An exploration of the effect of organisational demography on board size and leadership structure: Evidence from the Greek manufacturing sector

Abstract

This study examines how organisational demography (organizational age, organisational size and number of years listed in the Athens Stock Exchange, ATHEX), may impact the board structure (board size, CEO duality and CEO dependence/ independence). The relationships are proposed, under the light of data collected from the annual reports of all 140 manufacturing organisations quoted in the Athens Stock Exchange. Research findings revealed a significantly positive relationship of organisational size, organisational age and number of years that a firm is listed in the Stock Exchange with board size. However, these organisational characteristics do not influence the leadership structure or dependency/independency of the Chairperson to the CEO. While many studies examining the impact of board characteristics on various organisational outputs, including performance, reputation and effectiveness, there are limited studies investigating variables that affect board characteristics and as such the study opens discussion on potential predictors of board.