Corporate governance: The effects of board characteristics, information technology maturity and transparency on company performance

Corporate boards worldwide have attracted a great deal of attention in the past decade because of corporate failures and concerns about the performance of corporations and the way they are governed. Therefore, there have been significant changes in the regulations, and relationships between management, boards, and shareholders.The corporate governance literature in emerging countries is limited. Turkey, as an emerging market, has attracted increasing numbers of foreign investors in the last ten years. The level and quality of corporate governance and company performance are among the most important criteria for investors on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE). Board structure and transparency are among the main building blocks of the corporate governance mechanism.This study is an attempt to develop a conceptual model of relationships based on the dimensions of board characteristics, transparency, information technology, and company performance. It is also an empirical analysis of the corporate governance dimensions of high and low-performing companies. The empirical phase of the research is based on the data gathered from the ISE companies.The study also empirically examines the moderating effects of transparency and information technology on board structure and company performance. It aims to analyse corporate governance, information technology and company performance relationships in ISE companies in Turkey. This study also investigates the role of information technology and transparency to explain the relationship between board structure and company performance. As part of the study, the correlation between information technology and transparency is also investigated.Finally, the study investigates the relationship between board structure (CEO/Chairman duality, board size and outsider director ratio) and transparency.