Gender and Racial Minorities on Corporate Boards: How Board Faultlines and CEO‐minority Director Overlap Affect Firm Performance

Esha Mendiratta*, Sabina Nielsen Tasheva

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Research Summary
In this article, we examine the multidimensional and multilevel nature of diversity in the context of corporate boards. Using the concept of faultlines, we argue that when gender and racial background aligns with human capital attributes of board members, faultlines may be formed with negative implications for firm performance. However, the potential negative impact of faultlines can be alleviated by overlaps in the characteristics of the CEO and minority directors. Specifically, we find that higher overlaps in tenure and personal range of functional experiences help overcome some of the disadvantages that minority directors face and moderate the relationship between board faultline strength and firm performance. Empirical tests using 14 years data on 262 firms belonging to S&P500 index largely support our theoretical ideas.

Managerial Summary
Boards often suffer from unhealthy team dynamics. In this article, we explore how alignment of board members' attributes may lead to potential subgroup formation within boards. Specifically, we examine how, under existing pressures to increase demographic diversity on corporate boards, alignment of human capital characteristics with gender and racial minority status may lead to the formation of board faultlines that negatively influence firm performance. Our results suggest that the CEO plays a pivotal role in overcoming negative consequences of board faultlines by utilizing shared tenure on board and common functional experiences with minority board members. Our research suggests that board selection needs to focus beyond scrutinizing individual-level human capital and instead understand alignments of directors' profiles that enable optimal board functioning.
Original languageEnglish
JournalStrategic Management Journal
Number of pages29
ISSN0143-2095
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Sept 2024

Bibliographical note

Epub ahead of print. Published online: 14 September 2024.

Keywords

  • Board diversity
  • Boards of directors
  • Demographic minority directors
  • Faultlines
  • Intrapersonal diversity

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