The impact of CEO' duality and board's size and independence on firms’ innovation and financial performance

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight the impact of some characteristics of board of directors and CEO’ duality on firms’ innovation and performance. A series of hypotheses testing the links between the variables was formulated in the basis of a theoretical review. A quantitative research was performed via a questionnaire on a sample of 60 Tunisian listed companies. Moreover, we used a database published by the Stock Exchange of Tunisian Market and the Financial Market Council. Results of the empirical analysis show that innovation positively contributes to firms’ financial performance. Findings reveal also that CEO’ duality is negatively associated to innovation. This research may represent potential guide for the board of directors in order to improve firms’ innovation and firms’ financial performance.