The Interplay of Board Control with Board Configuration: Evidence from the UK

Abstract

The study aims to explore the control role that board directors undertake and understand the impact of several board characteristics on these roles. Building on existing literature a model was developed to test the hypothesised relationships – i.e. directors’ control role with board characteristics. The responses were collected from 115 directors in UK organisations. Principal component analysis was conducted to reduce the data and propose a set of directors’ roles and correlation as well as regression analyses are utilised in order to test the hypothesised relationships. The results of the statistical analysis propose some impact of the board characteristics on what directors do, extending the limited empirical evidence found in the literature. However, the theoretical framework needs further examination and research. The study is evidenced by various limitations. Firstly, additional constructs can be added as determinants of the directors’ control role. Secondly, the response rate in the survey is relatively low which is regarded as a limitation, although there are limited studies offering quantitative results from board members.