Strategy-making in the Boardroom how boards shape strategic directions

Prior research in corporate governance suggests that boards have varying levels of involvement in the development of strategy ranging from an endorsing or rubber-stamping role to a more proactive role of shaping strategy. Empirical research on the enactment of these roles remains scarce and recent studies highlight the need for more processual research on boardroom practices. This paper addresses this gap using data gathered on the strategic practices of a board of a large European service organization over a one-year cycle of meetings, interviews and observations. Specifically, our study focuses on the continuing influence of founders in boards and we focus on the role of board dynamics in shaping of strategic decisions. We examine strategic episodes to identify recurring patterns of influence from individual members of the board concerned. In so doing, we contribute a nuanced set of insights to the wider governance literature suggesting that executive and non-executive members of boards engage in decision making as an autopoietic process which can result in a reversal of the apparent roles that individual board members take.