MALVERN, Pa. — “A researcher is like an explorer,” said Pornsit “P.J.” Jiraporn, professor of finance at Penn State Great Valley. “You explore new ideas. You go where nobody has gone before. … You create new knowledge. In that sense, I find that very interesting and exciting.”
In the 24 years since he earned his doctorate in finance, and for the 18 years he has worked at Penn State Great Valley, Jiraporn has been a prolific explorer, specializing in corporate finance and governance, corporate social responsibility, dividend policy and more. He has published about 170 articles with 54 co-authors in roughly 60 academic journals. His work has been cited by other scholars 13,000 times and counting, demonstrating his influence in his discipline. In 2024, he was named to the top-cited researcher list compiled and updated by a team of researchers led by John P.A. Ioannidis at Stanford University. Jiraporn shared some highlights of his work with insights for non-experts.
Why gender diversity matters for corporate boards
About 85% of corporate directors are male, according to Jiraporn, yet he and his colleagues found in a 2019 study that companies with more women on their boards performed better during the Great Recession of 2008. The researchers hypothesized that these companies may have benefited from the different perspective that female directors offer.
Jiraporn acknowledged the debate about whether companies should require more female representation on their boards or focus purely on directors’ qualifications, regardless of gender. Whether gender-diverse boards are mandated or not, Jiraporn said he hopes that companies work to recruit more female directors.
“Most studies, including many of my studies, suggest that it is better to have more diversity,” he said. “Female directors lead to better outcomes, higher profitability, higher firm value.”
Jiraporn’s research also showed that companies with more gender diversity on their boards tend to have more innovative corporate cultures and make greater reductions in their carbon emissions. Jiraporn said he sees these findings as valuable for stockholders who want to know how to invest wisely.
The cost of climate change risks
Jiraporn has also studied the financial risks corporations face because of climate change.
“I have found that companies that are more exposed to the risk of climate change tend to pay lower dividends,” he said. “And that makes sense, because they are going through a lot of risk, and they have to be more conservative.”
For example, some companies may have facilities in regions prone to extreme weather and natural disasters. Jiraporn said his findings can help stockholders as they review companies’ dividend policies and make investment decisions.
Jiraporn and his fellow researchers analyzed companies’ quarterly earnings conference calls using artificial intelligence textual analysis tools to extract certain keywords related to climate change risks. More frequent mentions of keywords indicate that executives and financial analysts are concerned about the risks climate change poses to their profits.
When asked what changes he would like to see in response to his research, Jiraporn said he would love to see more regulations that both help companies adapt to climate risks and minimize their contributions to climate change, such as more stringent emissions standards and regulations to promote clean and renewable energy.
“Some companies might have a shortsighted mindset, thinking, ‘The future is still very far from here. So right now, I just want to focus on making profit and let it be somebody else's problem later.’ It could be your children or your grandchildren,” he said.
Another study that Jiraporn and his colleagues conducted uncovered what they called a surprising effect the international Paris Agreement had on different businesses. He initially expected more innovative companies to benefit more, because they can easily generate new ideas to meet new environmental standards, he said.
“Surprisingly, it has turned out to be the opposite,” Jiraporn said, explaining that less innovative firms with greater potential for improvement stood to gain more from the agreement’s climate-related incentives and support. He and his colleagues theorized that the Paris Agreement offered fewer advantages to innovative companies because they were already ground-breaking. “As researchers, sometimes we find what we did not expect, and we have to look for an explanation,” Jiraporn said.
Future work
As he continues his work, Jiraporn expressed appreciation for the support he receives from colleagues and the University, which includes extensive access to databases and travel funding for conferences.
Even two and a half decades into his career, Jiraporn still has a long list of new research questions to explore. He said he wants to contribute to a better understanding of global challenges — like climate change and technological disruption — to help inform policymakers, investors and corporate leaders, ultimately equipping them to build a stronger economy.
“As a researcher, you ask questions that have never been asked. You look for something that has never been studied,” Jiraporn said. “And I think it's very exciting.”