Abstract: This study examines the effects of board characteristics and firm performance. The board characteristics are the board gender diversity, the board size, frequency of meetings held during a year by the board of directors and the board financial knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – Based on panel data of 150 observations from non-financial firms listed on the Palestine Security Exchange (PSE) during the period from 2011 to 2016. This study utilises panel data to examine the effect of the predictors on firm performance. The analysis was repeated after using Random-effect and Fixed-effect analysis to make sure that the main results are robust and accurate. Findings – The results show that the larger the board size the better firm's performance. Moreover, the frequency of meetings is found to be positively associated with firm performance. Likewise, the board financial knowledge has a positive relationship with firm performance. However, the result does not find any relationship between the board gender and firm performance. Overall, the results suggest that board's effectiveness tend to improve firms' performance. Originality/value – The study is timely given that the board of directors play pivotal roles in determining the performance in term of monitoring and controlling. The prior research in Palestine has not investigated the effect of board gender diversity. As such, Palestine has not established a legal quota of minimum female representation on boards, and because of it, the country has weak women’s representation among firms. It therefore becomes a necessity to examine the influence of board gender diversity on the financial performance of listed firms in Palestine.

Title

nternational Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Advanced Technology

Publisher

nternational Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Advanced Technology

Publisher Country

Palestine

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

1

Year

2020

Pages

84-95