Board characteristics and bank performance: an empirical analysis of the size effect in emerging economies

Purpose This paper aims to estimate the impacts of the board characteristics on bank performance in emerging countries, mainly focusing on the role of moderating factor. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature review and the feasible generalized least squares econometric method approach, 137 deposit banks from seven emerging countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Malaysia and Turkey, are all examined in the 2010–2022 year period. Findings Bank size is suggested as the statistically significant factor that moderates the association among the board characteristics, i.e. board size, duality, government ownership and bank performance. Based on the bank size, this study document some changes in the impacts of the board characteristics on bank performance. Insights from the study suggest to pay a close scrutiny to the role and effect of bank size as a moderating factor on the relationship between bank profitability and board as it can help for resolving the puzzle of the extant literature regarding this relationship. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study to investigate how bank size moderates the relationship between board characteristics and bank performance in a large sample of emerging market banks. It fills a critical gap in the literature by demonstrating how governance dynamics vary systematically with organizational scale, particularly in markets where institutional development and ownership structures differ from developed economies.