Purpose

This study aims to examine the role of institutional investors in improving board diversity for the companies in which they invest (investee companies) using evidence from corporate board characteristics across the globe. Additionally, this study also investigates the association between institutional investors and board diversity under various institutional settings, including varying economic conditions (pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis), legal systems and ownership structures.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample collected from 15 countries for the period 2006 to 2012, the paper uses panel data analysis to examine the association between institutional investors and board diversity.

Findings

The study provides evidence that institutional investors do not promote board diversity and show that in general there is no association between institutional ownership and various board diversity attributes such as gender, age, nationality and education. However, the study finds that institutional investors are positively associated with the educational diversity of boards during times of crisis and are negatively associated with board age diversity during pre-crisis and post-crisis periods. Furthermore, while in common law countries institutional investors are found to be negatively associated with board age diversity, they do not influence board diversity outcomes (i.e. gender, age, nationality and education) in civil law countries. The results also show that the associations between institutional investors and board diversity are mixed and insignificant according to different ownership structures (family and non-family owned firms). The main findings of the study are robust and apply to various estimation methods.

Originality/value

This study provides a unique perspective on the impact of institutional investors on board diversity using a sample collected from 15 countries. Furthermore, the study provides an insight that the institutional settings should be considered when investigating the activism of institutional investors in improving governance practices.

中文翻译：

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改善全球董事会多元化：机构投资者的作用

目的

本研究旨在利用全球公司董事会特征的证据，研究机构投资者在改善他们投资的公司（被投资公司）董事会多元化方面的作用。此外，本研究还调查了各种制度环境下机构投资者与董事会多样性之间的关系，包括不同的经济条件（危机前、危机和危机后）、法律制度和所有权结构。

设计/方法/方法

本文使用 2006 年至 2012 年期间从 15 个国家收集的样本，使用面板数据分析来检验机构投资者与董事会多元化之间的关联。

发现

该研究提供的证据表明，机构投资者不会促进董事会多元化，并表明机构所有权与性别、年龄、国籍和教育等各种董事会多元化属性之间没有关联。然而，研究发现，机构投资者在危机时期与董事会的教育多样性呈正相关，在危机前和危机后时期与董事会年龄多样性呈负相关。此外，虽然在普通法国家，机构投资者被发现与董事会年龄多元化呈负相关，但它们并不影响大陆法系国家董事会多元化的结果（即性别、年龄、国籍和教育）。结果还表明，根据不同的所有权结构（家族企业和非家族企业），机构投资者与董事会多元化之间的关联是混合且不显着的。该研究的主要发现是稳健的，适用于各种估计方法。

原创性/价值

本研究使用从 15 个国家收集的样本，就机构投资者对董事会多元化的影响提供了独特的视角。此外，该研究提供了一个见解，即在调查机构投资者在改善治理实践方面的积极性时应考虑机构设置。