The board of directors as leaders of the organisation

Abstract

The primary aim of this paper is to explore the relevance and applicability of leadership research in enhancing our understanding of boards of directors' functioning and effectiveness. Secondly, to discuss methodological issues with respect to board research and indicate potentially fruitful methodological approaches. It is suggested that the leadership research stream focused on traits and competencies is particularly promising for future research on boards, since it has been demonstrated that there are traits that can distinguish leaders from non-leaders or effective leaders from ineffective ones; as well as that certain competencies can distinguish superior performers from average performers in particular jobs. Moreover, it is proposed that a promising way forward in terms of methodology is to focus on gathering in-depth qualitative longitudinal data of actual board behaviours based on observation, and to inform quantitative research by such in-depth data in order to enhance the operationalisation of theoretical variables, as well as identifying the critical variables in the first place.