Does Board Internationalization Increase Idiosyncratic Risk?

Does Board Internationalization Increase Idiosyncratic Risk? | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Does Board Internationalization Increase Idiosyncratic Risk? Oskar Kowalewski, Sultan Sikandar Mirza, Muhammad Usman Khurram This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7789312/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the impact of board internationalization on corporate idiosyncratic risk and assesses whether Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance moderates this relationship. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2023, we find that a higher proportion of directors with foreign experience is associated with increased firm-specific risk. This association appears less pronounced in firms with stronger ESG performance, particularly in the governance dimension. The findings contribute to the broader understanding of how board composition and sustainability practices relate to firm-level risk. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7789312","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":543601155,"identity":"8c0d8d7a-9d3d-4d78-bcfc-d4087981efc8","order_by":0,"name":"Oskar Kowalewski","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACNhBhAWYc+GAAEftAhBYJMOPgDIgWxhlEa2HmYSBCCz8DW+JjnhoJOYPzxxIP2xTY2PPzL2BsrsCjRbKB7bAxzzEJY4MbaQcO5xikJc6c8YCx8QweLQYH2Nukc9gkErfdYG8AajmcYHDjAPvDBoJa/knUbzt/vOGwhcF/e/sbBxgb8WthOyad2yaRYHYA6DAgl3EDfwN+LZLNbMnGf/skDPffSEs42GOQnDjjBmMjXi387G2GD2d8s5GX7D9m/OHHHzt7/v7DB/FqYWDGEJFIxKsBq8UHSNUxCkbBKBgFwxwAAFS6T9XFZLZrAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"IESEG School of Management","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oskar","middleName":"","lastName":"Kowalewski","suffix":""},{"id":543601156,"identity":"ac8e5c4d-c248-4e25-aca6-f90a83a17f0e","order_by":1,"name":"Sultan Sikandar Mirza","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Waikato","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sultan","middleName":"Sikandar","lastName":"Mirza","suffix":""},{"id":543601157,"identity":"72c4e9db-aa6e-4d2f-9015-42164c2f7751","order_by":2,"name":"Muhammad Usman Khurram","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shaoxing University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Muhammad","middleName":"Usman","lastName":"Khurram","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-06 08:23:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7789312/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7789312/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96342771,"identity":"59e28f07-e50f-47ad-8783-f00498798f25","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 05:06:05","extension":"json","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4086,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"cdc33d43d9c84d7794189bc746905973.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7789312/v1/66b1379f071a2d7054f8c470.json"},{"id":96342772,"identity":"408a3d17-51ae-4057-bd15-96998ad09373","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 05:06:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":250390,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DirectorsRisk.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7789312/v1_covered_43f4645d-b49d-4351-973d-82d43023e162.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Does Board Internationalization Increase Idiosyncratic Risk?","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7789312/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7789312/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study examines the impact of board internationalization on corporate idiosyncratic risk and assesses whether Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance moderates this relationship. 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