Roushanara Islam

This study’s objective is to examine the impact of employee innovativeness, readiness to change, employee creativity, and learning capability on the financial performance of private banks in Bangladesh. The study involved 334 bank employees from three prominent private banks in Bangladesh. Those banks were selected with better ratings by the central bank and have several branches across the country. First, branch managers were contacted about this study and collected employee emails from each branch information desk. Then, email invitations were sent to each employee of the selected bank branches. This study involved branch managers, senior officers, officers, and junior bank executives. Past studies also considered senior and junior bank officers as they directly contribute to a bank’s performance. The study utilized a methodical questionnaire to assess the three independent variables: employee innovativeness, readiness to change, and learning capability. The dependent variable in this study was financial performance, which was assessed through key financial indicators such as profitability and sales growth over three years. SPSS was utilized to conduct hypothesis testing by considering 95% confidence interval. Correlation results show that all three independent variables were significantly correlated with the bank’s financial performance. The study’s regression results suggest that bank employees’ readiness to change (β value = 0.393) significantly impacts the bank’s financial performance, followed by employee innovativeness (β value = 0.338). On the other hand, employees’ learning capability (β value = 0.202) has the least significant impact on financial performance. Moreover, three independent variables explain 42.9% variance in bank financial performance.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This study, grounded in agency theory, stewardship theory, and resource dependency theory, examines the influence of corporate governance on firm value within the banking sector of Bangladesh. This research analyzes annual panel data from 22 commercial banks spanning the period from 2014 to 2023, investigating the impact of governance structures, specifically board composition, ownership structure, and audit committee characteristics, on firm value using Tobin’s Q, market capitalization, and the market-to-book value of equity measures. The Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) method is utilized for dynamic panel data estimation to address cross-sectional dependence, heteroscedasticity, and autocorrelation, with robustness evaluated via the Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) approach. Overall findings reveal that increased managerial ownership, gender-diverse boards, and an independent audit committee director correlate positively with firm value. Specifically, institutional ownership exhibits a positive correlation with Tobin’s Q and the market-to-book value of equity, whereas foreign ownership and larger boards positively affect Tobin’s Q and market capitalization. In contrast, board size adversely impacts the market-to-book value of equity, while frequent board meetings correlate with a diminished Tobin’s Q. The audit committee size and meeting frequency have no statistically significant effect. These findings provide significant insights for regulators and policymakers, highlighting the necessity of inclusive governance, strategic ownership alignment, and independent oversight in enhancing the value of banks in emerging economies, such as Bangladesh.

Acknowledgment
Shaikh Masrick Hasan gratefully acknowledges the research grant provided by Jagannath University, Bangladesh, in the financial year 2024–2025, which made this study possible.