diversity in boards of Swedish MNCs during the period 1994-2012. Our propositions suggest that board size, a company’s degree of internationalization and country of origin are contributing factors that affect how a board is composed. Our findings concluded that companies with a high degree of internationalization often are more nationality diverse and that Swedish companies have gradually increased the number of non-Swedes in their boards over time.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the developing role of the Student Trustee. Utilizing a case study design and document analysis, this descriptive study examined the comments of 143 Student Trustees in Board meetings of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) System, the first in the nation to require Student Trustees, from 1970-–2015. The research questions sought to uncover the origins of the Student Trustee at the UMass System as well as how the role developed over time. The study concluded that Student Trustees provide a unique perspective that offers meaningful contributions to the discourse and decision-making processes of university Boards. The legislation that placed the first Student Trustee on the UMass Board was the result of contentious campus protests fueled by student dissatisfaction with higher education’s response to the Vietnam War, racism, and sexism, among other issues. Governor Francis Sargent proposed and signed that legislation in 1969 as a means to “move protest from confrontation to dialogue.” Student Trustees found success pushing the Board in a more progressive direction – adopting co-ed dormitories, providing greater due process in conduct matters, and asserting that students have primary responsibility over student policies and related matters. Student Trustees also pressed the Board to divest from companies operating in apartheid South Africa, and even to grant students an eight-day reprieve from papers and exams so they could campaign in the 1970 congressional elections. The role of the Student Trustee has expanded since Cynthia Olken took her place as the first Student Trustee in 1970. There are now five Student Trustees representing each of the five campuses in the UMass System. The two with voting power operate as regular board members and have the ability to serve on all committees, while the other three are ex officio non-voting members and can only attend open meetings of the full Board of Trustees. While more than half of the 143 Student Trustees made five or fewer remarks during their time on the board, there were many who spoke out frequently on issues related to finance, governance, and academics. Through their half-century of efforts, Student Trustees have earned a seat at the table and the praise of many university presidents, chancellors, and Board chairs that have used words like helpful, valuable, and significant to describe their contributions. As former UMass President Jack Wilson once exclaimed, “Having student representation on this Board is important.”

Magister Commercii - MCom / The on-going displeasure displayed by the media and business commentators, relating to apparent excessive and unwarranted executive directors' salaries, has increased since the financial turmoil experienced in 2008. The commentaries and reports suggest that corporate governance interventions are not strong enough to curb the excessive remuneration packages awarded to executives and specifically to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). The purpose of the research is to examine the factors that determine and/or shape the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO's) compensation and the wealth created for shareholders. The investigation further seeks to find the corporate governance elements, systems and processes that assist in monitoring the CEO's remuneration and performance contract. The null hypothesis is that poor corporate governance prevails in South African listed companies resulting in CEO compensation not being aligned to shareholder wealth creation. The aim is to establish the effectiveness of South African listed companies' adherence to corporate governance measures in addressing the principal/agent problem, commonly referred to as the agency problem. The research embraces a sample of the top 100 actively trading companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) using secondary data. The study builds on existing theories and provides knowledge from a South African perspective.

This paper has examined which medium-term effects the Norwegian gender quota law has had on corporate boards listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2015. Wehave studied the gender quota law’s impact on different corporate board factors, such as board composition, the number of directorships held, basic remuneration, board size, andthe age of directors. Further, we also compared the gender quota law’s effects on these factors with similar studies made in earlier periods. The reason for that is to recognise whether there is a tendency of convergence over time. The study have been conducted using a quantitative approach by gathering information from mostly annual reports. Since, this is a comparative study, we will be using the same methods as previous researchers. These methods are arithmetic averages and standard deviations. We have also included some other methods to strengthen the results, such as geometric average, median, correlations, and significance test. The results of our research show that the number of directorships held by female directors decreased in both absolute numbers as well as in averages and dispersion. Remuneration for female directors increased. However, it diverged with male directors. The average board size did not remain significantly constant over time. We also found that the average age of board directors both increase and converges between the genders. We also believed that the proportion of female directors was depended on the firm’s board size, which the results showed was an incorrect assumption. This paper has applied an overarching theory called contingency theory. Further, other complementary theories within the area of corporate governance have also been used such as stakeholder theory, agency theory, and resource dependency theory. When analysing the results from this paper, there were too many plausible and contrasting theoretical explanations for why the various outcomes occurred. Therefore, we do not believe that the existing theoretical frameworks available are appropriate to explain how the gender quota law will impact corporate boards. The main contribution of this study is the results that show how both female and maledirectors’ average age and directorships held are converging over the observed period. Also, that the gender quota law has enabled female directors to gain more experience, which has led to a higher proportion of female directors.

Purpose: This thesis aims to explain the relationship between board gender diversity, measured as the proportion of women on boards and different board categories, and firm financial performance.  Methodology: This study was conducted through a quantitative method with a deductive and cross-sectional approach. It aims to explain the relationship between the independent variable board gender diversity and the dependent variable firm financial performance through the measures of return on equity, return on assets, and Tobin’s Q. Data were collected from annual reports of all firms, excluding banks, listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange on small, mid, and large-cap for 2014 and 2020. The data were analysed through t-tests, Spearman’s rho, and ordinary least squares regressions with the control variables board size, firm size, industry, and financial year.  Theoretical perspective: Several different theories were used for hypothesis formulation and for interpreting the findings, which were: critical mass, upper echelons theory, human/social capital theory, and agency theory. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that there exists a positive relationship between board gender diversity and return on assets and return on equity. The largest difference in performance seems to be between the groups that have reached at least a threshold of 30% of the underrepresented gender and those that have not. Further, boards with no women had the worst return on assets. The results are not consistent between different tests or performance measures; however, the conclusion could be drawn that board gender diversity does not affect firm financial performance negatively.

It is no longer surprising that attention paid to corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased lately, which could be due to the fact that firms action have negative or positive impacts on their stakeholders–employees, customers, investors, suppliers and community. It is the board responsibility to ensure firms pay attention to CSR matters, therefore, board composition will relatively play significant role in CSR implementation. However, prior studies have focus on board diversity, female proportion and independent directors and paid very little attention to inside board member and CSR. In order to study inside board member and CSR, the study found it interesting to look at the institutional norms of Swedish because different institutions structure board different and as such would likely influence CSR differently. The study therefore, focus on ownership concentration, employees representative director (ERD),  and CEO presence on board and found out that firm with ownership concentration and also firms having CEO on board have negative relationship with CSR, meanwhile ERD have a positive relationship with social responsibilities.  According to the findings in general board comprises of insiders have negative relationship with overall CSR (economic, governance and environmental concern) meanwhile strictly independent directors (of management, CEO, major shareholders, and firm) and female proportion have significant relationship with CSR.

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