Khedar, HarshAgarwal, VineetPoshakwale, Sunil2024-08-232024-08-232024-12Khedar H, Agarwal V, Poshakwale S. (2024) Are prestigious directors mere attractive ornaments on the corporate Christmas tree? British Journal of Management, Available online 20 August 20241045-3172https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12863https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/22813Using the UK’s unique institutional setting of Queen’s honours, we examine the influence of director prestige on both short-term and long-term firm performance. We find that the market reacts positively to the appointments of Prestigious Award-Winning Directors (PAWDs). Firms appointing PAWDs also show significantly improved long-term performance, and this performance change is higher when firms appoint PAWDs according to their needs. The evidence suggests that PAWDs make important contributions to the firm by providing effective monitoring, facilitating preferential access to resources, and offering legitimacy. We conclude that director prestige not only signals higher human and social capital but also incentivises effective monitoring of managerial decisions.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Director reputationEndogeneityEntropy balancingIndependent directorsPropensity Score MatchingBusiness & Management3505 Human resources and industrial relations3506 Marketing3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviourArticle1467-8551549256