Abstract

The impact of context has little or no consideration in the mainstream corporate governance literature. The purpose of this paper is to consider social, economic, and political elements of the emerging Saudi Arabian market when developing a multi-theoretical model about the relationship between board composition and financial performance. The paper attempts to conceptually inform the conversation about context with regard to board composition and firm financial performance in emerging markets. In particular, it discusses these theoretical feedback loops in conjunction with a proposed research agenda for the field. The paper proposes shifting the focus of corporate governance in emerging markets from relying on the predominant Western corporate governance theories to the alignment of those theories with considerations on emerging markets context. Such an approach involves significant implications for corporate governance theories and management practices. The paper describes the conditions in which certain formation of board of directors is composed in the Saudi Arabia may generate a competitive advantage. The consideration of emerging markets context can have implications for society as it may influence firms and governments to improve corporate governance standards and practices A literature gap in the corporate governance literature identified in this paper holds theoretical and practical implications. This research will enable comparative studies with other emerging markets, and will provide a conceptual benchmark for future corporate governance research.

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