自願設立獨立董事的決定因子及其對研發投資與公司績效的影響

Determinants of Voluntary Independent Director Appointment and Its Effects on R&D Investment and Firm Performance

本研究以 2002年2月25日前即已公開上市的台灣公司為研究對象，研究目的有三：首先，本研究將探討影響公司自願設置獨立董事的動機；再者，本研究將分別檢視獨立董事之任用與研發投資及公司績效間的關聯性。研究結果顯示，董事會特性及股權組成並未能對獨立董事之任用有顯著影響，反之，公司特性，例如：公司規模、負債比及歷史績效，才是影響公司是否任用獨立董事的重要因素。此外，我們亦發現，獨立董事之任用與公司績效間呈正相關，且獨立董事之任用比例愈高者，公司績效愈好。但本研究並未發現獨立董事之任用對公司的研發投資決策有顯著影響。

Using firms publicly listed in Taiwan before February 25, 2002 as our sample, we explored the factors that motivate firms to voluntarily increase independent boards. Firstly, we examined the impacts of voluntary appointment of independent boards on R&D investment and firm performance. We found that the property of board and the ownership structure are not able to influence the appointment of independent boards. On the contrary, firm size, leverage ratio and previous firm performance are important factors that motivate firms to voluntarily appoint independent boards. We also found a positive relationship between the appointment of independent boards and firm performance. Besides, we found that the more independent boards the firm use, the better the firm performance is. However, we did not find a significant association between independent boards and innovation investment.