Virtual Seminar: Professor Siri Terjesen - Florida Atlantic University

Seminar brought to you by Marketing and International Business (MIB).

Abstract:

Research Question/Issue: This study empirically explores formal and informal institution antecedents of the enactment of quotas and codes to increase gender diversity on corporate boards.

Research Findings/Insights: A panel of 30 European countries and 510 observations from 2002 to 2018 reveals that formal and informal national institutional contexts variously affect the likelihood of board gender codes and quotas. The presence of women in decision-making bodies is the most powerful driver of quotas and codes. Countries with better governance quality are less likely to have board gender quotas and codes. High power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, restraint, short-term orientation, and individualism all increase the likelihood of quotas; only short-term orientation increases the likelihood of codes. A country’s current presence of a left-wing government, maternity leave length, and female participation in the labour market are also associated with board gender diversity regulation, but causal relationships are limited and weak.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: Consistent with institutional theory’s arguments that cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulative structures and activities structure a society’s preferences, certain formal and informal institutional factors are associated with the approval of board gender quotas and codes.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: Policymakers should consider certain institutional contexts when proposing board gender diversity regulations (i.e., codes and quotas). The approval of such regulations seems to have a greater positive impact on other countries’ attitudes.

Bio: Prof Siri Terjesen is Associate Dean, Research & External Relations and Phil Smith Professor of Entrepreneurship at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, and Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (Norges Handelshøyskole: NHH) in Bergen, Norway. Prof Terjesen is an affiliated researcher with Catalyst (New York), Indiana University’s Institute for Development Strategies, and the Ratio Institute (Stockholm), and serves on the board of Strata. She is a well-recognized expert in higher education, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. She was nominated by the U.S. President to serve as one of 15 voting directors to the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES) which advises the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences. Among others, she serves as an advisor to the World Bank, Kauffman Foundation, and a variety of think tanks. As a researcher, she is amongst the world’s top 2% most cited scholars (Clarviate), and her over 13,000 citations in Google Scholar include publications in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Operations Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, Leadership Quarterly, and Strategic Management Journal.  She  is current editor of Academy of Management Perspectives, Small Business Economics, Journal of Risk & Financial Management, Industry & Innovation, and Beta, and an editorial review member of Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Leadership Quarterly, and Corporate Governance: International Review. For more details please click here.