THE IMPACT OF BOARD STRUCTURE ON COST OF DEBT: A RESEARCH ON BIST MANUFACTURING SECTOR COMPANIES

The goal of this research is to investigate the impact of the board structure of firms on the cost of debt. Therefore, the data of 150 firms listed in the “Borsa Istanbul (BIST) manufacturing sector” between 2017-2021 are analyzed. “Panel data analysis” method is administered in the research. It is found that gender diversity, board independence, size, return on assets, tangible assets, firm age, financial leverage and percentage of sales growth have an impact on the cost of debt. However, the gender of the chairman, board size and liquidity variables are found to have no significant impact on the cost of debt. While there are studies in the international literature that examine the effect of board structure on the cost of debt, there is a limited number of studies in the national literature on this issue in the Turkish sample. This research, which aims to investigate the relationship between the board structure and the cost of debt of firms in the BIST manufacturing sector, is thought to complement the gap in the literature.