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DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2019-2-009
In oduc ion
The issue o emale ep esen a ion in op
managemen eams is a g owing a ea o
in e es among p ac i ione s, policymake s,
and esea che s a ound he wo ld (Ahmadi,
Nakaa, & Bou i, 2018). In pa icula , he e has
been an ongoing deba e abou whe he gende
di e si y in op managemen eams ela es
o company pe o mance, mo e speci i cally
i nancial pe o mance (Fa ag & Mallin, 2017;
He nandez-Nicolás e al., 2015).
The exis ing body o li e a u e sugges s ha
op managemen eam gende di e si y has
bo h posi i e and nega i e e ec s on company
pe o mance. Addi ionally, he esul s o empi ical
s udies on his issue emain mixed (e.g., Ali
& Kon ad, 2017; Ege & Ind ucho á, 2014;
Julizae ma & So i, 2012). On he one hand,
he e is e idence ha gende di e si y in op
managemen is associa ed wi h highe i nancial
pe o mance (e.g., Campbell & Mínguez-Ve a,
2008; Pe yman, Fe nando, & T ipa hy, 2016).
On he o he hand, he esul s gained by
ano he su ey epo nega i e o no ela ionship
be ween gende di e si y in op managemen
eams and company i nancial pe o mance (e.g.,
Adams & Fe ei a, 2009; Chapple & Humph ey,
2014; Wang & Cli , 2009).
Mos esea ch su eys in es iga ing he
e ec o op managemen eam cha ac e is ics
on company pe o mance implici ly o explici ly
d aw on he uppe echelon heo y (Plöckinge
e al., 2016). The uppe echelon heo y
emphasizes he c i ical ole o op managemen
eams on o ganiza ional s a egic decisions
and pe o mance (Hamb ick & Mason, 1984).
The heo y u he s a es ha op manage s’
obse able and unobse able backg ound
cha ac e is ics play a signi i can ole in
o ganiza ional decision-making and ul ima ely
in o ganiza ional ou comes (Hamb ick, 2007).
Thus, o explain o ganiza ional ou comes and
e en ually i nancial ou comes, i is necessa y
o conside he cha ac e is ics o he op
managemen eam. This su ey is he e o e
aimed o iden i y he possible link be ween
company i nancial pe o mance and op
manage ial eam composi ion based on gende
ep esen a ion.
Fu he mo e, p e ious empi ical su eys
and exis ing li e a u e explo e he link be ween
gende di e si y in op managemen eams
and i nancial ou comes p edominan ly in
la ge o ganiza ions, while only a ew s udies
a e conduc ed in small- and medium-sized
en e p ises (Dale-Olsen, Schone, & Ve ne ,
2013; Mínguez-Ve a & Ma in, 2011; Wa d &
Fo ke , 2015). Howe e , small- and medium-
sized en e p ises a e conside ed o be c ucial
engines o economic g ow h h oughou he
wo ld. Small- and medium-sized en e p ises
ep esen o e 95% o en e p ises in mos OECD
coun ies, 99% in he EU, and 99.8% in he
Czech Republic (Eu os a , 2017). Hence, some
au ho s (e.g., F ancoeu , Labelle, & Sinclai -
Desgagné, 2007) call o an examina ion o his
issue in small- and medium-sized o ganiza ions
ins ead o only in la ge ones. We espond o
his call by ocusing ou s udy on small- and
medium-sized en e p ises.
Wi h ega d o deba es abou women’s
ep esen a ion in op managemen eams, he
impo ance o a ce ain numbe o pe cen age
o women in he op managemen eam (TMT)
is o en s essed. This aises ques ions such
as, wha is he numbe o pe cen age o
women in op managemen eams in l uencing
i nancial pe o mance? Mo e speci i cally, wha
p opo ion o women in op managemen
is likely o cons i u e a c i ical mass ha
con ibu es o be e i nancial pe o mance?
As s a ed by Cha les, Redo and Zopounidis
(2015), mos s udies ha e ypically ocused
on he impac o he p esence o women on
TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM COMPOSITION
AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: EXAMINING
THE ROLE OF GENDER DIVERSITY
Dana Ege o á, Ma a Nosko á
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130 2019, XXII, 2
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i nancial pe o mance; howe e , based on
c i ical mass heo y, he me e p esence o
women on boa ds may no be su i cien o
b ing a posi i e impac . Fu he mo e, shi ing
he deba e om he p esence o women in
op managemen eams o he size o he
mino i y g oup ( he numbe o women in TMT)
enabled an unde s anding o he impo ance
o op managemen eam p ocesses (To chia,
Calab o, & Huse, 2011).
Fu he mo e, au ho s Kon ad, K ame ,
and E ku (2008) call o shi esea ch
solely ocused on women’s p esence in
op managemen eams o he p opo ion
o emale op managemen membe ship
exp essed by he numbe /pe cen age o
women in op managemen eams. Simila ly,
Ki sch (2017) sugges s paying close a en ion
o h eshold e ec s, such as he shi om
ze o o one-woman di ec o s o a c i ical mass
o women di ec o s. In doing so, unlike p io
su eys in e ms o measu emen s, his s udy
uses he numbe /pe cen age o women in op
managemen as he independen a iable
and c i ical mass is in es iga ed. Thus, he
p esen s udy con ibu es o he deba e on he
ela ionship be ween op managemen gende
di e si y and i nancial pe o mance by u he
explo ing he c i ical mass heo y.
Unde he abo e-men ioned amewo k,
he pu pose o he p esen s udy is o explo e
he ela ionship be ween gende di e si y in
op managemen eams and he o ganiza ional
i nancial pe o mance in small- and medium-
sized en e p ises in he con ex o he Czech
Republic. Speci i cally, we in es iga e wha
p opo ion o women (wha cons i u es c i ical
mass) in op managemen eams is likely o
in l uence company i nancial pe o mance.
The heo e ical amewo k guiding his s udy
includes he uppe echelon heo y and he
c i ical mass heo y.
The pape is o ganized as ollows. The i s
sec ion p esen s he heo e ical amewo k
ega ding he uppe echelon heo y and he
c i ical mass heo y. An o e iew o exis ing
empi ical esea ch (o he p e ious i ndings)
is also included. Nex , he esea ch design
is desc ibed, which con ains a desc ip ion o
he da a and indica o s measu emen . Nex ,
we p esen and discuss he esul s. Finally,
he conclusions and limi a ions o he s udy a e
p o ided.
1. Theo y Backg ound and Resea ch
Ques ions
1.1 Uppe Echelon Theo y
As p e iously men ioned, ou esea ch
in es iga es he link be ween gende di e si y
a op managemen and i nancial pe o mance
based upon uppe echelon employed by
Hamb ick and Mason (1984). The heo y inspi ed
many s udies ocused on op managemen
eams and helped o unde s and he causal link
be ween op managemen cha ac e is ics and
o ganiza ional pe o mance. Empi ical s udies
ha ollowed om Hamb ick and Mason’s (1984)
uppe echelon heo y sugges ha indeed, TMT
ma e s o o ganiza ional ou comes (Oppong,
2014). Plöckinge e al. (2016) no ed ha
exis ing empi ical s udies in i nancial esea ch
ha e explici ly (e.g., Nielsen & Nielsen, 2013;
Ops up & Villadsen, 2014) o implici ly (e.g.,
Campbell & Mínguez-Ve a, 2008; Conyon &
He, 2017; Richa d, Ki by, & Chadwick, 2013)
d awn on he main assump ion o he uppe
echelon heo y. Simila ly, Nishii, Go e, and
Ra e (2007) a gue ha se e al s udies analyse
he e ec o uppe echelon cha ac e is ics and
o ganiza ional pe o mance.
The uppe echelons heo y emphasizes he
dominan ole o op managemen eams and
he c i ical impac hey ha e on o ganiza ional
ou comes. Mo e speci i cally, he heo y
s a es ha he o ganiza ion’s ou comes a e
a e lec ion o i s op manage s (Cannella,
2001; Hamb ick & Mason, 1984). The co e o
uppe echelons heo y is based on he ollowing
wo in e connec ed pa s: (1) execu i es ac on
he basis o hei pe sonalized in e p e a ions o
si ua ions hey ace and (2) his pe sonalized
cons ual is a unc ion o hei expe iences,
alues, and pe sonali ies. The heo y also
sugges s ha demog aphic cha ac e is ics o
execu i es could be used as alid, al hough
incomple e and imp ecise, indica o s o p oxies
o mo e elusi e psychological p ope ies
and execu i e disposi ions (Cannella, 2001;
Hamb ick, 2007). Thus, i we wan o unde s and
why o ganiza ions do he hings hey do and
pe o m he way hey do, emphasis should be
placed on he demog aphic cha ac e is ics o
hei op execu i es (Ca pen e , Gele kanycz, &
Sande s, 2004; Hamb ick, 2007).
Nex , he impo an ea u e o uppe
echelons heo y is a ocus on he op
managemen eam a he han s ic ly on single
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chie execu i es (Finkels ein & Hamb ick, 1990).
Hamb ick (2007) no ed ha ocus on execu i e
g oups, a he han on indi iduals, o en b ings
be e explana ions o o ganiza ional ou comes.
Thus, as a gued by Finkels ein and Hamb ick
(1990), i we wan o unde s and o ganiza ional
ou comes, we need o look no jus a he CEO,
bu a he a he en i e op managemen eam.
An issue ha needs o be also conside ed
is op managemen eam di e si y (TMT), which
is conside ed as one o he undamen al uppe
echelons cons uc s (Hamb ick, Cho, & Chen,
1996; Hamb ick, Humph ey, & Gup a, 2015).
P e ious s udies ha e epo ed mixed and
o en con adic o y esul s o TMT di e si y
on pe o mance anging om a posi i e
ela ionship be ween TMT di e si y and
i nancial pe o mance h ough o an insigni i can
o nega i e associa ion be ween TMT di e si y
and i nancial pe o mance (Dwye , Richa d, &
Chadwick, 2003; Pos & By on, 2015; Robe son
& Hyeon, 2007). A possible explana ion o he
con l ic ing esul s may be due o he ac ha ,
TMT di e si y is de i ned mos ly as a gene al
cons uc (Nielsen, 2010). As no ed by Nielsen
and Nielsen (2013), dealing wi h di e si y
as a gene ic unidimensional concep does
no e l ec i s complex na u e and impac .
Fu he mo e, no all aspec s o di e si y
in l uence eam decision-making and company
pe o mance in he same way (Nielsen, 2010).
The e o e, he au ho sugges s b eaking down
he cons uc o di e si y in o single a ibu es
and conside a ious di e si y a ibu es
independen ly. Acco ding o K ishnan and Pa k
(2005), gende is a mo e complex demog aphic
a iable han o he a iables and an impo an
measu e o di e si y. We he e o e ocus he
esea ch on gende in op managemen eams
and in es iga e whe he i enhances company
i nancial pe o mance.
Wi h ega d o he abo e, we a gue ha
he uppe echelon heo y p o ides a sui able
heo e ical amewo k om which we can
examine how managemen execu i es and
demog aphic di e si y, speci i cally gende
di e si y, a e ela ed o i nancial pe o mance in
small and medium-sized en e p ises. The e o e,
unde he uppe echelon heo y amewo k, we
posi he ollowing esea ch ques ion:
Q1: Does gende di e si y in op
managemen eams posi i ely a ec i nancial
pe o mance in small- and medium-sized
en e p ises?
1.2 C i ical Mass Theo y
Mos p e ious s udies in es iga ing he
ela ionship be ween gende di e si y in op
managemen and i m pe o mance ha e
ocused on he impac o he p esence o
women on i nancial pe o mance; howe e ,
based on he c i ical mass heo y, he me e
p esence o women on boa ds may no be
su i cien enough o b ing signi i can changes o
op managemen eams and imp o e co po a e
go e nance (Cha les, Redo , & Zopounidis,
2015). Acco ding o he c i ical mass heo y,
he p opo ion o socially and cul u ally di e se
people in a g oup is conside ed as c i ical in
shaping g oup dynamics and p ocesses (Kan e ,
1977). On he basis o a ying p opo ional
composi ions, Kan e (1977) iden i i ed he
ollowing ou ypes o g oups: uni o m, skewed,
i led, and balanced. Uni o m includes only one
ype o people; all membe s sha e he same
( isible) cha ac e is ics. The ypological a io o
his g oup is 100:1. Wi h espec o gende , all
membe s o he g oup a e ei he male o emale.
Skewed wi h la ge dominance o one ype o e
ano he , he membe s o he mino i y (called
okens) become symbolic ep esen a i es o
hei g oup. This mino i y g oup is no able o
o e come he p oblems o okenism; he a io o
a dominan g oup o a mino i y g oup becomes
85:15. Wi h espec o gende , he male
domina ed skewed g oup consis s o up o 20%
women. Til ed, wi h less ex eme dis ibu ions,
mino i y membe s can o m alliances; he a io
o his g oup is 65:35 (up o 40%). Wi h espec
o gende , a male domina ed il ed g oup
consis s o 20 o 40% women. When balanced,
he e a e oppo uni ies o elimina e he majo i y
and gende -based di e ences in in e ac ion;
he a io o his g oup is app oxima ely 60:40
down o 50:50 (mo e han 40%). Wi h espec
o gende ep esen a ion, his g oup has 40
o 60% women (Kan e , 1977; Low, Robe s,
& Whi ing, 2015; To chia, Calab o, & Huse,
2011). Thus, by shi ing he mino i y size g oup,
i is unlikely ha he impac o his subg oup
becomes p onounced on g oup in e ac ion and
p ocesses (B oome, Conley, & Kimbe ly, 2011).
A he same ime, he c i ical mass heo y
p edic s ha when he size o he mino i y g oup
eaches a ce ain h eshold o c i ical mass, he
in l uence o he g oup g ows (Kon ad, K ame ,
& E ku , 2008). By analogy, i should be said
ha when women each a ce ain h eshold,
hei in l uence in op managemen eams
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g ows. On he o he hand, he heo y does no
sugges which numbe is likely o cons i u e
a c i ical mass (To chia, Calab o, & Huse, 2011).
The e o e, s udies d awing on he c i ical mass
heo y ha e been conduc ed o in es iga e which
numbe is likely o cons i u e a c i ical mass o
women in op managemen eams. Fo example,
esea ch by Kon ad and K ame (2006) showed
ha a c i ical mass is o med wi h h ee o mo e
women. Simila ly, Liu, Wei, and Xie (2014) ound
ha a c i ical mass o h ee o mo e women can
cause a signi i can change in manage ial eams
and imp o e co po a e go e nance. These
au ho s also iden i i ed ha boa ds wi h h ee
o mo e emale di ec o s ha e a much s onge
impac on company pe o mance han boa ds
wi h wo o ewe women.
Fu he mo e, using a da a se o 151 lis ed
Ge man i ms, Joecks, Pull, and Ve e (2013)
p o ided e idence o he c i ical mass o emale
ep esen a i es on he boa d o be eached a
a sha e o app oxima ely 30%. On he o he hand,
he esul s o he s udy pe o med by K ama ic
and Mile ic (2017) show ha when a c i ical
mass o 20-40% women on he managemen
boa d has been eached, bank pe o mance
imp o es. In con as , he s udy conduc ed by
Lo ie-Lussie and Rin e (2002) did no suppo
he c i ical mass heo y. Addi ionally, he esul s
ob ained by Cha les, Redo and Zopounidis
(2015) epo ed ha he e a e no signi i can
in e ences in i m pe o mance be ween i ms
wi h and wi hou a c i ical mass o women on
hei boa ds. O e all, hese empi ical esul s
p o ide oppo uni y o deepe in es iga ion
o c i ical mass. The e o e, unde he c i ical
mass heo y amewo k, we posi he ollowing
esea ch ques ion:
Q2: Wha pe cen age o women in op
managemen eams cons i u es a c i ical mass
ha posi i ely in l uences i nancial pe o mance
in small- and medium-sized en e p ises?
2. Da a and Me hodology
2.1 Da a
The da ase o his s udy is based on he 823
en e p ises o he manu ac u ing indus y in he
Czech Republic. The manu ac u ing indus y
was selec ed because i is he indus y wi h
he la ges p oduc ion in he Czech Republic
and hus is he mos impo an indus y o he
Czech economy. Only en e p ises wi h 50 o 250
employees we e selec ed o ensu e ha only
small and middle-sized en e p ises would be
pa o he analysis. Addi ionally, o include only
p o i -based en e p ises, hei legal o ms we e
de e mined as ollows: indi idual en ep eneu s,
pa ne ships, companies wi h limi ed liabili y, and
public limi ed companies. F om a o al o 823
analysed companies, almos 64% a e companies
wi h limi ed liabili y, and 34% a e public limi ed
companies. The es consis o pa ne ships and
indi idual en ep eneu s (see Tab. 1).
In his s udy we do no conside he ime as
a a iable, hus he da a included only one yea
(2015). To analyse he ela ionship be ween
gende di e si y o senio managemen and he
i nancial pe o mance o he en e p ises, he
ollowing da a we e ob ained o each analysed
company: name, numbe o yea s in business,
numbe o employees, egion, o al asse s,
equi y, EBIT, EBT, numbe o senio manage s,
and numbe o women in senio managemen .
These da a we e mainly ob ained om he
Bisnode Magnusweb da abase, which con ains
comp ehensi e da a on all Czech economic
en i ies, bo h co po a ions and indi iduals.
A i s , 865 en e p ises we e ound by he
da abase. Howe e , some we e excluded om
he da a se due o missing da a o oo ex eme
alues. Some missing da a we e collec ed om
annual epo s o en e p ise websi es.
Company wi h Limi ed
Liabili y
Public Limi ed
Company Pa ne ship Indi idual
En ep eneu s To al
528 285 5 5 823
64.16% 34.63% 0.61% 0.61% 100%
Sou ce: own
Tab. 1: Legal o ms o analysed en e p ises
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2.2 Indica o Desc ip ions
The en e p ise´s pe o mance is measu ed
in se e al ways, mos ly by using i nancial
indica o s. Resea ch examining gende
di e si y and i s in l uence on he pe o mance
o en e p ises mos ly used ma ke -based
measu es whe e Tobin’s Q is among he mos
common (Ma ino a, Plan enga, & Reme y,
2016; Regue a-Al a ado, de Fuen es, &
La a ga, 2017; Rod íguez-Domínguez, Ga cía-
Sánchez, & Gallego-Ál a ez, 2012; Ple ze e
al., 2015). Accoun ing-based measu es, such
as e u n on asse s (ROA), e u n on equi y
(ROE) o e u n on sales (ROS) (Dale-Olsen,
Schone, & Ve ne , 2013; Sumed ea, 2016)
we e also used.
In his s udy, we examine se e al ypes
o en e p ises, mos o which a e no lis ed
public limi ed companies. Thus, accoun ing-
based measu es such as e u n on asse s
(ROA) as he a io o he en e p ise’s p o i
and i s o al asse s (EBIT/ o al asse ) as well
as e u n on equi y (ROE) as he a io o he
en e p ise’s ne p o i and capi al in es ed by
he owne (EBT/Equi y) ha e been used as
he mos app op ia e en e p ise pe o mance
measu emen s. Ano he eason is he ac
ha manage s a e able o in l uence he size o
asse , i s use, and hus, he i nal alue o EBIT
(ea nings be o e in e es and axes). Simila ly,
o ROE, EBT (ea nings be o e axes) can
also be in l uenced by managemen decisions,
and he indica o shows how success ully he
en e p ise is managed.
To p o e he ela ionship be ween i nancial
pe o mance and he numbe o women in senio
managemen eams, he indica o PWOMAN
was compiled ( he pe cen age o women in
he op managemen eam o he en e p ise).
In addi ion o his indica o , he ollowing
indica o s we e also selec ed o examine o he
ela ionships o PWOMAN: age o en e p ise
(AGE), o al asse s o he en e p ise (SIZE),
and numbe o employees (EMP).
2.3 Me hods
S udies dealing wi h gende di e si y in TMT
use se e al esea ch me hods. The mos
commonly used a e he ollowing: panel da a
analysis (e.g., Dale-Olsen, Schone, & Ve ne ,
2013; Pe yman, Fe nando, & T ipa hy, 2016),
me a-analysis (Ple ze e al., 2015), c ea ion
o he eg ession model (Ahmadi, Nakaa, &
Bou i, 2018; Regue a-Al a ado, de Fuen es, &
La a ga, 2017) o calcula ion o basic co ela ion
and desc ip i e s a is ics (Julizae ma & So i,
2012; Sumed ea, 2016). To desc ibe basic
cha ac e is ics o he sample, he da a we e
analysed by using simple s a is ical ools such
as he mean, median and s anda d de ia ion. To
e eal basic ela ionships be ween indica o s,
he co ela ion ma ix based on he calcula ion
o Spea man’s co ela ion coe i cien s was
used.
Namely, he k-means me hod by MacQueen
(1967), Lloyd (1982) was used. This me hod
di ides n obse a ions in o k clus e s, whe e
each obse a ion belongs o he clus e wi h
he nea es a e age. Thus, he calcula ion is
pe o med by se e al epea ed i e a i e s eps.
Fi s , i is necessa y o de e mine he numbe o
clus e s. I he au ho does no ha e any ex e nal
in o ma ion ha could help o de e mine he
numbe in ad ance, i is ad isable o a emp
he calcula ion se e al imes wi h di e en
numbe s o clus e s and hen de e mine
he op imal numbe . A e di iding da a in o
clus e s, i is necessa y o calcula e he alue
o he cen oid (cen e o g a i y), which
ep esen s he a e age o he da a alues in
a gi en clus e . Then, alues o indi idual da a
a e compa ed o he alues o hei cen oids
(using Euclidean dis ance), and i he e is
a sho e dis ance o he cen oid o a di e en
clus e , new e-alloca ion o he da a is made.
A e ha , new calcula ions o cen oid alues
mus be comple ed, and he whole p ocess is
epea ed un il da a shi s s op. Dis ibu ion o
da a in o he clus e s was pe o med using he
p og am STATISTICA 12 S a So CR, s. . o.
3. Resul s and Discussion
3.1 Desc ip i e S a is ics
Tab. 2 p esen s he basic s a is ics o ou
sample. F om he desc ip i e s a is ics, we
obse e ha he mean pe cen age o women
in op managemen eams (PWOMAN) o he
whole sample is app oxima ely 10.14%. This
is close o he alues ob ained by Julizae ma
and So i (2012), who epo ed a mean o 10.6%
(women p opo ion in boa d) using a sample o
280 en e p ises in 2008 and 2009. Howe e ,
he p opo ion o women in he boa ds is usually
lowe , o example Campbell and Mínguez-
Ve a (2008) epo a alue o 3.2%, Ma ino a,
Plan enga, and Reme y (2016) a alue o
5.4%, Pe yman, Fe nando and T ipa hy (2016)
a alue o 4.8%, o Regue a-Al a ado, de
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134 2019, XXII, 2
Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
Fuen es and La a ga (2017) a alue o 6.92%.
In addi ion, in e ms o he pe cen age o
emales in op managemen eams, he e we e
232 en e p ises wi h a leas one woman in he
op managemen eam. In o al, he e we e 423
women in op managemen eams in hese 232
en e p ises, and he a e age pe cen age o
emales in op managemen eams in his g oup
o en e p ises was 34.5%. In e ms o age, he
a e age alue was 20.34, wi h he maximum
being 29, and he median being 22 yea s. This
alue is in line wi h he mean alue o 22.58
yea s in business epo ed by Julizae ma and
So i (2012) amongs Malaysian i ms.
I may seem ha en e p ises in he Czech
Republic a e ela i ely young o example,
in compa ison o he mean alue o 56.77
yea s epo ed by Sumed ea (2016) amongs
Romanian companies, his is caused by he
ans o ma ion o Czech economy in ea ly 1990
(a e he collapse o communis egime) when
many s a e en e p ises changed hei o m, and
e en mo e en e p ises we e ounded. Thus, he
oldes en e p ises included in he analysis we e
ounded in 1988 and he younges in 2014. In
e ms o size, he e a e la ge di e ences in he
alues o asse s wi h a s anda d de ia ion o
321.520 million (Czech c owns). The numbe
o employees was de e mined in ad ance wi h
a minimum o 50 and maximum o 249 simila ly
o Mínguez-Ve a and Ma in (2011). The Bisnode
Magnusweb Da abase wo ks only wi h in e als
and hei cen es; hus, in Tab. 2, he minimum
is 75 employees, and he maximum is 225.
The en e p ises wi h 100-199 employees a e
dominan (388 en e p ises), he second a e hose
wi h 50-99 employees (339 en e p ises), and he
leas ep esen ed g oup a e en e p ises wi h
200-249 employees (96 en e p ises). As a as
i nancial indica o s a e conce ned, he a e age
ROA is 8.33% wi h a median o 6.92% and he
maximum ROA is 79.47%, while he minimum is
-44.26%. Fo compa ison, Ple ze e al. (2015),
who analysed 10 s udies whe e ROA was he
main indica o o i nancial pe o mance, epo ed
ha i s alue is mos ly lowe han 8.24%. The
a e age ROE is 14.94% wi h a median 12.14%;
he maximum alue is 172.17%, while he
minimum is -139.96%. Value epo ed in his
s udy is sligh ly lowe han 19.81% epo ed by
Ahmadi, Nakaa, and Bou i (2018), bu in line
wi h al eady men ioned Ple ze e al. (2015), who
ound ou s udies wi h he ollowing ROE alues:
15.27%, 14.91%, 9.92% and 6.73%. The p esen
alues indica e ha he e a e bo h success ul
and less success ul en e p ises in ou sample.
3.2 Co ela ion Analysis
To in es iga e he possible link be ween
en e p ises’ i nancial pe o mance and op
managemen eam composi ion based on
gende ep esen a ion, Spea man’s co ela ion
coe i cien s o all indica o s we e i s
calcula ed (see Tab. 3). Co ela ions ha a e
signi i can a he le el o p < 0.5 a e ma ked
wi h an as e isk (*). A s a is ically signi i can
posi i e co ela ion possesses ROA and ROE,
ROE and size, as well as size and numbe o
employees. A s a is ically signi i can nega i e
co ela ion can be ound be ween ROE and
age, while o he co ela ions a e insigni i can .
Due o he cons uc ion o ROA and ROE, i
is no su p ise ha he e is a posi i e co ela ion
obse ed ( he same i nding epo ed Gallego-
Ál a ez, Ga cía-Sánchez, & Rod íguez-
Domínguez, 2010). Addi ionally, he same
signi i can posi i e co ela ion applies o ROA
Mean Median S anda d de ia ion Min Max
PWOMAN 10.14% 0 18.62% 0 100%
AGE 20.34 22 5.38 3 29
SIZE 269,075,255 173,155,000 321,519,624 19,244,000 4,119,226,000
EMP 127.84 150 49.85 75 225
ROA 8.33% 6.92% 10.40% -44.26% 79.47%
ROE 14.94% 12.14% 23.79% -139.96% 172.17%
Sou ce: own
Tab. 2: Desc ip i e s a is ics
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135
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Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
and size, which is consis en wi h he esul s
o Sumed ea (2016). A posi i e signi i can
co ela ion was also ound be ween he numbe
o employees and size o he en e p ise, which
means ha he highe he numbe o employees,
he highe he asse s o he en e p ise. EMP
indica o is no usually pa o hese analysis,
howe e signi i can co ela ion be ween size
(exp essed by o al asse s) and boa d size
can be o en obse ed (e.g., Julizae ma &
So i, 2012; Rod íguez-Domínguez, Ga cía-
Sánchez, & Gallego-Ál a ez, 2012; Sumed ea,
2016). A signi i can nega i e co ela ion can
be obse ed be ween age and ROE, which
indica es a g ea e abili y o young en e p ises
o app ecia e in es ed capi al. This esul is
simila o he one ob ained by Low, Robe s,
and Whi ing (2015).
The indica o e l ec ing he p esence o
women in op managemen eams shows
a posi i e co ela ion wi h i nancial indica o s
ROA and ROE as well as size and numbe o
employees, bu only he co ela ion be ween he
p esence o women in TMT and size appea s o
be signi i can . In con as , he p esence o women
in TMT is sligh ly nega i ely ela ed o age.
A possible explana ion o his is he ac ha in
younge i ms, women ha e an easie en y in o
op managemen eams. The co ela ion be ween
he p esence o women in TMT and ROA, is
conside ed as he mos impo an co ela ion in
his s udy, howe e i is insigni i can . The same
esul was obse ed by e.g., Gallego-Ál a ez,
Ga cía-Sánchez and Rod íguez-Domínguez
(2010), Julizae ma and So i (2012) o Richa d,
Ki byand, and Chadwick (2013). As Julizae ma
and So i (2012) sugges , i can be caused by
ew emale di ec o s in he sample. Thus, o he
analysis has o be pe o med.
To examine he link be ween en e p ises’
i nancial pe o mance and he p esence o
women in op managemen eams mo e
closely, i was necessa y o look in o he alues
o indica o s o he g oups o en e p ises wi h
one o mo e women in he op managemen
eam and en e p ises wi h no women in he
op managemen eam. Thus, we calcula ed
he a e age alue o all analysed indica o s
a e g ouping he en e p ises in o he ollowing
2 g oups: one wi h no women in he op
managemen eam and he second wi h one o
mo e women in he op managemen eam.
AGE EMP SIZE PWOMAN ROE ROA
AGE 1.000 0.064 0.026 -0.045 * -0.130 -0.055
EMP 0.064 1.000 * 0.440 0.064 -0.016 -0.012
SIZE 0.026 * 0.440 1.000 * 0.092 0.015 * 0.071
PWOMAN -0.045 0.064 * 0.092 1.000 0.031 0.004
ROE * -0.130 -0.016 0.015 0.031 1.000 * 0.860
ROA -0.055 -0.012 * 0.071 0.004 * 0.860 1.000
Sou ce: own
No e: * signi i can a p < 0.5.
Numbe o
en e p ises ROA ROE SIZE EMP AGE
All en e p ises 823 8.33% 14.94% 269,075,255 127.84 20.34
En e p ises wi h one o
mo e women a TMT 232 8.74% 17.28% 335,515,789 134.75 19.95
En e p ises wi h no women
a TMT 591 8.17% 14.02% 242,993,692 125.17 20.49
Sou ce: own
Tab. 3: Spea man´s co ela ion coe i cien s ma ix
Tab. 4: A e age alues o analysed indica o s o en e p ises wi h o wi hou gende
di e si y in he op managemen eam
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136 2019, XXII, 2
Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
F om he i gu es in Tab. 4, i is e iden
ha en e p ises wi h one o mo e women in
he op managemen eam p esen a highe
le el o i nancial pe o mance as measu ed
by ROA and ROE han hose wi h no women
in he op managemen eam. Mo e accu a ely,
en e p ises wi h one o mo e women
ou pe o m en e p ises ha do no ha e any
emale di ec o s by a mean o 0.57% in ROA
and 3.26% in ROE. The g ea e di e ence
in ROE may indica e be e use o equi y in
en e p ises wi h manage ial gende di e si y.
These indings a e consis en wi h he i ndings
o exis ing s udies (Ahmadi, Nakaa, & Bou i,
2018; Julizae ma & So i, 2012; Liu, Wei, & Xie,
2014; Low, Robe s, & Whi ing, 2015) showing
ha companies wi h women in op manage ial
eams pe o m be e han hose wi hou
women in he manage ial eam. Despi e he ac
ha he ela ionship be ween he pe cen age o
emales in TMT and ROA is small, he o e all
i ndings suppo he idea ha he p esence o
women in managemen would bene i i nancial
pe o mance.
In addi ion, he a e age alues indica e
ha he g oup o en e p ises wi h gende
di e si y in he op managemen eam ha e
mo e asse s and mo e employees. Mo eo e ,
his g oup o en e p ises is sligh ly younge
han he en e p ises wi hou women in he op
managemen eam. The same i nding was
obse ed by Sumed ea (2016), who p o ed
ha olde companies ha e mo e masculine
managemen eams.
3.3 Clus e Analysis
To u he cla i y he ela ionships be ween all
indica o s, clus e analysis was conduc ed o he
g oup o 232 en e p ises wi h op managemen
eam di e si y. As men ioned abo e, clus e s
a e compiled whe e each obse a ion belongs
o he clus e wi h he nea es a e age, and he
clus e s a e concu en ly se as a apa om
each o he as possible. I was decided ha
he e would be h ee clus e s (see Tab. 5). In
clus e numbe one, he e a e en e p ises ha
di e conside ably om each o he in e ms
o size, age, and he highes a e age alue
o ROE (in compa ison o he lowes alues
o PWOMAN). Howe e , since he i s clus e
con ains only ou en e p ises, hey should
be seen as a g oup o excep ions ha o med
an indi idual clus e . I hese ou en e p ises
we e included in o he clus e s, hey could
conside ably dis o hei a e age alues. The
o he wo clus e s a e mo e signi i can ; clus e 2
wi h 43 en e p ises and clus e 3 wi h 185. The
second clus e con ains en e p ises wi h he
highes alues o asse s and he highes ROA.
The hi d clus e con ains en e p ises wi h he
lowes alue o asse s, he lowes numbe o
employees, he highes po ion o women in op
managemen eams, and he highes ROE.
When analysing a e age alues o ROE,
ROA, and PWOMAN using he esul s o
clus e s 2 and 3, a posi i e ela ionship can be
seen be ween PWOMAN and ROE. The highe
he PWOMAN, he highe he ROE. On he
o he hand, ROA is highe in he clus e wi h he
lowe PWOMAN, which denies he p e iously
obse ed esul s. Howe e , in clus e 3, ROA
shows i s a e age alue (compa e wi h Tab. 2).
Thus, he cause o he illogical esul lies in clus e
2, whe e he e a e only 43 en e p ises. Wi h his
low numbe o en e p ises, he a e age can be
easily dis o ed by highe alues. Namely, he e
Clus e 1 Clus e 2 Clus e 3
Numbe o en e p ises 4 43 185
AGE 18.75 20.58 19.83
EMP 188 161 128
SIZE 281,652,500 735,050,100 189,007,600
PWOMAN 25.89% 30.97% 37.37%
ROE 18.88% 15.66% 17.62%
ROA 8.14% 10.35% 8.38%
Sou ce: own
Tab. 5: A e age cha ac e is ics o indica o s in indi idual clus e s
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137
2, XXII, 2019
Business Adminis a ion and Managemen
a e h ee en e p ises wi h conside ably high
ROA (64%, 29.7% and 25.2%) alues. These
en e p ises we e likely included by STATISTICA
in o clus e 2 mainly due o hei high alue o
asse s. I hese h ee en e p ises we e excluded
om his clus e , he a e age ROA dec eases o
8.3%, while he ROE dec eases only o 14.07%
and PWOMAN o 30%. Addi ionally, his analysis
con i ms a posi i e ela ionship be ween
PWOMAN and ROA.
To iden i y he c i ical mass ( a io o
women in op managemen eams), Tab. 6 was
compiled. I con ains da a om 232 en e p ises
wi h op managemen eam di e si y.
Fi s , he esul s show ha he en e p ises
wi h a p opo ion o women in TMT om 10%
o 20% ha e lowe median ROE and ROA
han he en e p ises wi h no women in TMT.
These i ndings a e consis en wi h Kan e ’s
(1977) heo y o okenism. Con a y o Kan e ’s
p opo ion o oken g oup (up o 20% o mino i y
g oup), we i nd ha ROE and ROA medians
a e also lowe in he g oup o en e p ises wi h
p opo ions om 21% o 30% compa ed o he
g oup o en e p ises wi hou gende di e si y
in TMT. A possible explana ion o his is he
issue o he mode a ing e ec o cul u al alues,
mo e speci i cally o conse a i e alues, which
a e s ill dominan in ou con ex . Mo eo e ,
s e eo yping iews agains women, especially
in manage ial and execu i e posi ions, is also
a possible mode a ing ac o . Su p isingly,
a simila i nding was also iden i i ed o he g oup
o en e p ises wi h he p opo ion om 41% o
50%. These i ndings a e simila o hose in he
g oup wi h he p opo ion om 21% o 30%.
One in e p e a ion o his is he g owing h ea
o male dominance due o inc easing gende
equali y and he eby de ensi e beha iou
(Blalock, 1967; Yode , 1991). Nex , he mos
posi i e impac o ROE and ROA was ound
in he g oup o en e p ises wi h he p opo ion
o 31% o 40% emales in TMT. The e o e,
ou conclusion is ha c i ical mass o emale
ep esen a i es in op managemen eams is
eached a a sha e o app oxima ely 31% o
40% o ou sample.
Conclusion
In his s udy, he uppe echelon heo y and he
c i ical mass heo y a e combined o p o ide
heo e ical insigh and empi ical analysis o
gende di e si y in op managemen eams
on company i nancial pe o mance. Unde
he uppe echelon heo y amewo k, which
p oposes posi i e ela ionships be ween
a ie y o TMT demog aphic cha ac e is ic and
company pe o mance (Ca pen e , Gele kanycz,
& Sande s, 2004; Hamb ick & Mason, 1984),
we in es iga ed whe he emale pa icipa ion
in op managemen eams posi i ely in l uences
company i nancial pe o mance. Based on he
c i ical mass heo y p oposing ha women
a e unlikely o ha e a posi i e impac in op
managemen eams un il hey ise up om
a ew okens in o a conside able mino i y in
op managemen , we ied o de e mine wha
pe cen age o women in op managemen
eams cons i u e c i ical mass. Unlike p e ious
s udies (Ali, Ng, & Kulik, 2014; Low, Robe s,
& Whi ing, 2015; Richa d, Ki by, & Chadwick,
2013; Wa d & Fo ke , 2015), bo h heo ies we e
applied o only he con ex o small and medium
en e p ises in he manu ac u ing sec o .
The s udy ound ha , on a e age,
en e p ises wi h women in op managemen
PWOMAN
(%)
Numbe o
en e p ises
Median
ROE
Min
ROE
Max
ROE
Median
ROA
Min
ROA
Max
ROA
0591 11.95 -139.96 125.96 8.17 -44.26 79.47
10-20 53 9.60 -24.77 103.01 5.62 -20.81 51.94
21-30 44 11.24 -21.54 48.81 6.00 -7.46 38.47
31-40 71 14.71 -35.39 172.17 8.67 -16.72 55.67
41-50 35 11.26 -23.85 75.68 6.46 -11.86 64.04
51-100 29 12.84 -0.49 71.02 7.80 0.16 37.19
Sou ce: own
Tab. 6: Values o i nancial pe o mance indica o s g ouped acco ding o PWOMAN
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