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The link between board characteristics and EU competition law infringements

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Abstract
Competition law infringements have been theorised to be a consequence of flawed monitoring by the board of directors. The focus of European Union competition law on sanctioning undertakings, rather than individuals, offers a particularly interesting context to empirically test this theory. The study uses agency theory for this purpose to analyse the relationship between a number of characteristics of the board of directors and European Union competition law infringements. It encompasses all listed undertakings that have committed a European Union competition law infringement since 2003, irrespective of their nationality. After controlling for temporal, geographic and industry-related effects, it finds that a CEO/Chair duality is associated with an increased likelihood of committing an EU competition law infringement, while increased gender diversity is associated with a decreased likelihood. No relationship was found between European Union competition law infringements and the ratio of non-executive directors, the ratio of directors appointed after the CEO, board tenure, CEO tenure, CEO compensation or the size of the board. The results indicate that future governance initiatives aimed at increasing gender diversity and separating the functions of CEO and chairperson might also be relevant for competition law policy.
Keywords
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, FIRM PERFORMANCE, ETHNIC DIVERSITY, OWNERSHIP, DIRECTORS, AGENCY, INDEPENDENCE, DETERMINANTS, GENDER, POWER, EU competition law, Corporate governance, Board of directors, Corporate misconduct, Board independence, Gender diversity, CEO compensation, K21

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Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
De Ceuster, Jeroen. “The Link between Board Characteristics and EU Competition Law Infringements.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS, vol. 58, no. 3, 2024, pp. 427–55, doi:10.1007/s10657-024-09825-9.
APA
De Ceuster, J. (2024). The link between board characteristics and EU competition law infringements. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS, 58(3), 427–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-024-09825-9
Chicago author-date
De Ceuster, Jeroen. 2024. “The Link between Board Characteristics and EU Competition Law Infringements.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS 58 (3): 427–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-024-09825-9.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
De Ceuster, Jeroen. 2024. “The Link between Board Characteristics and EU Competition Law Infringements.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS 58 (3): 427–455. doi:10.1007/s10657-024-09825-9.
Vancouver
1.
De Ceuster J. The link between board characteristics and EU competition law infringements. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS. 2024;58(3):427–55.
IEEE
[1]
J. De Ceuster, “The link between board characteristics and EU competition law infringements,” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 427–455, 2024.
@article{01JMAD3QVA544RA58BMA316615,
  abstract     = {{Competition law infringements have been theorised to be a consequence of flawed monitoring by the board of directors. The focus of European Union competition law on sanctioning undertakings, rather than individuals, offers a particularly interesting context to empirically test this theory. The study uses agency theory for this purpose to analyse the relationship between a number of characteristics of the board of directors and European Union competition law infringements. It encompasses all listed undertakings that have committed a European Union competition law infringement since 2003, irrespective of their nationality. After controlling for temporal, geographic and industry-related effects, it finds that a CEO/Chair duality is associated with an increased likelihood of committing an EU competition law infringement, while increased gender diversity is associated with a decreased likelihood. No relationship was found between European Union competition law infringements and the ratio of non-executive directors, the ratio of directors appointed after the CEO, board tenure, CEO tenure, CEO compensation or the size of the board. The results indicate that future governance initiatives aimed at increasing gender diversity and separating the functions of CEO and chairperson might also be relevant for competition law policy.}},
  author       = {{De Ceuster, Jeroen}},
  issn         = {{0929-1261}},
  journal      = {{EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND ECONOMICS}},
  keywords     = {{CORPORATE GOVERNANCE,FIRM PERFORMANCE,ETHNIC DIVERSITY,OWNERSHIP,DIRECTORS,AGENCY,INDEPENDENCE,DETERMINANTS,GENDER,POWER,EU competition law,Corporate governance,Board of directors,Corporate misconduct,Board independence,Gender diversity,CEO compensation,K21}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{427--455}},
  title        = {{The link between board characteristics and EU competition law infringements}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-024-09825-9}},
  volume       = {{58}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}

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