COVID-19 exposure: a risk-averse firms’ response

Abstract

Purpose Without a doubt, COVID-19 is a disruptive event that one may not consider before it becomes a global pandemic. This study aims to examine the firm’s risk preference, represented as board characteristics towards COVID-19 exposure in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the boardroom’s average value of board age and female proportion to represent board characteristics. Fixed-effect regression based on industry (Industry FE) and year (Year FE) analyses 861 firm-year observations of all firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange in 2019–2020. Findings The result shows a positive relationship between the female board and COVID-19 exposure disclosure. Meanwhile, the age proportion does not offer a significant result. The additional analysis document that the directors mainly drove the result and were only relevant during 2020. These results are robust due to coarsened exact matching tests and Heckman’s two-stage regression. This study enriches COVID-19 literature, especially from a quantitative perspective. Originality/value The rise of global crises makes the outputs of this study important for non-financial listed firms in Indonesia.