• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.351-363
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• 2020

The objective of this paper is to explore how board gender diversity affects corporate sustainability performance. Therefore, this paper examines the direct association between board gender diversity with corporate sustainability performance and the mediation effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) on this association. The study employed a cross-sectional survey method. Data were collected from annual reports, websites, and through the questionnaires that were distributed to Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of all the listed companies of Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh. The partial least square technique of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was employed for data analysis. The result did not find support for the direct association between board gender diversity and sustainability performance in Bangladesh context. This implies that contextual factors, such as, male-dominant board, appointment of female directors based on family ties, lack of education and expertise etc. may discount gender diversity direct influence on sustainability performance. However, the study finds strong support for the mediating role of ERM use within the corporate structure. Further analysis of indirect effect suggests that ERM use mediates the relationship of board gender diversity and sustainability performance in full. This implies that in the Bangladesh context effective use of ERM is highly recommended.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.87-99
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• 2020

The study aims to investigate factors that determine dividend payout policy using 336 non-financial firm year observations covering the period 2005 to 2016 in Malaysia. We found a significant positive relationship between corporate board size, board members average age, board tenure and dividend payout policy. We also found a strong negative effect and statistically insignificant relationship of board diversity, board independence, CEO duality and dividend payout policy. Additional, financial leverage has a negative effect on dividend payout policy. It is also noticed that firms with diverse boards are more likely to pay dividends and tend to pay larger dividends than those with non-diverse boards. Our results suggest that board diversity has a significant impact on dividend payout policy. Impact of board diversity on dividend payout policy is particularly conspicuous for firms with potentially greater agency problems. Our findings are consistent with the argument that corporate board traits enhancement positively affect the dividend payout policy which is beneficial for shareholders. This study offers useful insights into the current global debate on board traits and its implications for firms. The dividend payout policy signals good news to investors. Corporate board traits and firm's financial decision are the factors that disrupt the dividend decision.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of board education diversity on the relationship between ownership concentration and environmental accounting disclosure. The study was driven by stakeholder's theory. The longitudinal research design was adopted in the study. The study targeted 27 listed firms from 2008 to 2017. Panel regression analysis results indicated ownership concentration (β = -.131, ρ<.05) had a negative and significant effect on environmental disclosure in Kenyan firms. However, Board education diversity positively moderated the relationship between ownership concentration (β=.138, ρ<.05) and environmental accounting disclosure. Thus, board education diversity is an enhancing moderator in the relationship between ownership concentration and environmental accounting disclosure. The findings validate stakeholder theory's proposition. The study recommends that firms listed in the NSE ought to diffuse ownership concentration, and their boards should be well educated and experienced to enhance environmental accounting disclosure.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.365-375
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• 2022

This study examines the relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance. The annual data of Palestinian nonfinancial listed enterprises from 2015 to 2019 was analyzed using a longitudinal panel analysis for the study's purposes. When conditional mean regression methodologies were used in the study, the results indicate that there is an insignificant relation between board gender diversity and firm financial performance. However, when analyzing women directors' effect on a firm's financial performance, endogeneity is always a concern, therefore, we test for endogeneity by employing the Darbin-Wu Housman test and then by using 2SLS. Nevertheless, when looking at the dispersion of a firm's performance using quantile regression, the results show that having women on the board improves financial performance slightly, especially for high-financial-performing firms. The findings indicate that there is a legal significant gap hindering the protection of gender diversity in boardrooms, and limiting the existence and representation of women in leadership positions, specifically, board of directors. The results of this study contribute to corporate governance and business culture literature by shedding the light on the importance of board gender diversity, to improve the firm financial performance, and hence, protect the interests of all shareholders' categories.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.341-350
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• 2021

This study tested the effect of the board of directors' (BOD) characteristics on the corporate performance of the Jordanian industrial and service companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) during the period 2015-2019. The characteristics of the BOD were measured through the following variables: MO = managerial ownership; CEODU = CEO duality; BI = board independence; GD = gender diversity; ND = nationality diversity; AE = advanced education; BM = board meetings; BSIZ = board size; CSIZ = corporate size; CA = corporate age. The corporate performance was measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The corporate size and corporate age were used as control variables. The study sample consisted of 85 industrial and service companies with 425 observations to identify the nature of the effect of the BOD characteristics on performance. This study applied time-series data (panel data), and the multiple linear regression method was used to achieve study objectives. Results showed a positive effect of the study variables on performance, while the corporate age and the education level (BOD members) have a negative effect on performance.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2021

This study investigates the impact of gender diversity on the board of directors on corporate intellectual capital (IC) disclosure in Indonesia. For the study purpose, the sample was divided into two sections, i.e., companies with large capitalizations and companies with small capitalizations. A paired T-test was used to observe significant changes in the disclosure level between period and type of firm. Using linear regression analysis, the influence of gender diversity and other variables on IC disclosure was examined. The findings show that IC disclosure varies for large and small companies. The level of IC disclosure in large companies was stronger than in small companies. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that the profitability, leverage, ownership, and type of business of the company significantly affect IC disclosure. For companies with large capitalization, the presence of women directors on corporate boards or gender diversity on corporate boards does not impact IC disclosure. This is because the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) does not insist on IC disclosure. However, for small companies, the existence of gender diversity has a significant effect on IC disclosure. The findings of this study suggest that policymakers and standard makers must consider the inclusion of IC disclosure on the annual report as mandatory.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.249-253
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• 2009

Raily ecorace of Indian tasar silkworm is wild in nature and distributed abundantly in dense deciduous forest on Shorea robusta (Sal) in Bastar ($17^{\circ}4'$ and $20^{\circ}34'$ N, $80^{\circ}15'$ and $82^{\circ}15'$ E and altitude ranging from 150 to 1200 mMSL) forest ranges of Chhattisgarh, India. It is represented by about 20 populations. Out of those, eleven populations showed intra- as well as inter- population variability based on phenotypic expression and also in major economic traits viz. cocoon weight, shell weight, filament length and denier. Genetic diversity in these eleven populations was studied using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. The band profiles generated with eight ISSR primers have depicted variation in band size. All the primers exhibited polymorphism which is an indicative of the genetic variation in individual Raily silkworm. Among the populations, total polymorphism recorded was 76%. The population genetic aspects assessed through POPGENE software package are discussed in the paper. Nei's gene diversity (h) ranged from 0.194 to 0.337 exhibiting high heterozygosity. Relevance of the present study is of high significance in formulating conservation strategies and sustainable utilization of the economically important Raily ecorace of Antheraea mylitta.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.181-193
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• 2020

This study examines the relationship between gender diversity (women on the board and women on the audit committee) and a firm's financial stability. The ordinary least square analysis was used to determine the relationship. To measure the financial stability of Malaysian suspect firms, i.e., firms with the lowest positive earnings, the Altman (1993) Z-Score measurement was utilized. The results indicate that women on the board are significantly and negatively associated with the firm's financial stability. That is, they are related to low financial stability, which contradicts the agency and resource dependence theories. Regarding women directors on the audit committee, there is no significant relationship with financial stability, meaning that they cannot protect the company against financial distress. These results are robust and do not change when using different measurements of gender diversity, one-year lag of independent variables, and other methods of analysis, namely random effect panel data. This study is the first to alert policymakers, stakeholders, researchers, and society in general to the need to re-evaluate and strengthen the role of women directors in improving firms' financial stability, particularly in emerging economies like Malaysia.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.211-215
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• 2004

Genetic diversity within the natural populations of Daba ecorace of Antheraea mylitta Drury was studied using individual silkworms collected from the South Singhbhum district of Jharkhand state of India with 21 inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. A total of 148 bands were produced, of which 79% was polymorphic. The pair wise genetic distance among the individuals varied from 0.186 to 0.329. The dendrogram grouped the individuals into 3 major clusters. Nei's heterozygosity analysis revealed 0.265 ${\times}$ 0.18 variability within the population. The high genetic variability present within the natural population of Daba ecorace of A. mylitta is indicative of their adaptational strategy in nature and have much importance for in situ conservation as well as utilization in breeding programs.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.549-558
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• 2022

The Indonesian Archipelago has a very complex geological history, along with equatorial warm sea temperature, resulting in diverse types of coral reefs and high diversity of coral reef fish. Many livelihoods of the coastal community are dependent on coral reef fisheries. The present study aimed to determine which region and location in the Indonesian Archipelago has the most diverse and abundant coral reef fish. The archipelago was divided into four regions: the Indian Ocean, Sunda Shelf, Wallacea, and the Pacific Ocean. Data were obtained from a national coral reef monitoring program of the Indonesian Research Center for Oceanography (RCO)-the National Board for Research and Innovation (BRIN). The reef fish data were collected using the underwater visual census method, from 321 belt transects on 24 locations (districts) across the archipelago. The results show that coral reef fish diversity of the Pacific region was the highest across the archipelago for all three trophic levels, i.e., corallivore, herbivore, and carnivore fish. The Pacific Ocean region also had the highest fish abundance for the three trophic levels. Comparison among locations revealed that the best ten locations in reef fish diversity and abundance were Sabang, Mentawai, Makassar, Selayar, Buton, Luwuk, Ternate, Raja Ampat, Biak, and Wakatobi. Wakatobi reefs showed their supremacy in carnivore fish diversity and abundance, while Biak reefs were the best in herbivore fish. The abundance of corallivore fish was also considerably high in Sabang reefs, but it is still lower than in Raja Ampat, Biak, and Wakatobi reefs. These results provide empirical evidence that the coral reefs of Wakatobi and Biak are the hottest hotspots of coral reef fish diversity and abundance in the Indonesian Archipelago.