Board gender diversity and strategic change: integrating information and social categorization perspectives

Previous studies have predominantly investigated the linear relationship between board gender diversity and strategic change, yielding mixed results. This study aims to examine a curvilinear relationship between these two constructs. We argue that board gender diversity can affect strategic change using both the information and conflict effects, which oppositely affect strategic change. The two effects dominate each other at different levels of board gender diversity, producing a curvilinear board gender diversity-strategic change relationship. Using a sample of Chinese listed manufacturing firms, we employed a fixed effects model to test these predictions. We find that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between board gender diversity and strategic change. This relationship is strengthened by industry dynamism such that both the positive and negative effects of board gender diversity on strategic change are enhanced at low and high levels, respectively, of board gender diversity when industry dynamism is high. Our findings enrich the existing body of literature by proposing a more complex board gender diversity-strategic change relationship than prior research has suggested. Additionally, we underscore the necessity of integrating information and social categorization perspectives to achieve a more profound comprehension of how board gender diversity affects board dynamics.