This paper analyzes the characteristics of firms that declare board directors as independents, although the directors are not strictly independent, and examines the consequences in terms of performance and corporate governance outcomes. Based on publicly available information, eight criteria of...

The paper analyzes the governance of the corporation when politicians hold board positions. Specifically, we study whether former politicians have different probabilities of holding relevant positions on boards of directors and delegated committees compared to other directors. Our results...

Recommendations of codes on board independence do not match the predictions of optimal board structure theories. We investigate whether firms solve this tradeoff between optimal and recommended levels with gray independent directors, those who do not achieve the formal requirements of...

Based on the optimal board independence theory, we analyze how Spanish listed firms determine the presence of genuine and gray independent directors. We classify independents as gray whenever they do not satisfy formal independence requirements. Given the findings in previous literature, this...

This study aims at disentangling the decision of interlocking directors along the hierarchy of business groups. Considering boards as information-processing groups and grounded in agency theory and resource dependence theory, the monitoring and advising functions in the relationship between...