Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting

Ideological Diversity in Boards of Directors

• In Event: Corporate Governance II

Abstract

This study uses a cohesive and theoretically grounded framework to examine the determinants of different types of board diversity. We also introduce a novel measure of director ideology, a previously unexamined attribute of board diversity. We examine how board and firm characteristics affect a set of distinct board diversity measures, and our results empirically demonstrate that the same factors affect different types of diversity in different ways. Our results also suggest that director ideology functions differently than other types of diversity. With this approach, we promote consistency in defining and measuring different types of diversity, advancing our understanding of the key drivers of board diversity.

Authors

• Anna M Cianci, Wake Forest University

• Will Demere, University of Missouri

• Mark E. Evans, Wake Forest University

• Karen L Sedatole, Emory University