Conflict in the boardroom: perceptions of board members in the Nordic Region

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between conflict in the boardroom and board performance in the Nordic Region. Embracing the information-processing perspective, we conceptualize board of directors as information processing systems that process large amounts of data and any type of conflict could affect their performance. Using primary data from 184 member of different boards, we conducted exploratory factor analyses of the used scales in order to confirm their proposed factor structure. After confirming their validity and reliability, hierarchical multiple regressions were applied. Results indicate that: (1) Relationship conflict has a negative effect on the performance of the board in providing strategic leadership and readiness; and (2) Process conflict negatively predicts strategic leadership. The above findings advance theoretical understanding of conflict in the boardroom and underline the need for a clear distinction between relationship conflict and process conflict since the two exist at different levels of the ‘conflict’ structure and instigated by different factors hinting different effects on board performance. Our study has several contributions to managerial practice, such as that personal friction among directors at the board meetings impacts both the strategic leadership of the board and its readiness in anticipating threats. In addition, process conflict in the boardroom may lead to misjudgments about shaping and implementing organizational strategy.

Keywords:

• Board performance
• process conflict
• relationship conflict
• strategic leadership

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aspasia Pastra

Dr. Aspasia Pastra has been appointed as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) of the World Maritime University in Sweden. She has been involved in a series of state-of-the-art regulatory development projects on maritime policy and ocean governance. Dr Pastra has been a lecturer in UK institutions in corporate governance, shipping management and maritime policy. She holds a B.Sc. degree in Public Administration from the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens, an MBA from Cardiff University in the UK and an MSc in Maritime Administration from the World Maritime University. Dr. Pastra received her PhD in Corporate Governance from the Brunel University in London.

Dimitrios N. Koufopoulos

Dr. Dimitrios N. Koufopoulos (BSc, MBA, PhD, FCMI, FIC, CMBE, FRSA) is currently a Visiting Professor at the School of Law, CCLS, at Queen Mary University, Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck University of London and the Director of the Global Online MBA Programmes in University of London. He is the Founder and Director of the Hellenic Observatory of Corporate Governance (www.hocg.eu), where extensive, longitudinal research on five distinct, important economic sectors in Greece on Boards and Corporate governance are contacted. Back in 1994 he founded and currently he runs the Gnosis Management Consultants Ltd (www.gnosisconsultants.com), specializing in training and research and since 2016 is a partner in www.proteas.io a business model innovation consulting firm. He publishes extensively n journals and conferences.

Nikola Samac

Nikola Samac graduated in 2013 at the University of Novi Sad, Department of Psychology, Serbia. Since then, he has conducted numerous psychometric and corporate governance studies. Currently working in Consumer Insights department in Delhaize Serbia group conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Tafsir Johansson

Dr. Tafsir Johansson is an Associate Research Officer at the World Maritime University, Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) of the World Maritime University. Primary responsibilities include regulatory development projects (funded by the government of Canada and other donor-led projects) on ocean governance and ocean policy research for developing innovative models to better assess drivers and indicators relevant to ocean research agenda. Other areas of activities include knowledge dissemination through teaching and capacity building, as well as publications covering technology-policy interface in niche areas within the maritime and ocean domain. Dr. Johansson is currently acting as Principal Investigator on behalf of the GOI under the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme funded project titled Overcoming Regulatory Barriers for Service Robotics in the Ocean Domain BUGWRIGHT2.