Abstract
Using a sample of sixty-eight microfinance institutions (MFIs) from Bangladesh, this study investigates the possible impact of various governance attributes on their financial performance. Our results show that powerful CEOs do have a positive impact on financial performance of MFIs, and that gender diversity in board can only have a positive impact when it is also augmented by gender diversity in management. However, the correlation between financial performance and board size was not statistically significant in our empirical analysis.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Sustainability means an MFI can meet all the administrative costs and loan losses from its operating income.
To become eligible the total volume of MFI’s credit portfolio must range between US$1 million and US$1.5 million dollars.
References
Adams, R. B., Almeida, H., & Ferreira, D. (2005). Powerful CEOs and their impact on corporate performance. Review of Financial Studies, 18(4), 1403–1432.
Adams, R. B., & Ferreira, D. (2007). A theory of friendly boards. Journal of Finance, 62(1), 217–250.
Brown, R., & Sarma, N. (2007). CEO overconfidence, CEO dominance and corporate acquisitions. Journal of Economics and Business, 59(5), 358–379.
Cadbury, A. (2002). Corporate governance and chairmanship: A personal view. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Combs, J. G., Ketchen, D. J., Perryman, A. A., & Donahue, M. S. (2007). The moderating effects of CEO power on the board composition-firm performance relationship. Journal of Management Studies, 44(8), 1299–1323.
CSFI. (2008). Microfinance Banana skins—Risk in a booming industry. In A. Hilton (Ed.), Banking banana skins report. New York: Center for the Study of Financial Innovation.
Ebrahim, A. (2002). Information struggles: The role of information in the reproduction of NGO-funder relations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 31(1), 85–113.
Ebrahim, A. (2003). Accountability in practice: Mechanisms for NGOs. World Development, 31(5), 813–829.
Eisenberg, T., Sundgren, S., & Wells, M. T. (1998). Larger board size and decreasing firm value in small firms. Journal of Financial Economics, 48, 35–54.
Fama, E., & Jensen, M. (1983). Ownership and control. Journal of Law and Economics, 26, 349–371.
Friedman, A., & Miles, S. (2002). Developing stakeholder theory. Journal of Management Studies, 39(1), 1–21.
Galema, R., Lensink, R., & Mersland, R. (2012). Do powerful CEOs have an impact on microfinance performance? Journal of Management Studies, 49(4), 718–742.
Hambrick, D., & Mason, P. (1984). The upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206.
Hart, O. (1995). Corporate governance: Some theory and implications. The Economic Journal, 105, 678–688.
Hartarska, V. (2005). Governance and performance of microfinance institutions in central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent states. World Development, 33(10), 1627–1648.
Hartaska, V., & Nadolnyak, D. (2007). Do regulated microfinance institutions achieve better sustainability and outreach? Cross-country evidence. Applied Economics, 39, 1207–1222.
Helms, B. (2006). Access for all: Building inclusive financial systems. Washington: C-GAP.
Hermalin, B. E., & Weisbach, M. S. (1991). The effect of board composition and direct incentives on firm performance. Financial Management, 20, 101–112.
Hermalin, B. E., & Weisbach, M. S. (1998). Endogenously chosen boards of directors and their monitoring of the CEO. American Economic Review, 88, 96–118.
Hudock, A. (1999). NGOs and civil society: Democracy by proxy?. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Jensen, M. (1993). The modern industrial revolution, exit and the failure of internal control systems. Journal of Finance, 48, 831–880.
Jensen, M., & Meckling, W. (1976). Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. The Journal of Financial Economics, 3, 305–360.
Jiraporn, P., Chintrakarn, P., & Liu, Y. (2012). Capital structure, CEO dominance, and corporate performance. Journal of Financial Services Research, 42(3), 132–158.
Kang, E., & Zardkoohi, A. (2005). Board leadership structure and firm performance. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 13(6), 785–799.
Klein, A. (1998). Firm performance and board committee structure. Journal of Law and Economics, 41, 137–165.
Klobukowska, J. (2013). Microfinance in Europe. Oeconomia Copernicana, 4(2), 133–145.
Lipton, M., & Lorsch, J. W. (1992). A modest proposal for improved corporate governance. Business Lawyer, 1, 59–77.
Liu, Y., & Jiraporn, P. (2010). The impact of CEO power on bond ratings and yields. Journal of Empirical Finance, 17(4), 744–762.
McKinsey and Company (2007) Women matter 2: gender diversity, a corporate performance driver
Mersland, R., & Strøm, R. Ø. (2009). Performance and governance in microfinance institutions. Journal of Banking & Finance, 33, 662–669.
Merslnad, R. (2011). The Governance of non-profit microfinance institutions: Lessons from history. Journal of Management and Governance, 15(3), 327–348.
Miles, S. (2012). Stakeholder: Essentially contested or just confused? Journal of Business Ethics, 108, 285–298.
Morse, A., Nanda, V., & Seru, A. (2011). Are incentive contracts rigged by powerful CEOs? Journal of Finance, 66(5), 1779–1821.
Ngo, T. N., Mullineux, A. W., & Ly, A. H. (2014). The impact of scale of operation on financial performance in microfinance. Eurasian Economic Review, 4(2), 177–198.
Nurmakhanova, M., Kretzschmar, G., & Fedhila, H. (2015). Trade-off between financial sustainability and outreach of microfinance institutions. Eurasian Economic Review, 5(2), 231–250.
Otero, M., & Chu, M. (2002). Governance and ownership of microfinance institutions. In D. Drake & E. Rhyne (Eds.), The commercialization of microfinance. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.
Oxelheim, L., & Randøy, T. (2003). The impact of foreign board membership on firm value. Journal of Banking & Finance, 27(12), 2369–2392.
Perera, J. (1997). In unequal dialogue with donors: The experience of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement. In D. Hulme & M. Edwards (Eds.), NGOs, states and donors: too close for comfort? (pp. 168–187). New York: St. Martins Press in association with the save the children fund.
Quayes, S. (2012). Depth of outreach and financial sustainability of microfinance institutions. Applied Economics, 44(25–27), 3421–3433.
Quayes, S. (2015). Outreach and performance of microfinance institutions: A panel analysis. Applied Economics, 47(18), 1909–1925.
Quayes, S., & Hasan, T. (2014). Financial disclosure and performance of microfinance institutions. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 10(3), 314–337.
Rock, R., Otero, M., & Saltzman, S. (1998). Principles and practices of microfinance governance. Microenterprise best practices project. Bethesda, MD: DAI/USAID.
Singh, H., & Harianto, F. (1989). Management-board relationships, takeover risk and the adoption of golden parachutes. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 7–24.
Smith, N., Smith, V., & Verner, M. (2006). Do women in top management affect firm performance? A panel study of 2300 Danish firms. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 15(7), 569–593.
Strøm, R. Ø., D’Espallier, B., & Mersland, R. (2010). Gender, performance and governance in microfinance institutions. In 3rd International Workshop on Microfinance Management and Governance, 36. University of Groningen, Norway.
Syriopoulos, T., & Tsatsaronis, M. (2012). Corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance: CEO duality in shipping firms. Eurasian Business Review, 2(1), 1–30.
Veprauskait, E., & Adams, M. (2013). Do powerful chief executives influence the financial performance of UK firms? The British Accounting Review, 45, 229–241.
Welbourne, T. M. (1999). Wall street likes its women: An examination of women in the top management teams of initial public offerings. Working Paper 99-07, CAHRS, Cornell University.
Woolley, A., Chabris, C., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330, 686–688.
Yermack, D. (1996). Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors. Journal of Financial Economics, 40, 185–212.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hasan, T., Quayes, S. & Khalily, B. Role of governance on performance of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh. Eurasian Econ Rev 9, 91–106 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40822-018-0102-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40822-018-0102-8