Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor | Faculty of Business | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Wu, Qiang (AF) | en_US |
| dc.creator | Jiang, Xingxin | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/14568 | - |
| dc.language | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | en_US |
| dc.rights | All rights reserved | en_US |
| dc.title | Gender dynamics in corporate leadership : impact of CEO-CFO gender combinations on ESG performance | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | This thesis examines the effect of gender balance within CEO–CFO dyads on firms' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, with a supplementary analysis on firms' financial profitability. Based on an integrative framework combining gender role theory, dominance complementarity theory (DCT), and agency theory, this research goes beyond board-level analysis to study changes in actual behavioural processes in the executive suite. An empirical analysis using 16,809 firm-years from a sample of U.S. public firms (2010–2022) yields four key results. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | First, supporting Hypothesis 1, diversity and inclusive leadership contribute to ESG performance. Companies that promote gender diversity and female CEO–CFO dyads always outperform all-male teams. The results confirm two theories: mixed CEO–CFO dyads generate considerable improvements, proving the value of cognitive diversity in overcoming all-male groupthink (dominance complementarity theory), while female dyads receive the highest sustainability premiums, indicating the additive value of collective values (gender role theory). | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Second, decision-making quality, measured using behavioural proxies, mediates the relationship (Hypothesis 2). The results show that female CFOs contribute to ESG improvement by increasing financial slack (greater FCF) and operational discipline (less REM). Additionally, female CEOs improve sustainability performance by improving investment efficiency and reducing managerial empire-building. This reduction in opportunistic behaviour and empire-building empirically and directly support agency theory, showing that mixed and female CEO–CFO dyads are effective internal monitors for enhancing decision-making quality, thereby improving ESG performance. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Third, the analysis shows the important boundary conditions of executive power relations (Hypothesis 3). In ESG matters, power asymmetry (a large CEO–CFO pay gap) is a suppressor that negates the positive effect of mixed dyads by reducing collaborative consensus in an area with weaker regulatory requirements. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Fourth, with the supplementary test, which validates the business case for diversity and inclusion, the findings corroborate that mixed and female executive dyads generate better current and future financial profitability (ROA and ROA(t+1)). | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Beyond those results, my analysis reveals a counterintuitive finding and addresses the theoretical paradox underlying the pay gap. Although the hierarchy (large pay gap) prevents the effects of diversity on ESG performance due to limited collaborative consensus in an area with weaker regulatory authority, it increases the economic benefits of mixed and female executive dyads. This highlights a functional duality: in high-power settings, female executives use binding financial regulatory frameworks to move from a role of collaborator to that of governance watchdog. They exercise the strict discipline necessary to preserve shareholder value by using these rigorous constraints to restrain managerial extravagance and empire-building, which confirms the logic of agency theory that diverse and inclusive leadership is an effective internal control and monitoring system. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | vi, 101 pages : illustrations | en_US |
| dcterms.isPartOf | PolyU Electronic Theses | en_US |
| dcterms.issued | 2026 | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | D.B.A. | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | All Doctorate | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Diversity in the workplace | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Executives -- Sex differences | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Social responsibility of business | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations | en_US |
| dcterms.accessRights | restricted access | en_US |
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| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9272.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 940.06 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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