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Work of a Chair in Europe: Context, Content and Evolution

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Leading a Board

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Abstract

This chapter offers a conceptual model of the environment in which board chairs operate, combining three macro factors—business context, laws and soft laws, and societal norms—and three micro factors—company, board and chair. The unique combination of these factors defines what a particular board chair does (roles) and how he/she goes about it (practices).There are strong similarities in the way chairs from various countries define the job itself and the way they go about it. Board leaders play three specific roles: engaging, enabling and encouraging, which we call “the 3Es of effective board leadership.” While these roles intertwine and reinforce each other, we have identified and classified specific practices that board chairs use to perform them individually. We also present typologies of chair-CEO and chair-shareholder relationships and supporting behaviours.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Cawston, G. and Keane, A.H. (1968). Early Chartered Companies: A.D. 1296–1858. New York: B. Franklin, p. 15.

  2. 2.

    In some sources—218.

  3. 3.

    Cawston, G. and Keane, A.H. (1968). Early Chartered Companies: A.D. 1296–1858. New York: B. Franklin, pp. 86–87.

  4. 4.

    Gevurtz, F. (2004). The European Origins and the Spread of the Corporate Board of Directors. Stetson Law Review, 33, pp. 925–954.

  5. 5.

    Bezemer, P., Peij, S., Maassen, G. and van Halder, H. (2010). The Changing Role of the Supervisory Board Chairman: the Case of the Netherlands (1997–2007). Journal of Management & Governance, 16(1), pp. 37–55; Garratt, B. (1999). Developing Effective Directors and Building Dynamic Boards. Long Range Planning, 32, pp. 28–35; Furr, R. and Furr, L. (2005). Is Your Chairman A Leader? The Corporate Board, 26(154), pp. 11–15.

  6. 6.

    See INFORM: Closing the Gap between Formal and Informal Institutions in the Balkans. Available from: http://www.formal-informal.eu (Accessed 3 December 2018).

  7. 7.

    Financial Reporting Council (2016). The UK Corporate Governance Code. Available from: https://www.frc.org.uk/getattachment/ca7e94c4-b9a9-49e2-a824-ad76a322873c/UK-Corporate-Governance-Code-April-2016.pdf (Accessed 3 December 2018).

  8. 8.

    McNulty, T., Pettigrew, A., Jobome, G. and Morris, C. (2011). The Role, Power and Influence of Company Chairs. Journal of Management and Governance, 15, pp. 91–121; Pettigrew, A. and McNulty, T. (1995). Power and Influence In and Around Boardroom. Human Relations, 48, pp. 845–873.

  9. 9.

    Bezemer, P., Peij, S., Maassen, G. and van Halder, H. (2010). The Changing Role of the Supervisory Board Chairman: the Case of the Netherlands (1997–2007). Journal of Management & Governance, 16(1), pp. 37–55; McNulty, T. and Pettigrew, A. (1999). Strategists on the Board. Organization Studies, 20(1), pp. 47–74.

  10. 10.

    Higgs, D. (2003). Review of the Role and Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors. Available from: http://www.ecgi.org/codes/documents/higgs.pdf (Accessed 26 March 2018); Hossack, R. (2006). Together at the Top: the Critical Relationship Between the Chairman and the CEO. Ivey Business Journal, Jan/Feb, pp. 1–4. Available from: https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/together-at-the-top-the-critical-relationship-between-thechairman-and-the-ceo/ (Accessed 3 December 2018).

  11. 11.

    Stewart, R. (1991). Chairman and Chief Executive: an Exploration of their Relationship. Journal of Management Study, 28 (5), pp. 511–527; Garratt, B. (1999). Developing Effective Directors and Building Effective Boards. Long Range Planning, 32(1), pp. 28–35; Roberts, J. (2002). Building the Complementary Board. The Work of the Plc Chairman. Long Range Planning, 35(5), pp. 493–520.

  12. 12.

    Kakabadse, N., Knyght, R. and Kakabadse, A. (2013). High-Performing Chairmen: the Older the Better. In: A. Kakabadse and L. van den Berghe, ed., How to Make Boards Work. London: Palgrave, pp. 342–349; Kakabadse, A. and Kakabadse, N. (2008). Leading the Board: the Six Disciplines of World Class Chairman. London: Palgrave.

  13. 13.

    The Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (1992). Report of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance. London: Gee and Co.

  14. 14.

    Cadbury, A. (2002). Corporate Governance and Chairmanship: A Personal View. London: Oxford University Press.

  15. 15.

    Hillman, A., Nicholson, G. and Shropshire, C. (2008). Directors’ Multiple Identities, Identification, and Board Monitoring and Resource Provision. Organization Science, 19(3), pp. 441–456.

  16. 16.

    Barroso-Castro, C., Villegas-Periñan, M. and Dominguez, M. (2017). Board Members’ Contribution to Strategy: The Mediating Role of Board Internal Processes. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 23 (2), pp. 82–89.

  17. 17.

    Lorsch, J. W. and Zelleke, A. (2005). The Chairman’s Job Description. Directors and Boards, 30(1), pp. 28–32.

  18. 18.

    Parker, H. (1990). The Company Chairman—His Role and Responsibilities. Long Range Planning, 23(4), pp. 35–43; Stewart, R. (1991). Chairman and Chief Executive: an Exploration of their Relationship. Journal of Management Study, 28(5), pp. 511–527.

  19. 19.

    Higgs, D. (2003). Review of the Role and Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors. Available from: http://www.ecgi.org/codes/documents/higgs.pdf (Accessed 3 December 2018).

  20. 20.

    Haleblian, J. and Rajagopalan, N. (2006). A Cognitive Model of CEO Dismissal: Understanding the Influence of Board Perceptions, Attributions and Efficacy Beliefs. Journal of Management Studies, 43(5), pp. 1009–1026.

  21. 21.

    McNulty, T., Pettigrew, A., Jobome, G. and Morris, C. (2009). The Role, Power and Influence of Company Chairs. Journal of Management & Governance, 15(1), pp. 91–121; Huse, M. (2007). Boards, Governance and Value Creation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  22. 22.

    Anderson, R.C. and Reeb, D.M. (2003). Founding-Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500. Journal of Finance, 3, pp. 1301–1328; Hillman, A. J. and Dalziel, T. (2003). Boards of Directors and Firm Performance: Integrating Agency and Resource Dependence.

    Perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), pp. 383–396; Desender, K. (2009). The Relationship between the Ownership Structure and Board Effectiveness. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business Working Papers 09-0105. Available from: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1440750 (Accessed 3 December 2018).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

    Stanislav Shekshnia

  2. Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute, Moscow, Russia

    Veronika Zagieva

Authors
  1. Stanislav Shekshnia
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  2. Veronika Zagieva
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

    Stanislav Shekshnia

  2. Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute, Moscow, Russia

    Veronika Zagieva

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Shekshnia, S., Zagieva, V. (2019). Work of a Chair in Europe: Context, Content and Evolution. In: Shekshnia, S., Zagieva, V. (eds) Leading a Board. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3197-8_1

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