Effects of Women in Top Management Teams on Corporate Wrongdoing: The Moderating Roles of Chairwoman and Female Relational Capital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.114.14561Keywords:
Female executives, Top management team, Corporate wrongdoing, Chairwoman, Relational capitalAbstract
In recent years, corporate wrongdoing has attracted widespread attention worldwide, and the media has vigorously debated whether senior management should be held accountable. Based on upper echelons theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between women's representation in top management teams and corporate wrongdoing, as well as the moderating roles of the presence of a chairwoman and female relational capital. This research employs data from 333 small and medium-sized enterprises listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017 and mainly finds through regression analysis that: in small and medium-sized enterprises in China, women's representation in top management teams has a significant and negative impact on corporate wrongdoing; the presence of a chairwoman strengthens the negative effect, but female relational capital weakens the negative effect. This paper not only enriches research on female executives but also provides some references for companies to promote the construction of diverse top management teams.
References
Abatecola, G., & Cristofaro, M. (2020). Hambrick and Mason’s “Upper Echelons Theory”: evolution and open avenues. Journal of Management History, 26(1), 116-136.
Adams, R. B., & Ferreira, D. (2009). Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance. Journal of Financial Economics, 94(2), 291-309.
Arjoon, S. (2005). Corporate governance: An ethical perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 61, 343-352.
Baucus, M. S., & Near, J. P. (1991). Can illegal corporate behavior be predicted? An event history analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 34(1), 9-36.
Bear, S., Rahman, N., & Post, C. (2010). The impact of board diversity and gender composition on corporate social responsibility and firm reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(2), 207-221.
Bontis, N. (1998). Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models. Management Decision, 36(2), 63-76.
Boulouta, I. (2013). Hidden connections: The link between board gender diversity and corporate social performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(2), 185-197.
Campbell, K., & Mínguez-Vera, A. (2008). Gender diversity in the boardroom and firm financial performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 435-451.
Huang, X. (2023). Effects of Women in Top Management Teams on Corporate Wrongdoing: The Moderating Roles of Chairwoman and Female
Cannella Jr, A. A., Park, J. H., & Lee, H. U. (2008). Top management team functional background diversity and firm performance: Examining the roles of team member colocation and environmental uncertainty. Academy of Management Journal, 51(4), 768-784.
Carpenter, M. A., Geletkanycz, M. A., & Sanders, W. G. (2004). Upper echelons research revisited: Antecedents, elements, and consequences of top management team composition. Journal of Management, 30(6), 749-778.
Carter, D. A., Simkins, B. J., & Simpson, W. G. (2003). Corporate governance, board diversity, and firm value. Financial Review, 38(1), 33-53.
Chen, C. R., Li, Y., Luo, D., & Zhang, T. (2017). Helping hands or grabbing hands? An analysis of political connections and firm value. Journal of Banking & Finance, 80, 71-89.
Chen, H., Chen, J. Z., Lobo, G. J., & Wang, Y. (2011). Effects of audit quality on earnings management and cost of equity capital: Evidence from China. Contemporary Accounting Research, 28(3), 892-925.
Chen, J., Leung, W. S., & Evans, K. P. (2018). Female board representation, corporate innovation and firm performance. Journal of Empirical Finance, 48, 236-254.
Choi, H., Hong, S., & Lee, J. W. (2018). Does increasing gender representativeness and diversity improve organizational integrity? Public Personnel Management, 47(1), 73-92.
Colby, A., & Damon, W. (1992). Some Do Care: Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment. New York: The Free Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95-S120.
Cook, A., & Glass, C. (2014). Women and top leadership positions: Towards an institutional analysis. Gender, Work & Organization, 21(1), 91-103.
Cox, T. H., Lobel, S. A., & McLeod, P. L. (1991). Effects of ethnic group cultural differences on cooperative and competitive behavior on a group task. Academy of Management Journal, 34(4), 827-847.
Daboub, A. J., Rasheed, A. M., Priem, R. L., & Gray, D. (1995). Top management team characteristics and corporate illegal activity. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 138-170.
Dechow, P. M., Sloan, R. G., & Sweeney, A. P. (1996). Causes and consequences of earnings manipulation: An analysis of firms subject to enforcement actions by the SEC. Contemporary Accounting Research, 13(1), 1-36.
Dezsö, C. L., & Ross, D. G. (2012). Does female representation in top management improve firm performance? A panel data investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 33(9), 1072-1089.
Dyreng, S. D., Mayew, W. J., & Williams, C. D. (2012). Religious social norms and corporate financial reporting. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 39(7-8), 845-875.
Eagly, A. H., & Johnson, B. T. (1990). Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 233-256.
Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573-598.
Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissezfaire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569-591.
Elmagrhi, M. H., Ntim, C. G., Elamer, A. A., & Zhang, Q. (2019). A study of environmental policies and regulations, governance structures, and environmental performance: The role of female directors. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(1), 206-220.
Erhardt, N. L., Werbel, J. D., & Shrader, C. B. (2003). Board of director diversity and firm financial performance. Corporate Governance: An international Review, 11(2), 102-111.
Fisman, R. (2001). Estimating the value of political connections. American Economic Review, 91(4), 1095-1102.
Fumagalli, M., Ferrucci, R., Mameli, F., Marceglia, S., Mrakic-Sposta, S., Zago, S., Lucchiari, C., Consonni, D., Nordio, F., Pravettoni, G., Cappa, S., & Priori, A. (2010). Gender-related differences in moral judgments. Cognitive Processing, 11, 219-226.
Galbreath, J. (2011). Are there gender-related influences on corporate sustainability? A study of women on boards of directors. Journal of Management & Organization, 17(1), 17-38.
Gino, F., Ayal, S., & Ariely, D. (2009). Contagion and differentiation in unethical behavior: The effect of one bad apple on the barrel. Psychological Science, 20(3), 393-398.
Haleblian, J., & Finkelstein, S. (1993). Top management team size, CEO dominance, and firm performance: The moderating roles of environmental turbulence and discretion. Academy of Management Journal, 36(4), 844-863.
Hambrick, D. C., & D'Aveni, R. A. (1992). Top team deterioration as part of the downward spiral of large corporate bankruptcies. Management Science, 38(10), 1445-1466.
Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193-206.
He, R., Zhou, M., Liu, J., & Yang, Q. (2021). Female directors and carbon information disclosure: evidence from China. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2021: 7772601, 1-16.
Herring, C. (2009). Does diversity pay?: Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), 208-224.
Hoobler, J. M., Lemmon, G., & Wayne, S. J. (2011). Women’s underrepresentation in upper management: New insights on a persistent problem. Organizational Dynamics, 40(3), 151-156.
Huang, H., & Zhao, Z. (2016). The influence of political connection on corporate social responsibility——evidence from Listed private companies in China. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility. 1: 9.
Joecks, J., Pull, K., & Vetter, K. (2013). Gender diversity in the boardroom and firm performance: What exactly constitutes a “critical mass?”. Journal of Business Ethics, 118, 61-72.
Kanter, R. M. (1977). (1977a). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., & Treviño, L. K. (2010). Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 1-31.
Li, H., Meng, L., Wang, Q., & Zhou, L. (2008). Political Connections, Financing and Firm Performance: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms. Journal of Development Economics, 87: 283-299.
Liu, Y., Lei, L., & Buttner, E. H. (2020). Establishing the boundary conditions for female board directors’ influence on firm performance through CSR. Journal of Business Research, 121, 112-120.
Liu, Y., Wei, Z., & Xie, F. (2014). Do women directors improve firm performance in China? Journal of Corporate Finance, 28, 169-184.
Marinova, J., Plantenga, J., & Remery, C. (2016). Gender diversity and firm performance: Evidence from Dutch and Danish boardrooms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(15), 1777-1790.
Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1-13.
Michel, J. G., & Hambrick, D. C. (1992). Diversification posture and top management team characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 35(1), 9-37.
Miller, T., & del Carmen Triana, M. (2009). Demographic diversity in the boardroom: Mediators of the board diversity–firm performance relationship. Journal of Management Studies, 46(5), 755-786.
Milliken, F. J., & Martins, L. L. (1996). Searching for common threads: understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 402-433.
Mojambo, G., Tulung, J. E., & Saerang, R. T. (2020). The influence of Top Management Team (TMT) characteristics toward Indonesian Banks performance during the digital era (2014–2018). Available at SSRN 3541856.
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242-266.
Nielsen, S., & Huse, M. (2010). The contribution of women on boards of directors: Going beyond the surface. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 18(2), 136-148.
Noland, M., Moran, T., & Kotschwar, B. R. (2016). Is gender diversity profitable? Evidence from a global survey. Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper, (16-3).
Page, S. E. (2007). The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies. Princeton University Press.
Peng, M. W., & Luo, Y. (2000). Managerial ties and firm performance in a transition economy: The nature of a micro-macro link. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3), 486-501.
Post, C., & Byron, K. (2015). Women on boards and firm financial performance: A meta-analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 58(5), 1546-1571.
Qi, B., Lin, J. W., Tian, G., Lewis, H. C. X. (2018). The impact of top management team characteristics on the choice of earnings management strategies: Evidence from China. Accounting Horizons, 32(1), 143-164.
Ren, T., & Wang, Z. (2011). Female participation in TMT and firm performance: evidence from Chinese private enterprises. Nankai Business Review International, 2(2), 140-157.
Ruiz-Jiménez, J. M., & Fuentes-Fuentes, M. D. M. (2016). Management capabilities, innovation, and gender diversity in the top management team: An empirical analysis in technology-based SMEs. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 19(2), 107-121.
Saeed, A., Riaz, H., Liedong, T. A., & Rajwani, T. (2022). The impact of TMT gender diversity on corporate environmental strategy in emerging economies. Journal of Business Research, 141, 536-551.
Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1993). Corruption. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(3), 599-617.
Stam, W., Arzlanian, S., & Elfring, T. (2014). Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A metaanalysis of contextual and methodological moderators. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(1), 152-173.
Sung, H. E. (2012). Women in government, public corruption, and liberal democracy: a panel analysis. Crime, Law and Social Change, 58, 195-219.
Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds. New York: Anchor Books.
Terjesen, S., Aguilera, R. V., & Lorenz, R. (2015). Legislating a woman’s seat on the board: Institutional factors driving gender quotas for boards of directors. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 233-251.
Torchia, M., Calabrò, A., & Huse, M. (2011). Women directors on corporate boards: From tokenism to critical mass. Journal of Business Ethics, 102, 299-317.
Tran, N. M., Nguyen, T. T., Nguyen, T. P. L., Vu, A. T., Phan, T. T. H., Nguyen, T. H. T., Do, N. D., & Phan, A. T. (2022). Female managers and corruption in SMEs: a comparison between family and nonfamily SMEs in Vietnam. SAGE Open, 12(1), 21582440221082131.
Triana, M. D. C., Miller, T. L., & Trzebiatowski, T. M. (2014). The double-edged nature of board gender diversity: Diversity, firm performance, and the power of women directors as predictors of strategic change. Organization Science, 25(2), 609-632.
Vaniala, I., Tikkanen, H., & Huhtala, J-P. (2014). The impact of top management team gender diversity in firm competitive aggressiveness. In Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2014(1): 16189.
Virk, G. K. (2019). Pervasiveness of Corporate Illegality: The Effects of Board of Directors Characteristics. Journal of Commerce & Accounting Research, 8(2).
Williams, R. J., Fadil, P. A., & Armstrong, R. W. (2005). Top management team tenure and corporate illegal activity: The moderating influence of board size. Journal of Managerial Issues, 479-493.
Wu, W., Wu, C., Zhou, C., & Wu, J. (2012). Political connections, tax benefits and firm performance: Evidence from China. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 31(3), 277-300.
Yli-Renko, H., Autio, E., & Tontti, V. (2002). Social capital, knowledge, and the international growth of technologybased new firms. International Business Review, 11(3), 279-304.
Zou, Z., Wu, Y., Zhu, Q., & Yang, S. (2018). Do female executives prioritize corporate social responsibility? Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 54(13), 2965-2981.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Xin Huang

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.