A Theoretical Framework for Several Antecedents of Shared Leadership in Corporate Board Contexts

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Management, Graduate School of Management and Economics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Due to the gap in understanding board leadership and specifically, board shared leadership, this article aims at proposing some antecedents of the emergence of board shared leadership. This article incorporates three bodies of literature: Team effectiveness, team leadership, and board management. Based on integrating several theoretical perspectives, nine propositions are developed in relation to well-known board inputs, such as board size, leadership structure, board diversity, and the ratio of insiders/outsiders. It is suggested that CEO duality and firm size have negative relationships with level of shared leadership in boards while board members’ stock ownership, membership of women in board, board members’ average expertise and experience, and board members’ background diversity foster board shared leadership. It is also proposed that board size, the ratio of insiders/outsiders, and board members’ power vis-à-vis CEO power have non-linear relationships with board shared leadership. 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Alavi, S. B., & McCormick, J. (2008). The roles of perceived task interdependence and group members’ interdependence in the development of collective efficacy in university student group contexts. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(3), 375-393.
Appelbaum, S. H.,  Audet, L., & Miller, J. C. (2003). Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1), 43-51. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730310457320
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 1-26.
Barry, D. (1991). Managing the bossless team: Lessons in distributed leadership. Organizational Dynamics, 20(1), 31-47.
Baysinger, B., & Hoskisson, R. E. (1990). The composition of boards of directors and strategic control: Effects on corporate strategy. The Academy of Management Review, 15(1), 72-87.
Bolden, R. (2011). Distributed leadership in organizations: A review of theory and research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), 251-269.
Burke, C. S., Fiore, S. M., & Salas, E. (2003). The role of shared cognition in enabling shared leadership and team adaptability. In C. L. Pearce & J. A. Conger (Eds.), Shared leadership, reframing the hows and whys of leadership (pp. 103–122). London: SAGE Publications.
Carson, J., Tesluk, P., & Marrone, J. (2007). Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. The Academy of Management Journal ARCHIVE, 50(5), 1217-1234.
Clarke, D. C. (2007). Three concepts of the independent director. Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, 32(1), 73-111.
Combs, J. G., Ketchen, D. J., Perryman, A. A., & Donahue, M. S. (2007). The moderating effect of CEO power on the board composition–firm performance relationship. Journal of Management Studies, 44(8), 1299-1323.
Conger, J. A., & Lawler, E. E. (2009). Sharing leadership on corporate boards: A critical requirement for teamwork at the top. SSRN eLibrary. Retrievedfrom http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1313353
Conger, J. A., & Pearce, C. L. (2003). A landscape of opportunities, future research on shared leadership. In C. L. Pearce & J. A. Conger (Eds.), Shared leadership, reframing the hows and whys of leadership (pp. 285–303). London: SAGE Publications.
Daily, C. M., Dalton, D. R., & Cannella, A. A. (2003). Corporate governance: Decades of dialogue and data. The Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 371-382.
Dalton, D. R., Daily, C. M., Ellstrand, A. E., & Johnson, J. L. (1998). Meta-analytic reviews of board composition, leadership structure, and financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, 19(3), 269-290.
Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L. (1997). Toward a stewardship theory of management. The Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 20-47.
Day, D. V., Gronn, P., & Salas, E. (2004). Leadership capacity in teams. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(6), 857-880.
Day, D. V., Gronn, P., & Salas, E. (2006). Leadership in team-based organizations: On the threshold of a new era. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(3), 211-216.
Donnelly, R., & Kelly, P. (2005). Ownership and board structures in Irish places. European Management Journal, 23(6), 730-740.
Du, Y., Deloof, M., & Jorissen, A. (2011). Active boards of directors in foreign subsidiaries. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 19(2), 153-168.
Eagly, A. H., & Johnson, B. T. (1990). Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 233-256.
 Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569-591.
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. The Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57-74.
Elsayed, K. (2011). Board size and corporate performance: The missing role of board leadership structure. Journal of Management and Governance, 15(3), 415-446.
Ensley, M. D., Hmieleski, K. M., & Pearce, C. L. (2006). The importance of vertical and shared leadership within new venture top management teams: Implications for the performance of startups. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(3), 217-231.
Fama, E. F., & Jensen, M. C. (1983). Separation of ownership and control. Journal of Law & Economics, 26, 301.
Fausing, M. S., Joensson, T. S., Lewandowski, J., & Bligh, M. (2015). Antecedents of shared leadership: Empowering leadership and interdependence. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(3), 271-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-06-2013-0075
Finkelstein, S., & D’Aveni, R. A. (1994). CEO duality as a double-edged sword: How boards of directors balance entrenchment avoidance and unity of command. The Academy of Management Journal, 37(5), 1079-1108.
Finkelstein, S., & Mooney, A. C. (2003). Not the usual suspects: How to use board process to make boards better. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005), 17(2), 101-113.
Fleishman, E. A., Mumford, M. D., Zaccaro, S. J., Levin, K. Y., Korotkin, A. L., & Hein, M. B. (1991). Taxonomic efforts in the description of leader behavior: A synthesis and functional interpretation. The Leadership Quarterly, 2(4), 245-287.
Forbes, D. P., & Milliken, F. J. (1999). Cognition and corporate governance: Understanding boards of directors as strategic descision-making groups. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 489-505.
Friedrich, T. L., Vessey, W. B., Schuelke, M. J., Ruark, G. A., & Mumford, M. D. (2009). A framework for understanding collective leadership: The selective utilization of leader and team expertise within networks. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(6), 933-958.
Gabrielsson, J., Huse, M., & Minichilli, A. (2007). Understanding the leadership role of the board  chairperson through a team production approach. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 3(1), 21-39.
Gillan, S. L. (2006). Recent developments in corporate governance: An overview. Journal of Corporate Finance, 12(3), 381-402.
Gronn, P. (2002). Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(4), 423-451.
Gronn, P. (2009). Leadership configurations. Leadership, 5(3), 381-394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715009337770
Gully, S. M., Incalcaterra, K. A., Joshi, A., & Beaubien, J. M. (2002). A meta-analysis of team-efficacy, potency, and performance: Interdependence and level of analysis as moderators of observed relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(5), 819-832.
Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., & Harms, P. D. (2008). Leadership efficacy: Review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(6), 669-692.
Haynes, K. T., & Hillman, A. (2010). The effect of board capital and CEO power on strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 31(11), 1145-1163.
Hung, H. (1998). A typology of the theories of the roles of governing boards. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 6(2), 101-111.
Huse, M. (2007). Boards, governance and value creation: The Human side of corporate governance. Cambridge University Press.
Huse, M., Hoskisson, R., Zattoni, A., & Viganò, R. (2009). New perspectives on board research: Changing the research agenda. Journal of Management & Governance, 15(1), 5-28.
Huse, M., Nielsen, S. T., & Hagen, I. M. (2009). Women and employee-elected board members, and their contributions to board control tasks. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(4), 581-597.
Johnson, J. L., Daily, C. M., & Ellstrand, A. E. (1996). Boards of directors: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 22(3), 409-438.
Klimoski, R., & Mohammed, S. (1994). Team mental model: Construct or metaphor? Journal of Management, 20(2), 403-437.
Kozlowski, S. W. J., & Bell, B. S. (2003). Work groups and teams in organizations. In Walter C. Borman, Daniel R. Ilgen, Richard J. Klimoski, & Irving B. Weiner (Eds.), Handbook of psychology, industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 12, pp. 333–376). New Jersey: Wiley.
Kozlowski, S. W. J., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7(3), 77-124.
Lipton, M., & Lorsch, J. W. (1992). Modest proposal for improved corporate governance. A Business Lawyer (ABA), 48, 59.
Lorsch, J. W. (2009). Leadership: They key to effective boards. In J. A. Conger (Ed.), Boardroom Realities: Building Leaders Across Your Board (1st ed., pp. 25–50). Jossey-Bass.
Machold, S., Huse, M., Minichilli, A., & Nordqvist, M. (2011). Board leadership and strategy involvement in small firms: A team production approach. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 19(4), 368-383.
Mathieu, J. E., Goodwin, G. F., Heffner, T. S., Salas, E., & Cannon-bowers, J. A. (2000). The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 273-283.
Mathieu, J. E., Maynard, M. T., Rapp, T., & Gilson, L. (2008). Team effectiveness 1997-2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management, 34(3), 410-476.
Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence. Intelligence, 27(4), 267-98.
McGrath, J. E. (1962). Leadership behavior: Some requirements for leadership training. US Civil Service Commission Office of Career Development, Washington, DC.
Morgeson, F. P., DeRue, D. S., & Karam, E. P. (2010). Leadership in teams: A functional approach to understanding leadership structures and processes. Journal of Management, 36(1), 5-39.
Nielsen, S., & Huse, M. (2010). The contribution of women on boards of directors: Going beyond the surface. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 18(2), 136-148.
Ocasio, W. (1994). Political dynamics and the circulation of power: CEO succession in U.S. industrial corporations, 1960-1990. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(2), 285.
O’Sullivan, N., & Wong, P. (1998). Internal versus external control: An analysis of board composition and ownership in UK takeovers. Journal of Management and Governance, 2(1), 17-35.
Pearce, C. L., Conger, J. A., & Locke, E. A. (2008). Shared leadership theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 622-628.
Pearce, C. L., & Sims, H. P. (2000). Shared leadership: Toward a multi-level theory of leadership. In Advances in Interdisciplinary Studies of Work Teams (Vol. 7, pp. 115–139). Bingley: Emerald (MCB UP ).
Pearce, C. L., & Sims, H. P. (2002). Vertical versus shared leadership as predictors of the effectiveness of change management teams: An examination of aversive, directive, transactional, transformational, and empowering leader behaviors. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(2), 172-197.
seers, A., Tiffany, K., & Wilkerson, J. M. (2003). Can team members share leadership? In C. L. Pearce & J. A. Conger (Eds.), Shared Leadership, reframing the hows and whys of leadership (pp. 77–102). London: SAGE Publications.
Shen, W., & Cannella, A. A. (2002). power dynamics within top management and their impacts on CEO Desmissal followed by inside succession. Academy of Management Journal, 45(6), 1195-1206.
Sundaramurthy, C., & Lewis, M. (2003). Control and collaboration: Paradoxes of Governance. The Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 397-415.
Terjesen, S., Sealy, R., & Singh, V. (2009). Women directors on corporate boards: A review and research agenda. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 17(3), 320-337.
Van Den Heuvel, J., Van Gils, A., & Voordeckers, W. (2006). Board roles in small and medium-sized family businesses: Performance and importance. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 14(5), 467-485.
Van Ees, H., Gabrielsson, J., & Huse, M. (2009). Toward a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance. corporate governance: An international review, 17(3), 307-319.
Van Ees, H., Van der Laan, G., & Postma, T. J. B. M. (2008). Effective board behavior in The Netherlands. European Management Journal, 26(2), 84-93.
Van Knippenberg, D., & Schippers, M. C. (2007). Work group diversity. Annual Review of Psychology, 58(1), 515-541.
Van Engen, M. L., Van der Leeden, R., & Willemsen, T. M. (2001). Gender, context and leadership styles: A field study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74(5), 581-598. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1348/096317901167532
Vandewaerde, M., Voordeckers, W., Lambrechts, F., & Bammens, Y. (2010). The board of directors as a team: Investigating the influence of shared leadership on board task performance. Proceedings from the 6th European Conference on Management, Leadership, and Governance, Panka, Ewa & Kwiatkowska, Aleksandra, 1-10.
Vandewaerde, M., Voordeckers, W., Lambrechts, F., & Bammens, Y. (2011). Board team leadership revisited: A conceptual model of shared leadership in the boardroom. Journal of Business Ethics.
Westphal, J. D. (1999). Collaboration in the boardroom: Behavioral and performance consequences of CEO-board social ties. The Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 7-24.
Westphal, J. D., & Zajac, E. J. (1995). Who shall govern? CEO/board power, demographic similarity, and new director selection. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(1), 60-83.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (Golden ed.). Prentice-Hall International.
Zaccaro, S. J., Heinen, B., & Shuffler, M. (2009). Team leadership and team effectiveness. In E. Salas, G. F. Goodwin, & C. S. Burke (Eds.), Team effectiveness in complex organizations. New York: Psychology Press.
Zaccaro, S. J., Rittman, A. L., & Marks, M. A. (2001). Team leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 12(4), 451-483.
Zahra, S. A., & Pearce, J. A. (1990). Determinants of board directors’ strategic involvement. European Management Journal, 8(2), 164-173.
Zahra, S. A., & Pearce, J. A. (1989). Boards of directors and corporate financial performance: A review and integrative model. Journal of Management, 15(2), 291-334.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Management Studies (Formerly known as Iranian Journal of Management Studies)
Volume 10, Issue 4
December 2017
Pages 751-781

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics