Female executives and firm value: the moderating effect of co-CEO power gaps

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderating effect of co-CEO power gaps on the impact of female executives on firm value. Several studies have suggested that female executives have a positive effect on improving firm value. The authors would like to examine whether this relationship changes because of co-CEO power gaps. Design/methodology/approach For empirical analysis, 426 non-financial companies are selected from companies listed in the Korean securities market from 2013 to 2018. The relationships between dummy variables of female CEOs, outside directors, registered executives and Tobin’s Q are examined, and the moderating effect of co-CEO power gaps that scored various factors is verified. Findings The results of this study show that female executives have a positive impact on firm value, but the larger the co-CEOs power gap is, the weaker that impact is. Practical implications The mutual monitoring of co-CEOs substitutes for governance mechanisms, but if there are power gaps between co-CEOs, then the leadership cannot be equitably shared and the mutual monitoring effect can be weakened. Originality/value This study contributes to research on corporate executives by analyzing the relationship between female executives related to shared leadership and firm values in Korean companies. Especially, this study finds that the role of female executives is differentiated according to co-CEO power gaps by using the CEO power index that reflects the characteristics of Korean corporate governance.