Board characteristics and firm success: does the institutional context always matter?

Relying on the core premise that the board of directors is a collective decision-making group, this study aims at expanding the literature on the influence of internal corporate governance on firm success assuming a comparative approach. Based on a sample of publicly traded companies nested in liberal market economies and coordinated market economies, the results indicate that the relationship between board eldership and firm success holds regardless of the institutional setting where the firm is nested. Similarly, I provide evidence board tenure negatively influences firm success regardless of the institutional setting where the firm is nested. In addition, the results show that directors’ attendance to board meetings positively influence firm success regardless of the institutional setting where the firm is nested. Overall, the empirical findings contribute to and extend the existing literature on internal corporate governance and comparative corporate governance.