Corporate governance and corporate performance: Evidence from Kuwait

Abstract

An increasing number of recent corporate scandals and failures worldwide give rise to interest in the corporate governance structure in the performance of companies. This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and performance of 66 non-financial companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) during the years 2004-2007. The findings of this study show that corporate governance characteristics such as board size, role duality, and less concentrated share ownership were positively associated with market performance, whereas only board size and role duality were positively related to accounting performance. The result is robust with respect to controls for company size, leverage, and industry.