Corporate Board and Capital Structure Dynamics in Nigerian Listed Firms

The issue of financing structure has been a growing concern among the policymakers, investors and other stakeholders of the firm. However, the link between corporate board structure and capital structure has attracted less attention especially in emerging countries. Thus, this current study examines the impact of corporate board characteristics on the capital structure of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2015 - 2019. The study used the fixed effects regression method to analyses the panel data from 93 randomly selected quoted firms in Nigeria. The result of the empirical analysis shows evidence that board composition and CEO duality have a positive connection with the capital structure of quoted firms in Nigeria. The findings from the study clearly indicate that while board size exerts a negative but insignificant influence on capital structure, board skill and board gender diversity have a positive connection with capital structure. As expected, the study reveals that profitable listed firms in Nigeria use less debt, while large firms use more debt to finance assets and this is in tandem with capital structure theories. This study also confirms the applicability of agency theory in Nigerian quoted firms. Thus, it is imperative for policymakers and other stakeholders of the firm to ensure an effective board structure and optimal capital structure for improved value of the firm