Does Board Social Capital Augment Investment Decisions? Evidence from the Tehran Stock Exchange

This study investigates the impact of the board’s social capital on the investment efficiency of listed companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange. Based on the theoretical foundations, the board social capital as a social-behavioral factor can affect the problem of over or under-investment (both of which are examples of the inefficiency of investment decisions). Therefore, when the board’s social capital is at a high and favorable level, company managers show less opportunistic behavior and do their best to increase cooperation and interaction within the company, which leads to the strengthening of investment efficiency. In terms of purpose, the current research is the applied-developmental type and takes a descriptive-correlational manner. We measured board social capital using the Co-Working Experience index. Investment efficiency is also measured through under- and over-investment using the Richardson (2006) model. The control variables also include the size of the board of directors, the independence of the board of directors, the size of the company, the ratio of net profit to sales, the rate of return on assets, and the level of financial leverage. The statistical population of the research includes 183 companies admitted to the stock exchange from 2016 to 2022. In order to test the research hypothesis, a multivariate regression model has been fitted using the panel data method with the fixed effects approach. The results of the research indicate that the hypotheses of the research are confirmed, and there is a positive and significant relationship between the social capital of the board of directors and investment efficiency.