Board governance index, financial performance and accountability-emphasis in government business corporations

Abstract

This study contributes to the growing literature on corporate governance index (CGI) by investigating the impacts a board governance index (BGI) developed in context of government business corporations (GBCs) on their financial performance. In addition, the study tests relevant corporate governance theories, namely agency, networking and resource dependence theories, in the context of GBCs. Concurrently, the study also conducts an exploratory investigation of the relationship between board governance arrangements and emphasis provided by GBCs' management to processes and systems for discharging accountability requirements (accountability-emphasis). The study found that the current board governance arrangement of GBCs is positively related to financial performance. This finding is consistent with majority of prior studies in context of private sector entities. However, there isn't any significant relationship found between board governance index and accountability-emphasis.