Role and contribution of the non-executive director : implications for corporate social responsibility in the boardroom

This research examines the role and contribution of the Non Executive Director(NED) within the corporate board. The literature identifies the NED as a boundaryspanner. Boundary spanners are believed to be essential to the fulfilment of thefirm's corporate responsibility mandate. The research specifically examines theability of the NED to influence corporate responsibility practices within the board,whilst balancing the divergent expectations of different constituents. Previousresearch examining the role of the NED has failed to take account of the context inwhich the role is performed. Therefore an interpretive framework is developed, toexamine the individual subjective perceptions of the NED, from within the role.Through a qualitative interpretation of 25 in-depth interviews, with individualNEDs, the dynamic context of the boardroom emerged as a key moderator of thetheir ability to make a contribution. The boundary spanning role prescribed for theNED by some theorists emerged as problematic. The research suggests that despiteNEDs' personal expectation that they should represent a range of constituents,within the boardroom their ability to fulfil this role is often limited by the presenceof groupthink. NEDs appear to set aside their personal beliefs in order to maintainthe status quo within the group. As a result of their unfulfilled role expectationsmany NEDs appear to experience role conflict.This research contributes to our understanding of the actual role of the NED withinthe corporate board, and specifically the NED's ability to perform a boundaryspanning role. The research also informs business and society literature, byexamining how boards currently deal with issues of corporate responsibility. Finally,the research contributes to both group and role theory, by developing currentunderstanding of how the complex dynamics of the group affect the individual'sability to contribute.