Time: 13:00-15:00 (UK Time), Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Presenter: Prof. Niels Hermes, University of Groningen
Chair: Prof. Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London
Online venue: Click here to join the seminar on Microsoft Teams (For any inquiry about how to join the online seminar, please contact Dr. Meng Xie at xm1@soas.ac.uk)
Abstract
The paper examines the effects of directors’ prior foreign board experience on firm internationalization strategy. Using data from 3,068 US-listed firms between 2003 and 2015, we find that US directors’ foreign board experience in code law countries negatively affects the degree of internationalization of the firm, but not the US directors’ board experience in common law countries. This result suggests that US directors with code law experience provide negative advice regarding the firm’s internationalization strategy, reducing foreign assets, foreign income, and the number of subsidiaries US firms have abroad. The results are mainly driven by US directors who were non-executives or independent directors in a code law country. We also find that Code Law Experienced US Directors are associated with a decrease in operational risk-taking and an increase in R&D investment and dividend payouts.
Keywords: Foreign Board Experience, Internationalization Intensity, Code Law, Experiential, Learning Theory
Presenter
Niels Hermes
Niels Hermes is Full Professor of International Finance and Chair of the Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is also Visiting Professor at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, Visiting Professor at the Institute of Finance Management, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, and Extraordinary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, Cape Town, South Africa. His research focuses on corporate governance, international finance and microfinance. He has published on these topics in journals such as Economic Journal, World Development, Journal of World Business, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Economic Suvreys, and Corporate Governance: An International Review. He is President of the International Corporate Governance Society. He is also Editor of Corporate Governance: An International Review. He has successfully supervised twelve PhD students in the past and is currently involved in the supervision of ten PhD projects.