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Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team interacts when making BMI decisions. The paper also investigates how group biases and board members’ risk willingness affect this process.

Empirical data were collected through 26 in-depth interviews with German managing directors from 13 companies in four industries (mobility, manufacturing, healthcare and energy) to explore three research questions: (1) What group effects are prevalent in BMI group decision-making? (2) What are the key characteristics of BMI group decisions? And (3) what are the potential relationships between BMI group decision-making and managers' risk willingness? A thematic analysis based on Gioia's guidelines was conducted to identify themes in the comprehensive dataset.

First, the results show four typical group biases in BMI group decisions: Groupthink, social influence, hidden profile and group polarization. Findings show that the hidden profile paradigm and groupthink theory are essential in the context of BMI decisions. Second, we developed a BMI decision matrix, including the following key characteristics of BMI group decision-making managerial cohesion, conflict readiness and information- and emotion-based decision behavior. Third, in contrast to previous literature, we found that individual risk aversion can improve the quality of BMI decisions.

This paper provides managers with an opportunity to become aware of group biases that may impede their strategic BMI decisions. Specifically, it points out that managers should consider the key cognitive constraints due to their interactions when making BMI decisions. This work also highlights the importance of risk-averse decision-makers on boards.

This qualitative study contributes to the literature on decision-making by revealing key cognitive group biases in strategic decision-making. This study also enriches the behavioral science research stream of the BMI literature by attributing a critical influence on the quality of BMI decisions to managers' group interactions. In addition, this article provides new perspectives on managers' risk aversion in strategic decision-making.

This chapter examines interlocks among the governing boards of 12 leading policy-planning organizations and changes in the structure of this network between 1973 and 2000. Methods of multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering are used to construct topographical maps of the pattern of interlocks among policy-planning groups and their change over time. In contrast to the findings on corporate interlocking directorates, the study shows that board interlocks among policy-planning organizations are substantively meaningful and relatively stable at the dyadic level, although several changes in the topology of the network are also found. In all three decades, big-business “moderate-conservatives” like the Business Council and the Business Roundtable occupied the most central locations in the network. In the 1970s these organizations were linked with the “corporate liberals” to form the core cluster of the policy network. In the 1980s and 1990s the corporate liberals became relatively isolated from the core and their places were taken by several conservative groups. There was also a sharp rise in the cohesion of the network in the late 1970s and 1980s – a period that is widely seen as one of conservative political mobilization and heightened political unity among business elites. These changes in the structure of the policy network are consistent with and help to account for the rightward shift in U.S. state policy during this period.

Utilizing the expectation states theory in sociology, this study probes into the influence of the board's informal hierarchy on the quality of enterprise innovation, originating from the perspective of internal directorial interactions, while analyzing the boundary effects exhibited by the nature of property rights and the intensity of geo-culture.

The study selects China's A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021 as the research sample, employing the Tobit regression analysis method to scrutinize the hypotheses presented in the text.

The regression results demonstrate a positive correlation between the board's informal hierarchy and the enterprise innovation quality (EIQ). Upon introducing variables specific to property rights and geographical culture, the authors found that in comparison to non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), the influence of the board's informal hierarchy on the quality of corporate innovation is diminished in SOEs. Conversely, the intensity of geo-culture across Chinese provinces enhances their mutual positive influence. In the additional analysis, the authors also found that the elevation of corporate risk tolerance is a significant pathway for the positive effect of the board's informal hierarchy on EIQ. Moreover, this positive influence is more profound in high-tech enterprises, businesses implementing equity incentive plans and companies that have subscribed to director and officer liability insurance.

The findings not only deepen the understanding of how the board's internal status characteristics influence corporate decision-making but also enrich the application scope of expectation states theory. Furthermore, this study offers valuable guidance for optimizing innovation decision-making by adjusting the personnel structures of corporate boards.

Research into top management team (TMT) performance and consensus has been equivocal; furthermore, research into the role of non‐executive directors (NEDs) in UK SMEs concluded that multiple perceptions of “reality” exist between directors. By adopting an innovative methodological approach to analysis, the “black box” complexity of SME board information processes, perceptions and TMT relationships are made visible. This allows the tension caused by differing perceptions of the NED role on a small company TMT to be explored. The aim of this paper is to do this.

In an in‐depth case study of one SME board, four directors' information and perception differences are investigated using a combined Johari window and set theory framework.

Application of this innovative analytical framework allowed the information process and differing perceptions of multiple directors to be plotted systematically. This surfaces the normally hidden “generative mechanisms” underlying the “real domains” of the SME board processes by explaining why and how the directors choose to share and hide information about the NEDs' role. Surfacing the nature of this information sharing and hiding is at the heart of appreciating the process of precarious equilibrium that achieves a fragile cohesion within the TMT.

This study reveals the fragility of TMTs to the process of information sharing and hiding. It demonstrates the sensitivity of the group to perceptions of the NED role and the influence the NED can have on information processes within the group and potentially its cohesion. NEDs joining small company boards need to be sensitive to the existing informational asymmetries that may be vital to maintaining precarious equilibrium and cohesion. In their role they are likely to become the confidant of more than one director and thus nodal points of “secret” information. They need considerable interpersonal sensitivity and tact if they are to fulfil their role of challenging the directors without detrimentally disrupting the group dynamic.

This paper answers the call for more qualitative research to investigate the “lived experience” and “behavioural processes” of directors by adopting the combined Johari window and set theory framework. This analysis tool offers an innovative method that will be of value to other researchers and practitioners investigating TMT group dynamics. It provides a rare opportunity to understand the information process and perceptions of a small company TMT and the influence on the equilibrium and cohesion of the group.

Today, there is attention being focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR), a function which transcends, but includes making profits, creation of jobs, and the production of goods and services. It is how well corporations perform this function that determines their influence in social cohesion. This article will therefore discuss some of the social cohesion issues involving corporations, the concerns over how corporations make profits, create jobs, hire, promote and fire, treat shareholders, run their boards, and give back to the communities in which they function. Most of these functions depend on the quality of corporate governance, which in turn has implications for social cohesion. The article begins with a discussion of the concept of CSR. Then it will identify and discuss some corporate behaviors that promote CSR in the following areas: governance; employment practices; involvement in communities; environmental protection; and ethical investment. The paper concludes that successful business strategy that contributes to social cohesion is that which foster integrity in internal governance while promoting positive engagement in communities in which they operate.

Board configuration is discussed in the context of the perceived needs of the board as a strategic resource of the organization. This is highlighted in the context of the differing governance, performance and social requirements of organizations pertaining to private sector, state and local government ownership structures. Examined is the view that in bringing particular perspectives resulting from their professional, ethnic or gender backgrounds, directors contribute to board effectiveness. This notion is evaluated in terms of directors’ coping devices and their perceptions of their ability to be heard on the board. Initiatives that boards may use to ensure the success of such appointments are highlighted. Consideration is also given to enhancing the dynamics of established but dysfunctional appointments. In concluding, the paper develops criteria for success in making board appointments where the prospective appointee is a minority in terms of professional discipline or other forms of diversity.

The 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.

The authors undertake a targeted review of the literature to take account of all publications regarding board dynamics in relation to board effectiveness.

This 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.

In 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.

Extant research on non-financial service firms indicates that board size is a key determinant of firm performance. Property-liability (P&L) insurers, however, face a different set of agency costs and a more intense regulatory environment than most non-financial firms. Both of these factors were reinforced by the implementation of the Financial Services Modernization Act in 2000. We document a significant inverse relation between publicly traded P&L insurer performance and board size in the post-Financial Services Modernization Act period. Publicly traded P&L insurer performance, measured by market-to-book ratio, return on revenues, and the operating ratio, was enhanced for firms with smaller board sizes in 2000 and 2001. Ironically, we find that publicly traded P&L insurers on average increased board size in 2000 and 2001. In a post-Financial Services Modernization Act environment, board size appears to be related to publicly traded P&L insurer performance, but more research is necessary to develop a complete understanding of its role in P&L insurer corporate governance.

It has been over 20 years since the landmark publication of Mizruchi (1996) and his examination of “what do interlocks do?”. Since then, the nature of interlocks and subsequent research on the subject has evolved. This paper aims to revisit the literature on interlocking directorates through a quantitative bibliometric analysis.

This study undertakes a bibliometric analysis of literature citing the Mizruchi (1996) to examine the state of research following up on “what do interlocks do”. This study examines 718 publications using keyword and co-word analysis, along with a thematic analysis to revisit the research that has followed Mizruchi’s topic of what do interlocks do.

This study finds that the topics of the corporate elite, capitalist economy and corporate governance have remained prominent themes in the field. Research areas that are emerging in the field of interlocking directorates include gender diversity, globalisation and advancing theoretical frameworks.

This paper provides a quantitative bibliometric analysis to revisit the extant literature on “what do interlocks do”, examining a high number of articles to identify areas which could be developed to advance research in the field.

From the resource-based view (RBV), the purpose of this paper is to argue that the board has the capability to participate in international strategic decisions and deal with the environmental complexities that internationalisation brings; and moreover, to achieve better performance than its competitors.

This paper highlights the active participation of the board in firm internationalisation using a sample of 78 Spanish firms quoted on Madrid Stock Exchange. The authors used a longitudinal analysis from 2005 through 2010.

The results show that while the resources provided by the directors through their level of education and international experience, help them learn and process information, and they are a source of expertise representing “board potential”. A board that functions well through the directors’ relationships allow the proper integration and use of these resources, and helps create sustainable competitive advantages in an international context.

From a RBV, this paper refines and extends the concept of “board capability” as the combination of potential and internal relations that allow boards to undertake their roles competently over time. Additionally, the paper empirically examines the effect of board capability on firm internationalisation.

A través de la RBV, explicamos cómo el consejo de administración posee la “capacidad” necesaria para participar en las decisiones estratégicas internacionales de la empresa y hacer frente a los altos niveles de complejidad que se derivan actualmente del contexto internacional; y además, conseguir un rendimiento superior al de sus competidores.

Este artículo resalta la participación activa del consejo en la internacionalización de la empresa usando una muestra de 78 empresas españolas que cotizan en la Bolsa de Madrid. Utilizamos un análisis longitudinal para el periodo 2005-2010.

Nuestros resultados muestran que mientras que los recursos que aportan los consejeros a través de su nivel de formación y background internacional ayudan a aprender y procesar información y son fuente de conocimiento especializado conformando el “potencial” del consejo; un buen funcionamiento del consejo, a través de las relaciones entre consejeros, permiten la adecuada integración y uso de dichos recursos, conformando la capacidad necesaria para obtener ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el contexto internacional.

Este artículo perfecciona y amplia desde la RBV, el concepto de “capacidad del consejo” como combinación de potencial y relaciones internas que permitan llevar a cabo sus funciones de manera competente a lo largo del tiempo. Además, el artículo examina empíricamente el efecto de la capacidad del consejo sobre el grado de internacionalización de la empresa.