The Impact of Ownership Structure on Supervisory Board Size and Diversity: Evidence from the Polish Two-tier Board Model

Most studies of boards of directors are conducted using the Anglo-Saxon corporate governance system, and additionally using the one-tier board model. Little still is known about the structure of these bodies in countries where ownership is concentrated and additionally the board model is a two-tier one. This article tries to fill this gap, and its purpose is to describe the impact of the different types of ownership on the size and diversity of supervisory boards in the Polish two-tier board model. In this study, panel data analysis is applied in order to examine whether there are differences in supervisory board size and gender diversity on supervisory boards with foreign, managerial, state and financial investor ownership. Amongst others, the results reveal that state ownership positively influences supervisory board diversity and managerial ownership is positively associated with supervisory board diversity. Moreover, financial investor ownership positively affects supervisory board size. The paper also explains how these relationships influence on the supervisory boards of Polish listed companies. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.