Board meeting frequency and firm performance

For 307 firms over the 1990-1994 period, I find that board meeting frequenc y is related to corporate governance and ownership characteristics in a man ner that is consistent with contracting and agency theory. The annual numbe r of board meetings is inversely related to firm value. This result is driv en by increases in board activity following share price declines. I further find that operating performance improves following years of abnormal board activity. These improvements are most pronounced for firms with poor prior performance and firms not engaged in corporate control transactions. Overa ll, my results suggest that board activity, measured by board meeting frequ ency, is an important dimension of board operations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie nce S.A. All rights reserved.