The moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between diversification and operational performance in Mexican companies

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between business diversification and operational performance. The diversification literature shows empirical evidence that diversification can generate negative and positive returns in the firm; however, to our knowledge, few empirical studies have considered the impact of corporate governance to shed light on this relationship. We use data from 134 companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV, from its Spanish acronym) during the 2011-2018 period. Secondary data from 134 companies listed on the BMV during the period 2011-2018 were used and subjected to panel data analysis techniques. The main finding shows a positive effect on the implementation of corporate governance practices when diversification occurs in its unrelated form. This finding allows to identify the conditions under which diversification achieves better results for companies that use this growth strategy.