Purpose

This study aims to reconcile the contradictory findings of multiple directorships (MD) and its impact on firm performance. The present work incorporates the industry experience of busy directors into the picture and examines its impact on firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected for 345 non-financial National Stock Exchange listed firms from Bloomberg, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy ProwessIQ database and company annual reports from the financial year 2008–2009 to 2017–2018. The industry and year fixed effect panel regression models are used for both business group and non-business group (NBG) firms.

Findings

The study reconciled the contradictory findings between MD and the performance of a firm. The results claim that firms having non-executive directors on board with similar industry experience positively influence the firm performance while board having non-executive directors with diverse industry experience establish an adverse relationship. The results are similar for both group affiliated and non-group affiliated firms in India. Further analysis through interaction effect reveals that the presence of more busy outside directors on board irrespective of their industry experience, i.e. similar or diverse, reduces the performance of a NBG affiliated firm.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the study contribute to the existing literature and tries to establish a strong argument for MD by incorporating industry experience. The present work considers non-financial listed firms, while financial firms and industry experience of outside directors in other emerging economies can be studied to draw additional insights into the existing literature.

Practical implications

Both regulatory bodies and firms should consider the industry experience of non-executive directors for enhancing firm performance.

Originality/value

Existing studies highlight the contradictory arguments for MD and firm performance. The current study incorporates the industry experience of non-executive directors, either in a similar or diverse industry, for the empirical analysis to reconcile the contradictory findings. The present work suggests that a firm should appoint non-executive directors with similar industry experience to enhance firm performance.

中文翻译：

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多行业董事对公司绩效的影响：一项参考印度的研究

目的

本研究旨在调和多个董事 (MD) 的矛盾发现及其对公司绩效的影响。目前的工作将忙碌的董事的行业经验融入到图片中，并检查其对公司绩效的影响。

设计/方法/方法

数据是从彭博、印度经济监测中心 ProwessIQ 数据库和公司 2008-2009 至 2017-2018 财年年度报告中收集的 345 家非金融国家证券交易所上市公司的数据。行业和年份固定效应面板回归模型用于商业集团和非商业集团 (NBG) 公司。

发现

该研究调和了 MD 与公司业绩之间相互矛盾的发现。结果表明，董事会拥有具有相似行业经验的非执行董事的公司对公司绩效产生积极影响，而董事会拥有具有不同行业经验的非执行董事则建立了不利的关系。印度的集团附属公司和非集团附属公司的结果相似。通过交互效应的进一步分析表明，无论行业经验如何，即相似或不同，在董事会中出现更多忙碌的外部董事都会降低 NBG 附属公司的业绩。

研究限制/影响

该研究的结果有助于现有文献，并试图通过结合行业经验为 MD 建立强有力的论据。目前的工作考虑了非金融上市公司，同时可以研究其他新兴经济体的金融公司和外部董事的行业经验，以进一步了解现有文献。

实际影响

监管机构和公司都应考虑非执行董事的行业经验，以提高公司业绩。

原创性/价值

现有的研究强调了关于 MD 和公司绩效的矛盾论点。当前的研究结合了类似或不同行业的非执行董事的行业经验，进行实证分析以调和相互矛盾的发现。目前的工作建议公司应任命具有类似行业经验的非执行董事以提高公司绩效。