Homophily: the antithesis of corporate board diversity in the United Kingdom

The focus of this study is on the corporate governance aspect of board composition in the United Kingdom (UK). The corporate board has received great attention world wide as some scholars and stakeholders call for board diversity. This has led to attempts to rationalise the reasoning behind the large number of homogeneous boards; despite numerous pressures exerted on firms to diversify. Several studies on board composition have employed agency theory or resource dependency theory as theoretical lenses. In contrast, this study utilises homophily theory, a theoretical approach that derives from the sociology discipline. [Continues.]