The effect of board characteristics and life cycle on corporate performance

Abstract

This research investigates the effect of board characteristics and corporate life-cycle on the performance of listed firms in Ghana covering the period 2009–2018. The paper adopts the approach propounded by Dickinson (2011) to cater to proxy measures of firms’ life cycle stages. Using the pooled estimated generalized least squares (EGLS), the findings reveal that chief executive officer (CEO) tenure has a positive significant effect on performance. The presence of inside directors negatively and significantly influences performance. The results further indicate that at different levels of statistical significance, the various stages of the firm’s life cycle have a negative impact on the main dependent variable (ROA). With the alternative firm performance proxy (ROE), the results report that aside from the decline stage which negatively drives performance, the rest of the stages (i.e., introduction, growth, and maturity) have a positive influence on performance. However, only the growth and maturity stages exert a significant effect on performance. As part of the suggestions, the study proposes that firms should reduce the proportion of executive directors and appoint more non-executive directors to the board to boost performance. Also, firms should endeavor to increase investment in research and development at every stage of their production to ensure steady profit growth.