The Influence Of Directors' Diversity And Corporate Sustainability Practices On Firm Performance: Evidence From Malaysia

This study aims to examine the relationship between directors' diversity (DIRDIV) and financial performance (FP) with a particular focus on the moderating effect of corporate sustainability practices (CSP). The study analyzes a sample of 104 firms listed on the Bursa Malaysia for the period from 2015 to 2017. Directors' diversity is measured by the Blau index, and Tobin's Q is used as a proxy of FP of the firms while the content analysis method is adopted to measure CSP. The study also employs three control variables, namely, board size, firm size, and leverage. Panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimator model has been used to test the hypotheses by STATA software. It is found that directors' diversity in terms of independent and non-independent directors significantly and positively affect the financial performance of the firms. Furthermore, this study reveals that CSP significantly moderates the relationship between directors' diversity and financial performance. This study suggests that the government and regulatory bodies should put more emphasis on diversifying the board and follow up the mandatory CSP to enhance financial performance of the firms, which is likely to ensure their long-term survival and to reduce the risk of collapse in the future.