Firm Characteristics and Corporate Performance: Evidence from India

The objective is to analyse the efficacy of firm structure as a corporate governance tool. For this purpose, we examine the effect of firm size, firm age, firm growth, board size, and independent directors on a board, on corporate performance. To test our hypothesis, we use a sample of 270 Indian IT companies, all of which are listed on the National Stock Exchange. Our main empirical result depicts the positive impact of firm size, firm age, and independent directors on corporate performance. The larger board size can reduce corporate performance, which can lead to a lack of coordination, flexibility, and communication. More members on a board can be the cause of conflict, either in terms of views or opinions, which ultimately leads to wastage of financial and time resources. The growth of the firm seems to have an insignificant impact on corporate performance as sales figures have a recessionary impact.