Ownership Structure, Board Characteristics and Corporate Performance in Tunisia

Drawing upon prior empirical research on the potential endogeneity of both ownership structure and firmperformance in developed markets, this study examines the reverse causations that can exist between corporateperformance and ownership structure in Tunisian listed companies. The study was extended to include boardcharacteristics as a principal internal control mechanism for monitoring managers and an assessment of itspotential effects on firm performance and ownership structure. Our findings proved the existence of endogeneityand a two-way causality between ownership variables and Market to book performance. However, our findingsalso revealed that corporate governance in Tunisian firms needed to be more strengthened based on boardcharacteristics.