Board Gender Diversity and ESG Performance: The Moderating Role of Porter's Competitive Business Strategies in Asian Emerging Economies
This study investigates how competitive business strategy shapes the relationship between board gender diversity and ESG performance in Asian emerging economies. Integrating resource dependence theory, upper echelons theory, and Porter's competitive strategy framework, we examine whether the ESG effect of female board representation differs between cost leadership and differentiation strategies. Using an unbalanced panel of 64,427 firm‐year observations from publicly listed firms between 2015 and 2023, we find that board gender diversity is positively associated with ESG performance. Contrary to our hypothesis, this relationship is stronger in cost leadership firms than in differentiation‐oriented firms. Robustness tests using a critical mass indicator and lagged explanatory variables confirm the main findings. These results suggest that gender‐diverse boards may serve as a corrective governance mechanism in efficiency‐oriented firms, where ESG concerns may be less naturally embedded in competitive strategy. This study advances strategy–governance research by demonstrating that the ESG value of board gender diversity is contingent upon firms' strategic orientation. It also highlights the importance of aligning board composition and business strategy to enhance sustainable corporate performance in emerging markets.