Herding of corporate directors in Taiwan

Abstract

Corporate directors can be said to herd when they sit together on not only one, but several company boards. Such herding is commonly called "multiple interlock" in the literature. This study analyzes the factors involved in director herding using a binary logistics regression model. Statistical analysis indicates that directors who control a large amount of effective assets in the corporate world, own a high percentage of equity in a company, or hold an inside management position are more likely to be involved in multiple firm interlocks. In other words, controlling shareholders and their associates are the main individuals involved in such interlocks. Finally, company financial performance is negatively related to multiple interlocks.