Abstract:
This research sets out to investigate the links between corporate governance, cognitive
diversity among board members and company financial performance of publicly listed
companies on the JSE. The purpose is to establish if there is a relationship between
cognitive diversity among board members and company financial performance. It follows
a quantitative design using secondary data. Simple random sampling was applied and
resulted in a sample of 122 companies. Through statistical analyses, the research found
that there was a negative relationship between cognitive diversity among board members
and company financial performance. The implication for management is that measures
should be instituted to mitigate the negative effects of diversity to reap the benefits in
terms of creativity and innovation that diversity fosters. The research contributes to the
body of literature concerned with diversity and board composition.
