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In the wake of the recent debt crisis in Europe, we investigate the influence of board diversity on financial fragility and performance of European banks. Corporate governance codes in Europe recommend unitary and dual-board systems; therefore, we believe that the influence of board diversity may vary across governance mechanisms and that no other studies have addressed these variations and their influence on financial fragility across European countries. The results show that a critical mass of female representation on both the supervisory board and the board of directors may reduce banks' vulnerability to financial crisis. However, interestingly, we find evidence that female directors on the management board are not risk averse. We argue that the degree of risk taking for female directors may vary based on their roles (non-executive or executive) and that female and male executive directors may have the same risk taking behaviour. Our empirical results provide guidelines to the regulators in Europe with respect to the recently approved proposal by the European Parliament on female representation.

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch Question/IssueThe study investigates the impact of venture capital (VC) ownership on corporate governance characteristics in entrepreneurial companies listed on the UK's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). In particular, the paper examines the impact of venture capital funds on the firm's governance structure post‐IPO and the dynamic inter‐relationship between corporate governance (CG), venture capital ownership and financial performance.Research Findings/InsightsUsing hand collected data from a sample of 271 entrepreneurial companies admitted to AIM during the period 2000–2007, we measure and track the corporate governance characteristics by constructing a CGAIM50 index. Our findings suggest a high level of VC ownership and its reputation leads to better corporate governance in our sample of entrepreneurial Initial Public Offering (IPO) companies. We also find a positive and significant relationship between corporate governance characteristics and financial performance, which suggests that outside shareholders such as VCs bring managerial know‐how and hence help improve IPO companies' performance.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsThe study is the first to examine the CG characteristics of entrepreneurial (fast growth) companies on the AIM using a unique index. The inter‐relationship between venture capital ownership structure, corporate governance, and financial performance is modeled using the system GMM estimator of dynamic panel model in addition to the 3SLS methodology.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThe study offers practical implications for regulatory authorities and investors, as it highlights that venture capital funds investing in entrepreneurial companies on the AIM have a positive impact on both corporate governance and company performance, which improves after IPO admission, and also on subsequent performance.