Remuneration committees, executive remuneration, and firm performance in Indonesia

Indonesia is currently in the process of mandating the establishment of Remuneration Committees (RCs) for all listed companies. However, little is known about the effectiveness of RCs in Indonesia. This study sheds light on this issue, by examining the relationships between RCs, executive and board of director remuneration, and firm performance in Indonesia. This study uses 847 observations of firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) during 2014–2017. Our results indicate that RCs are positively related to executives remuneration and firm performance. In particular, higher remuneration is only linked to higher performance in firms that have established a remuneration committee. This study documents the interactions between RCs, remuneration levels of senior company officers and firm performance in an emerging market setting with voluntary formation of RCs. This study has implications for regulators and company management in Indonesia (and other emerging markets), as the existence of remuneration committees is found to be associated with more effective remuneration packages and higher firm performance.