Are all independent directors the same? Evidence from Italian listed companies

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of independent directors on the performance of Italian listed firms on the Milan Stock Exchange during the period 2006-2015. After applying a Fixed Effect Model, the empirical findings suggest that the composition of the board may affect corporate performances and, more specifically, a significant relationship emerges between the presence of independent directors within the Board and company results. Specifically, independent directors and independent female directors positively affect firm performance. Diversely, independent busy directors, those with hold more than three directorship in other boards, do not affect performance.