Board gender diversity and the financial performance of Pakistani non-financial firms: A fuzzy-set QCA approach

Abstract

According to the upper echelon's theory, the decision-making process in regard to competitive strategies by the top management has an enduring impact on firm performance (Hambrick & Mason, 1984). Moreover, the attributes of the individuals in top management may also affect the decision-making process. The purpose of this research is to analyze the board gender diversity impact on the financial performance of the non-financial companies of Pakistan. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is employed which is premised on Boolean algebra that sets foundation for the theoretical framework of complexity theory. The sample comprises of 74 non-financial firms listed on the KSE-100 Index. The results are modelled as a component of the intermediate solutions with board- level variables and gender diversity for the outcome variable (i.e., EVA and Tobin's Q). From board level variables, the impact of gender diversity and foreign directors is identified among most of the combinations whereas leverage is the prominent variable within the firm level variables, the boards of which tend to be small. The results showed a heterogeneous nature of response as board gender diversity exhibited stronger association in some configurations and in some cases it exhibited weaker association similar to that of (Pandey et al., 2022).

Originality: This study is an attempt to explore the of board gender diversity role in a firm's performance using board level and firm level variables. Therefore, this work adds to the prior research by adding a complementarity-based methodology for analyzing board gender diversity.