Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm’s Performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Islamic and Conventional Firms

Abstract

Purpose – The present research aims to determine the impact of Corporate Governance most significant attribute board diversity on firm’s performance in the context of Islamic and Conventional non-financial firms in Pakistan in Pre and during Covid-19 period. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis are made using the 130 non-financial firms comprises of 51 Islamic firms listed in the KMI-30 and KMI all shares index, and 79 conventional firms listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange across various indexes over the period of 2011-2020 utilizes the OLS and panel fixed effect estimation technique for analysis. The robustness of findings is checked through alternative estimation techniques. Findings – The results show that in Islamic firms, board tenure diversity positively while board gender diversity has negative impact on performance. In conventional firms, board education and tenure diversity positively impact performance, while board age diversity has a negative impact. In Pre-Covid-19, board tenure diversity positively while age is negatively affected performance in Islamic firms. During Covid-19, board education diversity positively influenced Islamic firm performance. In Pre and during-Covid-19, board tenure diversity positively affected performance in conventional firms. During Covid-19 only gender diversity negatively affected performance in conventional firms. Other diversity indicators are insignificant in both Islamic and Conventional firms. Research limitations/implications – This study is conducted in the context of Pakistani Islamic and Conventional firms; thus, the study's findings on board diversity in Pakistani Islamic and conventional non-financial firms may not apply universally. Generalizing these findings should be approached cautiously due to distinct institutional and governance frameworks across economies. Practical implications – To enhance firms' competitive performance, policymakers should promote the incorporation of board members with diverse tenures and educational backgrounds in Conventional firms while diverse tenures in Islamic firms that align with the organization's needs. By adopting the education and tenure wise diverse board structure, firms can attract a wide range of stakeholders and effectively meet their expectations, thereby improving overall firm performance. x Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of board diversity on firm accounting-based performance and market-based performance in the context of Islamic and Conventional firms in Pakistan. This study uses RBV theory to provide a unique corporate governance structure based on board diversity, particularly in Pakistan.