Board of Directors

Performance and Role

Board task performance and board roles have been categorized in various ways. Categories are based on legislation, theories, stakeholder expectations, and induction. The most common distinction is between the board's control roles and service roles. The strategy roles and resource dependency roles are in many studies or reviews also treated as general categories, but more specific board roles such as networking, lobbying, advising, influencing, ratifying, being a sounding board, etc. are also used in some studies. Some studies also present the board's roles in various business functions such as finance, operations, human resources, markets, and product development.

The composition of board members has traditionally been the measure used when studying boards. The most common board-member variables have been board size, chief executive officer (CEO) duality, and various measures of insider/outsider ratios. There has also been an interest in the number of women directors. In studies, there has also been an interest in outside directors, family members, founders, and venture capitalists. In addition, board members should be studied both from a supply side (board members seeking assignments) and a demand side (companies seeking board members).

What motivates individuals to sit on a board, and what motivates them to focus energy, effort, and time to working on a board? How are board members selected? What are the attributes of board members that are needed beyond affiliation, gender, and independence? What are the roles of industry experience, age, and tenure? What characterizes women directors versus male directors? What is the role of homogeneity versus diversity with a decision-making body? What aspects of homogeneity and diversity exist and are important to decision makers? What are the dynamics when directors' interlock (sit on different boards of intertwined companies)? We still know little about how much time it takes to be a board member or the outcome of attendance to the decision-making process of board members.

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