EFFECT OF BOARD DIVERSITY ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF QUOTED HOSPITALITY FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effect of board diversity on financial performance of quoted hospitality firms in Nigeria for a period of nineteen years (19) years spanning from 2003 to 2021. Specifically, this study ascertained the effect of gender diversity, age diversity and board independence diversity on cash flow return on investment. The panel data sets used in this study were obtained from the annual reports and accounts and Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group fact books for the study period. Ex-post facto research design was employed. Inferential statistics using Pearson Coefficient Correlation and Panel Least Square Regression analysis were applied to test the hypotheses of the study. The findings showed that Gender diversity has a significant and positive effect on cash flow return on investment (β1 = 0.141799; P-value = 0.0000 < 0.05); Age diversity has a significant and positive effect on cash flow return on investment (β2 = 0.018494; P-value = 0.0000 < 0.05); Board independence has a significant and positive effect on cash flow return on investment (β3 = 0.289258; P-value = 0.0000 < 0.05) at 5% level of significance respectively. The study recommended inter alia that Company boards should have an independent majority since an independent majority on the board is more likely to consider the best interests of shareowners first. In times of high environmental uncertainty, outside directors can link the firm with scarce resources, help in effective strategy development and execution which can ultimately improve firm performance