ABSTRACTThis paper uses a difference in difference model to study the impact of venture capital
(VC) participation on board characteristics. Our sample includes companies listed on
the growth enterprise market (GEM) on Chinas Shenzhen stock exchange over the
period 2009 to 2014. Our measure of board characteristics is chief executive officer
(CEO) duality, the scale of the board of directors, and the proportion of independent
directors. Our empirical analysis reveals the following findings: the VC backed GEM
listed companies are more inclined to choose the mode of CEO duality and contain
a large board of directors and a high proportion of independent directors. These
characteristics, we find, are conducive to improving company performance.