What do we know about what is going on inside the boardroom?

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 250-264
Author(s):  
Claude Francoeur ◽  
Caroline Aubé ◽  
Samuel Sponem ◽  
Faranak Farzaneh
Keyword(s):  
Top Management ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Board Effectiveness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Board Dynamics ◽  
Gain Access

PurposeThe fundamental role of corporate boards is to monitor and advise top management on strategic issues. It is therefore of the utmost importance that corporate directors are effective as a decision-making group to ensure corporate performance (Zattoni et al., 2015; Minichilli et al., 2012). But, what do we know about what is really going on inside the boardroom? This study aims to shed light on this important question.Design/methodology/approachThe authors undertake a targeted review of the literature to take account of all publications regarding board dynamics in relation to board effectiveness.FindingsThis study shows that we know very little about what is going on inside the “black box” of board dynamics and its relation to how effective directors are at doing their job, namely, monitoring and advising top management and establishing and expanding the firm’s network, to gain access to the resources it needs. The authors propose several avenues of research to better understand board dynamics.Originality/valueIn this study, the authors show how and why the present body of knowledge on team effectiveness should be harnessed to better understand corporate board dynamics in relation to board effectiveness.

Legitimacy profiles of women directors on top French company boards

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 803-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Singh ◽  
Sebastien Point ◽  
Yves Moulin ◽  
Andrès Davila
Keyword(s):  
Management Development ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Short Space

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to question the profiles of female directors on top French company boards. It explores the legitimacy attributes of current female directors to identify the profiles sought recently, as firms approach the need to make many new appointments to fulfill gender quotas for supervisory boards, given that the proportion of women on a corporate board must reach 40 percent by 2017, with an intermediate level of 20 percent by 2014. Design/methodology/approach – The authors gathered numerical and qualitative biographical data on all SBF 120 (French stock exchange index) firms’ female directors from annual reports and web sites over seven years (from 2003 to 2009). The authors constructed an SPSS database to categorize the individuals into various orders of legitimacy. Findings – Drawing on director bio-data, the authors extend previous work on four legitimacy assets (family ownership; academic excellence; strong ties to the State; and top career), by adding a fifth asset (representative director), and contribute a gender dimension to the literature on personal legitimacy. Owning-family ties and academic excellence are still particularly salient in explaining legitimacy of women directors. A new source of female directors since 2005 is the pool of foreign women, outside the elite Grandes Ecoles system. Research limitations/implications – The authors had data for directors of 115 companies out of the SBF 120 firms. The authors also lacked data for seven women out of 144 appointed during the period, despite efforts to track down data from public sources. Practical implications – These legitimacy profiles present different challenges for management development as those responsible for appointing several women to their boards in a short space of time will find out. Social implications – The authors highlight that with the diminishing role of family members on large corporate boards, more women directors need to be found, developed and mentored. If this approach is followed, new female directors with solid achievements can be appointed, without having their legitimacy as directors challenged by resistant males. Women will thus be able to take their legitimate place in French boardrooms and contribute their diverse experiences and knowledge. Originality/value – This paper questions the legitimacy assets of female directors, which can be clustered into three groups: combined elite education and top corporate career; owning-family membership; and representative directors. These legitimacy profiles present different challenges for management development as those responsible for appointing several women to their boards in a short space of time will find out.

Organizational access in qualitative research

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Nathan Alexander ◽  
Anne D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Management Journal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Gain Access ◽  
Administrative Science

Purpose While organizational access is central to much qualitative research, little is known about how researchers secure it. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic assessment of this critical methodological step. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted to establish how researchers gained access to organizations for qualitative research. Access type was identified and explanatory indicators were inductively developed to illuminate how access was obtained in a sample of 216 qualitative articles published in Administrative Science Quarterly and Academy of Management Journal between 1986 and 2013. A supplemental review of 306 articles published in Organization Studies over the same period augmented the primary analysis with a broader view of published accounts of access. Findings Learning prior to entering organizations, researchers’ backgrounds, organizational insiders, and outside contacts facilitated access. The role of these factors, which served as indicators of legitimacy, varied with the type of access. In addition, the authors found that many articles provide little information about how the researchers gained access, regardless of a publication’s domicile. Originality/value This study furthers the understanding of how researchers gain access to organizations to conduct qualitative research and discusses the implications of the limited access accounts in published studies. In addition, this research provides practical guidance for authors, editors, and reviewers.

Is top-management remuneration influenced by board characteristics?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastien Deschenes ◽  
Hamadou Boubacar ◽  
Miguel Rojas ◽  
Tania Morris
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Management Compensation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Good Corporate Governance

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine if certain board characteristics have an impact on the total remuneration of top management and the ratio of stock-based remuneration to total top-management remuneration. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on data from the largest public Canadian companies, the constituents of the TSX/60 index. The study controls for firm size and profitability. Findings – The authors concludes that total remuneration of top management is directly linked to board-member total remuneration and the board average number of director-tenure years. The study also shows that the ratio of stock-based to total top-management remuneration is positively affected by the percentage of independent directors, total remuneration of board directors, the ratio of stock-based remuneration of directors to their total remuneration and the average number of tenure years of the board of directors. Practical implications – If regulators are determined to curb the excesses in top-management remuneration by means of promoting boards with certain characteristics, they should implement measures facilitating the control of directors’ remuneration and tenure, to discourage cronyistic behavior. Good corporate governance requires that the board act as a counterbalance to top management, ensuring that a substantial percentage of top-executive total compensation is variable, and not fixed. According to our findings, the boards that are the most likely to hold managerial avoidance of variable pay in check are those favoring director independence, variable director remuneration and longer director tenures. Social implications – The present article examines specifically the latter aspect, namely, the role of board characteristics (independence, size, compensation, board director ownership and tenure, etc.) in the determination of top-management compensation. This relationship is important because it allows us to further the analysis of corporate governance. If the above-mentioned traits of boards have a meaningful relationship with the compensation of the top management, one might conclude that certain practices in the composition of boards could influence good corporate governance practices. This is relevant for regulatory agencies, for investors and for corporations. Originality/value – The article adds to the extant literature in a number of ways. Firstly, it considers the role of the traits of the board in the determination of the compensation of the top-management teams, and not only of the chief executive officer, as is the focus of previous literature. Secondly, the article focuses on the power interplay between boards and managers, and, more particularly, on the ability of boards to be an effective mechanism of corporate governance. Finally, the article examines the potential impact of board traits in the determination of top-management compensation in the context of Canadian firms, a subject that has received less attention from academic research, which has mostly concentrated on analyzing the issue in the US context.

Exploring BIM-triggered organisational and professional culture change: a systematic literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonali Alankarage ◽  
Nicholas Chileshe ◽  
Raufdeen Rameezdeen ◽  
David J. Edwards ◽  
Aparna Samaraweera
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Employees ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Considerable Impact

Purpose Building information modelling (BIM) has had a considerable impact on the socio-technical aspects of construction organisations. Culture has been considered an essential element in BIM practice. Hence, this paper aims to explore existing research relates to culture in the BIM context. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines using 104 articles published between 2011 and 2020 and directed with a descriptive and content analysis. Findings The SLR results give evidence that culture in the BIM context is still an under-researched topic. Culture has been considered as both a dependent and independent factor in the BIM domain. Organisational BIM culture is a collection of fundamental beliefs established in a BIM using organisation and passed to new employees with the use of BIM. BIM using organisations are have either weak or strong BIM cultures. Proper analysis and understanding of the BIM culture of different organisations are necessary to realise the strategies of transformation from a weak BIM culture to a strong BIM culture. Originality/value To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first SLR in BIM research that investigates the role of culture in the BIM setting. This study contributed to the existing body of knowledge by proposing a conceptual framework to understand and change a weak BIM culture of an organisation to a strong, matured BIM culture. This SLR serves as a future research basis in BIM-triggered culture.

scholarly journals Board gender diversity and environmental, social and governance performance of US banks: moderating role of environmental, social and corporate governance controversies

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hassan Shakil ◽  
Mashiyat Tasnia ◽  
Md Imtiaz Mostafiz
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Omitted Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dynamic Panel Regression ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

PurposeGender diversity in corporate boards is broadly studied in existing corporate governance literature. However, the role of board gender diversity on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of the banks is still unaccounted for. Drawing on resource dependence and legitimacy theory, this study addresses this pressing research issue. Moreover, investigation of ESG controversies as a moderator paves the existing corporate governance research to the new avenues.Design/methodology/approachData were sourced from Refinitiv database on 37 US banks from the period of 2013 to 2017. This study employs static and dynamic panel regression models that include random effects, fixed effects and dynamic generalised method of moments (GMMs) to test the hypotheses. Furthermore, system GMM is used to reduce the issue of endogeneity, measurement error, omitted variables bias and bank-specific heterogeneity.FindingsWe identify a significant positive relationship between board gender diversity and the ESG performance of US banks. However, the result propounds non-significant moderating effect of ESG controversies on the board gender diversity–ESG performance nexus.Originality/valueLiterature on board gender diversity and ESG separately and predominantly explains firm/bank's financial performance. This study is one of the pioneering attempts to explain the role of board gender diversity on ESG performance. Although incremental, however, this study also contributes to the literature on ESG in the US context.

scholarly journals Influencing Elite Opinion on Gender Equality through Framing: A Survey Experiment of Elite Support for Corporate Board Gender Quotas

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Mari Teigen ◽  
Rune Karlsen
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Framing Effects ◽  
The Body ◽  
Male Dominance ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Business Elite ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Comprehensive Survey

AbstractThis article contributes to both the scholarly debates on the controversies over gender quotas and the body of knowledge on framing effects through an investigation of whether national elites, individuals in top positions across 10 sectors of Norwegian society, are susceptible to positive framing of corporate board gender quotas (CBQs). Elites are thought to be more resistant to framing, and their predispositions are found to be stronger and more consistent than those of the general public. However, few, if any, studies have empirically investigated framing effects on national elites. We report on an experiment embedded in a comprehensive survey of Norwegian national elites. The results clearly indicate that elites are susceptible to framing. When exposed to frames highlighting both male dominance among the business elite and the success of CBQs in achieving gender balance on corporate boards, elites were significantly more likely to support gender quotas. Framing effects were primarily found among men, not women, and contrary to expectation, effects were stronger among the business elite. Thus, we should direct our attention to how the framing of issues also influences key stakeholders, and policy makers should consider opposition to gender equality measures as something that has the propensity to change.

scholarly journals Crisis communication and ethics: the role of public relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Jin ◽  
Augustine Pang ◽  
Joshua Smith
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Philosophical Argument ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
Moral Philosophies ◽  
Business Environments

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the veracity of the contingency model of ethical crisis communication by examining the factors of influence in a time of crisis including what constitutes ethics in a time of crisis; the role of public relations (PR) practitioners as the “moral conscience” of an organization and perceptions of the PR’ role within top management. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted among ten senior PR managers with crisis communication experience in North America. Findings This research identifies and investigates six ethical variables – the nature of the crisis, the role of top management, the activism of stakeholders, government regulation/intervention, the diversity of cultures and the exposure to external business environments – and their potential influences on an organization’s communication practices. Research limitations/implications The qualitative approach does not produce generalizable results. In addition, the authors could have interviewed more people, although the authors have reached information saturation in analyzing the interview data based on the ten interviews conducted. Practical implications Insights from this exploratory study contribute to answering the “how” questions with empirical data that enhance the clarity on the roadmap of ethical factors in crisis communication practice. Originality/value Unlike other conceptual work that explores moral philosophies in ethics, this study aims to offer a practical approach – rather than a philosophical argument and persuasion – that is rooted in the practitioner’s world.

Corporate entrepreneurship strategy: an analysis of top management teams in SMEs

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi ◽  
Khaled Nawaser ◽  
Alexander Brem
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Ambiguity Tolerance ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
East Of Iran

Purpose In order to learn more about the antecedents of strategy at the top management team’s (TMT) level, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of TMT cultural intelligence on corporate entrepreneurship strategy. Then, the authors examine how TMT’s ambiguity tolerance mediates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the hypothesis by collecting survey data from 41 TMTs of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the south-east of Iran. Findings The survey results confirm that a high level of cultural intelligence in TMTs is conducive to corporate entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the result shows that higher levels of cultural intelligence in TMTs relate to a higher level of ambiguity tolerance, which, in turn, enhances the possibility of pursuing corporate entrepreneurship strategy by SMEs. Research limitations/implications The data for this study were obtained from 41 TMTs in the south-east of Iran, which increases the probability that the results may not be directly transferable to certain companies in Western countries. Future research might attempt to test the ideas developed in this paper across different settings and samples. Originality/value Several theoretical and empirical studies have explored possible antecedents of corporate entrepreneurship. But a few papers investigated the role of TMT dispositions on corporate entrepreneurship strategy. By addressing the prominent role of TMT psychological dispositions on corporate entrepreneurship strategy, this paper attempts to fill this gap.

Human capital in top management teams seen through the lens of senior human resources managers

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 571-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Garcia-Carbonell ◽  
Fernando Martin-Alcazar ◽  
Gonzalo Sanchez-Gardey
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Human Resources Managers ◽  
Strategic Issue

Purpose Despite the strong influence of Hambrick and Mason’s (1984) seminal work, the effects of top management team (TMT) characteristics on strategic processes remain unclear. This study aims to go beyond the traditional upper echelon theory and to propose a human capital taxonomy of TMTs from the perspective of top human resources managers. Design/methodology/approach The research integrates arguments from the strategic human capital and strategic issue diagnosis literatures. An exploratory cluster analysis was conducted in an attempt to describe different human capital typologies in TMTs in a sample of 120 Spanish companies. Findings The exploratory analysis showed three distinct human capital profiles: “technocratic teams”, “highly skilled teams” and “operational teams”. In addition, this paper provides preliminary results about the effects of each profile in the above taxonomy on strategic issue diagnostic processes, suggesting that “highly skilled teams” present the most appropriate combination of human capital attributes. Practical/implications This analysis provides a guide for top managers regarding the human capital needs they may face when interpreting strategic issues in strategy formation processes. Originality/value This paper makes a twofold contribution to the extant literature: proposing an analysis of TMTs’ human capital from a synergistic perspective (“human capital profiles”) instead of using the traditional “more is better” approach and providing preliminary explanations about how those human capital combinations contribute to success in the strategic issue diagnosis process.

Building a fitting context for knowledge management and innovativeness

Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşe Günsel ◽  
Serdar Bozkurt ◽  
Özge Mehtap
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Mutual Trust ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Management Support ◽  
Firm Innovativeness ◽  
Organizational Rewards

Purpose In the hyper-dynamic business world of today, innovation has become the lifeblood of organizations. Knowledge management (KM) is widely considered an essential antecedent of innovation. However, very little empirical research has specifically addressed how KM is nurtured as support for innovation from a behavioral point of view. This paper aims to operationalize the characteristics of a fitting context – in terms of top management support, organizational rewards and mutual trust – and to clarify the role of organizational context on knowledge management strategies (KMS) and ultimately on firm innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach By studying 98 surveys from 23 companies from Technology Fast 50 list, based on using the partial least squares method, the authors find that this organizational context has a significant impact on the formulation and implementation of KMS. Findings Organizational/behavioral context has significant effects on the formulation and implementation of KMS as well as firm innovativeness. The results also demonstrate that the tacit KMS has a crucial impact on firm innovativeness. Originality/value From a behavioral perspective, this study empirically examines the role of organizational context (top management support, organizational rewards and mutual trust), KMS and firm innovativeness in a holistic manner in Turkey, a developing country. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no researcher has undergone those relationships in literature.

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