Board Capital Diversity and Firm Value: Evidence from Latin-America

This paper analyzes the effects of diversity of boards of directors¿ human and relational capital on the performance of firms in Latin America. Using a large database of 442 firms in 6 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) from 2001 to 2012, we construct a Board Capital Di...

Full description

Autores:
Gutiérrez Pinto, Cristian
Pombo, Carlos
Villamil Díaz, Jairo
Tipo de recurso:
Work document
Fecha de publicación:
2018
Institución:
Universidad de los Andes
Repositorio:
Séneca: repositorio Uniandes
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.uniandes.edu.co:1992/41060
Acceso en línea:
http://hdl.handle.net/1992/41060
Palabra clave:
Corporate governance
Director heterogeneity
Firm performance
Emerging markets
G32, G34
Rights
openAccess
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Description
Summary:This paper analyzes the effects of diversity of boards of directors¿ human and relational capital on the performance of firms in Latin America. Using a large database of 442 firms in 6 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) from 2001 to 2012, we construct a Board Capital Diversity Index that includes educational backgrounds and work experiences for each board member. We find a positive relationship between board capital diversity and firm performance, as measured by Tobin¿s Q. In particular, we find that both human capital diversity (educational background) and relational capital diversity (experience in the private and public sector) increase the value of the company. Our results confirm the resource dependence theory, where the board, in addition to its monitoring role, is seen as a provider of resources.