Delegation of board work to committees in Europe

Pablo de Andrés (), Laura Arranz-Aperte () and Juan Antonio Rodríguez-Sanz ()
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Pablo de Andrés: Autónoma University of Madrid
Laura Arranz-Aperte: Autónoma University of Madrid
Juan Antonio Rodríguez-Sanz: University of Valladolid
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Pablo de Andrés Alonso

Economics of Governance, 2017, vol. 18, issue 2, No 4, 179-208

Abstract: Abstract A sample of 6169 firm year observations in 14 western European countries between 2002 and 2009 is used to investigate how committee practice within boards of directors is related to company characteristics, and to the existence of alternative corporate governance instruments in place. We find that committees in Europe are prevalent in larger companies, and in companies with large and independent boards. However, we also find that leverage, director interlocking, concentrated ownership, and the presence of managers on the board mitigate the use of committees, suggesting that committee use is limited by the existence of alternative governance mechanisms. Consequently, recent regulatory changes in Europe that promote the creation of committees within boards may be unsuited for certain types of company, especially smaller companies and those with concentrated ownership.

Keywords: Board of directors; Committees; Corporate governance; European companies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G34 L51 M52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10101-017-0191-y

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