abstract
- Based on resource dependence theory, this study focuses on the effects of board of directors' diversity on gender and nationality on financial performance and the effect of CEO duality on the diversity in board-financial performance, in privately held family firms. A diversity index, in both gender and nationality is built to measure its relationship with family firms' financial efficiency, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We find that diversity is a resource that increases the efficiency effects of decisions, especially in the case of diversity in nationality. The study results also reflect that CEO duality in family firms does not help financial efficiency, meaning that the positive effects of board diversity are overturned by a CEO in control of both management and governance.