Article: Effect of board-ownership dynamics on shareholders' wealth in Sub-Saharan Africa Journal: International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting (IJMFA) 2026 Vol.18 No.7 pp.1 - 23 Abstract: This paper ascertains the effect of board attributes and ownership structure on shareholders' wealth (SW) of listed firms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We utilised a 10-year panel dataset of 1,570 firm-year from non-financial listed firms in SSA. The GMM model was adopted for data analysis which reveals that, board-ownership dynamics (BODy) has a significant positive influence on SW. Specifically, large and gender diverse boards correlate positively with SW. Conversely, CEO duality, managerial and state ownership have negative effect on SW. Board independence, meeting frequency, and institutional and foreign ownership do not have any significant effects, while firm size has a positive effect on earnings per share but negative on market price per share. These outcomes reduce the inconclusiveness on the subject matter in SSA. Boards need effective monitoring functions in line with the agency theory to strengthen firm value and ensure that BODy operate as a value-creation link. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Effect of board-ownership dynamics on shareholders' wealth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Authors: Kwabena Agyarko Gyekye; Msizi Vitalis Mkhize

Addresses: Accounting Department, Central University, P.O. Box, 2305 Tema, Miotso, Ghana; School of Commerce, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ' School of Commerce, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract: This paper ascertains the effect of board attributes and ownership structure on shareholders' wealth (SW) of listed firms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We utilised a 10-year panel dataset of 1,570 firm-year from non-financial listed firms in SSA. The GMM model was adopted for data analysis which reveals that, board-ownership dynamics (BODy) has a significant positive influence on SW. Specifically, large and gender diverse boards correlate positively with SW. Conversely, CEO duality, managerial and state ownership have negative effect on SW. Board independence, meeting frequency, and institutional and foreign ownership do not have any significant effects, while firm size has a positive effect on earnings per share but negative on market price per share. These outcomes reduce the inconclusiveness on the subject matter in SSA. Boards need effective monitoring functions in line with the agency theory to strengthen firm value and ensure that BODy operate as a value-creation link.

Keywords: board attributes; ownership structure; shareholders' wealth; Sub-Saharan Africa; SSA; panel data; GMM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMFA.2026.154082

International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting, 2026 Vol.18 No.7, pp.1 - 23

Received: 16 Dec 2024
Accepted: 07 Jan 2026
Published online: 11 Jun 2026 *

Title: Effect of board-ownership dynamics on shareholders' wealth in Sub-Saharan Africa

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