Does gender diversity matter to hotel financial performance

Abstract This study examines the effects of executive gender diversity (EGD) and board gender diversity (BGD) on hotel financial performance in China based on the framework of the gender role, agency, and resource dependence theories. This research documents a negative effect of EGD and no significant effect of BGD on hotel financial performance. Moreover, the effect of EGD on hotel financial performance captured by return on equity (ROE) exhibits a U-shaped curve, with the profitability measure bottoming out at 21%. Our analysis also shows that a critical mass of 40% of EGD serves as a positive moderator for the EGD-ROE relationship. Beyond this point, gender-balanced executive groups evade negatives rooted in the gender role theory, enjoy positives drawn in the agency and resource dependence theories, and generate superior financial performance compared to all-male executive groups. This research offers important implications for human resource management and policy and regulation formulation.