A session at the CBS Competitiveness Day 2015 - Professor Louise Mors will present initial findings from a study on board dynamics collaborating with Margarethe Wiersema (Professor at UC Irvine). The study will draw on initial interviews conducted with board members in Denmark, Norway and the US aiming to reach a better understanding of the structure and interactions on boards; especially with an interest in how or if female board members have an influence on these dynamics.

1. 10/09/15
1
Gender
Roles
and
Board
Dynamics
in
a
Compe99ve
Environment
Louise
Mors,
Professor
(MSO)
of
Strategic
Management
and
Globaliza9on
at
CBS
Margarethe
F.
Wiersema,
Professor
in
Strategic
Management
at
UC
Irvine
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
1
“…if
men
and
women
are
equally
qualified
for
top
management
posi7ons,
mainly
recrui7ng
from
the
male
distribu7on
results
in
a
loss
of
talent...”
Smith
&
Smith,
2015:
40
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
2
Old
Boys
Club…

2. 10/09/15
2
Mo9va9on
for
our
study
• Many
countries
have
introduced
quotas
or
more
commonly
recommenda9ons
for
a
target
percentage
of
women
on
boards
• European
Commission
report
does
show
that
on
average
the
number
of
women
serving
on
boards
in
the
EU
is
increasing
(2%
per
year
for
the
past
four
years
across
EU28)
• Most
change
happening
in
countries
that
have
taken
legisla9ve
ac9on
or
have
had
intensive
public
debates
(France
+20%,
Italy
19.6%,
Belgium
11.9%,
Germany
11.8%,
UK
10.8%,
Slovenia
10.1%)*
• For
the
Fortune
500,
16.9%
director
posi9ons
are
filled
by
women.
This
is
up
only
3.3%
over
the
past
ten
years**.
• Women
in
CEO
posi9ons
not
increasing.
Only
3%
of
the
largest
listed
companies
in
the
EU
28
have
a
female
CEO
(For
DK
that
number
is
0%
of
the
18
Danish
companies
covered
in
the
study,
in
Norway
only
9%
of
22
companies)
*Percentage
change
in
share
of
women
on
boards
from
Oct
2010
un9l
Oct
2014.
**Fortune
online
edi9on,
Nov
14,
2014.
Source:
European
Commission
report
on
Gender
Balance
on
Corporate
Boards,
January
2015
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
3
Female
representa9on
on
the
614
largest
EU
listed
companies
in
Oct
2014
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
EU
28
From
European
Commission
report
on
Gender
Balance
on
Corporate
Boards,
January
2015.
Numbers
include
employee
representa9ves
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
4

3. 10/09/15
3
What
we
know
already
“We
don’t
need
any
more
studies,
we
get
it…There
is
a
pipeline
out
there
of
very
talented
women
running
major
divisions
at
companies
or
law
firms
or
working
in
science
and
they
should
be
siLng
on
boards.”
Janice
Ellig,
co-­‐CEO
of
execu9ve
search
firm
Chadick
Ellig***
“I
haven’t
no7ced
the
FTSE
performing
bePer
now
that
there
are
more
women
on
boards,
so
I
am
not
sure
just
because
you
are
wearing
a
skirt,
the
performance
of
the
firm
will
be
bePer.
I
do
believe
that
diversity
is
good
and
we
shouldn't
have
just
old
men
that
sit
on
boards…(yet)
nobody
has
ever
proven
to
me
that
having
1,
2,
or
3
women
on
the
board
makes
a
difference
to
financial
performance.”
Partner
at
a
UK-­‐based
execu9ve
and
board
search
firm
• Both
are
referring
to
the
many
studies
showing
a
link
between
board
gender
heterogeneity
and
financial
performance
• Some
studies
do
indeed
show
that
more
women
on
boards
lead
to
beger
financial
performance,
whereas
other
studies
have
showed
the
opposite
• We
have
become
beger
econometricians
and
can
link
big
data
with
financial
outcomes.
But
it
is
difficult
to
observe
what
actually
happens
in
the
interac9ons
on
boards
and
hence
how
(and
whether)
decisions
are
actually
made
differently
***From
ar9cle
in
Fortune
online
edi9on
by
Caroline
Fairchild,
Nov
14,
2014
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
5
We
don’t
know
much
about
board
dynamics
“(whether)
you
think
robust
measures
to
increase
the
share
of
women
in
senior
management
are
a
good
thing
…depends
partly
on
how
convinced
you
are
that
diversity
in
management
is
important.
It
might
improve
performance
…or,
as
our
Schumpeter
columnist
recently
argued
(though
about
cultural
…diversity),
it
might
increase
conflict,
worsen
communica7on
and
reduce
workplace
trust”
The
Economist,
March
25th,
2014
• Excellent
work
by
Sabina
Nielsen
(CBS)
and
Morten
Huse
(BI
Norwegian
School
of
Management)
in
the
context
of
Norwegian
firms.
They
find
that
the
contribu9on
of
women
depends
on
the
task
(strategic
versus
opera9onal)
and
that
women
also
contribute
to
reducing
conflict,
which
is
detrimental
to
decision
making.
• Qualita9ve
work
by
Professors
of
Law
Krawiec,
Conley
and
Broome
(2013
and
2011):
directors
value
diversity
and
see
it
as
a
goal
in
and
of
itself
but
cannot
ar9culate
why
Few
studies
in
this
area
because
unless
we
actually
observe
and
monitor
what
goes
on
in
the
board
room
(and
poten9ally
also
outside)
it
is
very
difficult
to
get
at
board
dynamics
and
whether
or
not
decision
making
changes
or
affected
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
6

4. 10/09/15
4
This
study
Objec9ves:
• To
understand
board
dynamics
and
how
gender
diversity
affects
decision
making
• Clarify
the
role
of
women
on
boards
and
whether
they
affect
the
dynamics
and
how
decisions
are
made
Process:
• In-­‐depth
semi-­‐structured
interviews
with
non-­‐execu9ve
board
members
of
listed
firms
in
Denmark,
Norway,
Sweden,
UK,
France,
and
the
US.
Also,
partners
at
execu9ve
and
board
head-­‐hun9ng
firms
• All
interviews
en9rely
confiden9al
and
no
individuals
or
firms
will
be
iden9fiable
• Interviews
last
from
45
minutes
to
1.5
hours.
• S9ll
early
stages
–
so
far
completed
20+
interviews
in
Denmark,
Norway,
France,
UK
and
the
US.
Will
today
only
report
early
observa9ons
–
no
final
conclusions
Expected
outcomes:
• Brief
report
to
all
par9cipants
• Managerial
ar9cle
with
recommenda9ons
and
implica9ons
in
HBR
or
CMR
• U9lize
study
for
applica9on
for
larger
research
project
(next
steps)
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
7
Briefly
about
the
PIs
Louise
Mors
• Professor
(mso)
in
Strategic
Management
and
Globaliza9on
at
CBS.
Previously
at
LBS
• M.Sc.
and
PhD
from
INSEAD
• Published
in
leading
academic
journals
and
primarily
does
research
on
the
rela9onship
between
senior
execu9ves
informal
networks,
organiza9on
design
and
performance
• Teaches
at
the
MBA
and
execu9ve
level
and
currently
sits
on
the
academic
council
of
CBS
and
the
board
of
Center
for
Ledelse
Margarethe
F.
Wiersema
• Dean’s
Professorship
in
Strategic
Management
the
The
Paul
Merage
School
of
Business,
UC,
Irvine.
• MBA
and
PhD
from
U.
Michigan
• Interna9onally
recognized
as
leading
expert
on
corporate
strategy
and
CEO
succession
• Published
in
leading
academic
journals
(over
6,000
cita9ons)
and
quoted
by
NYT,
FT,
Economist,
and
many
more
• Numerous
awards
for
teaching
and
research
excellence
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
8

5. 10/09/15
5
Ini9al
findings
and
observa9ons:
Many
think
diversity
is
important,
but
unrelated
to
gender
“Having
women
on
the
board
doesn't
change
the
strategy,
but
the
experience
will
change
the
perspec7ve.
For
this
I
think
background
is
more
important
than
gender.”
Female
director
”I
think
that
diversity
is
what
maPers…in
culture,
educa7on,
na7onality
and
experience.
(A
board
can
be
composed
of
)...all
Norwegians,
but
there
is
a
difference
between
a
Norwegian
that
has
lived
20
years
in
Australia
and
and
15
years
in
the
US
and
a
Norwegian
who
has
never
le
Bergen…diversity
can
be
really
annoying
because
in
reality
it
is
much
easier
to
work
with
people
that
think
like
me
because
then
we
can
really
quickly
agree
on
something.”
Female
CEO
and
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
9
You
need
more
than
the
token
woman,
then
there
is
the
possibility
of
many
viewpoints
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
10
”Fundamentally
it
is
more
about
minori7es
…than
it
is
about
gender.
Because
I
think
it
is
the
same
if
you
take
the
first
black
person
or
the
first
Asian
or
the
first
sociologist
in
a
mix
of
engineers
or
whatever
it
might
be…the
first
woman
doesn’t
really
make
a
difference…then
when
you
get
up
to
three
or
four
or
around
30%
it
is
no
longer
an
issue.
That
is
where
it
really
works.”
Female
CEO
and
director
“…it
takes
a
longer
7me.
But
then
I
also
think
you
get
some
bePer
discussions.
You
don’t
get
the
good
discussions
if
you
agree
on
everything.
You
touch
subjects
from
different
angles.
There
is
nothing
bePer
than
if
you
can
have
a
discussion
and
people
can
say
‘hey
wait
a
minute
I
have
never
thought
about
it
from
that
perspec7ve’…but
it
does
take
a
longer
7me…and
that
has
just
as
much
to
do
with
profiles
and
educa7on
and
experience.
That
has
nothing
to
do
with
gender.”
Female
CEO
and
director

6. 10/09/15
6
Women
directors
oren
lead
to
different
lines
of
ques9oning
or
issues
being
tackled
differently
“Women
are
more
concerned
about
following
procedures
and
making
sure
that
things
are
done
by
the
book”
Male
CEO
and
director
”I
guess
maybe
it
is
a
liPle
more
of
a
female
thing
that
if
there
is
an
elephant
in
the
room
then
oen
it
is
the
woman
that
says
’hello,
let’s
get
to
the
issue’.”
Female
CFO
and
director
“…
I
believe
(women)
are
tougher
in
ethical
integrity
situa7ons.
I
feel
that
women
are
much
bePer
at
pushing…at
challenging
in
a
different
way.
I
think
this
is
because
they
are
less
scared
of
loosing.
If
you
give
a
woman
a
choice
between
…being
witness
to
a
kind
of
lie
or
alterna7vely
loosing
their
director
posi7on,
then
they
would
much
rather
loose
their
posi7on.
I
don’t
think
men
would
make
the
same
choice.”
Female
CEO
and
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
11
Women
oren
adapt
to
fit
in…
“there
is
always
a
pecking
order…anywhere
where
there
are
people
or
animals…”
Female
director
“(One
chairman
told
me
that)
for
him
it
is
much
bePer
to
have
a
gender
balanced
board,
because
men
all
have
quite
big
egos
and
they
all
want
to
be
the
alpha
male.
But
then
once
they
have
jogged
for
posi7ons
and
the
alpha
male
has
been
found,
then
everyone
else
becomes
very
submissive.
This
does
not
happen
with
women
because
they
don’t
care
about
that,
they
just
want
to
make
a
contribu7on.
So
…(with)
a
gender
balanced
board
they
retain
the
team.
I
think
that
is
a
very
interes7ng
observa7on.”
Female
Head-­‐hunter
“I
met
one
woman
who
was
dressed
in
very
high
heals
with
a
7ght
fiLng
skirt,
as
if
she
was
going
to
a
cocktail
party.
It
was
just
very
inappropriate
and
not
the
kind
of
signal
you
want
to
send
in
that
context.
Women
need
to
think
about
what
they
look
like.
Otherwise
it
leads
to
the
wrong
dynamic
and
focus.
It
distracts
and
you
don't
get
taken
seriously.”
Female
director
“The
dynamics
are
important
and
so
it
is
important
that
you
fit
into
the
system.
I
think
women
are
probably
par7cularly
good
at
contribu7ng
to
the
common
good
or
the
feeling
of
unity
on
a
board.”
Female
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
12

7. 10/09/15
7
Awareness
of
good
corporate
governance,
yet
many
decisions
are
s9ll
taken
in
informal
sesngs
“I
go
between
the
mee7ngs
if
I
want
to
take
up
a
sensi7ve
issue
and
then
I
speak
to
the
chairman.
And
then
if
we
are
in
the
mee7ng
and
the
chairman
doesn’t
bring
it
up,
then
I
can
bring
it
up.”
Female
CFO
and
director
“I
know
of
chairmen
that
will
call
around
before
a
mee7ng
to
all
of
the
men
and
get
consensus
on
an
issue.
And
the
women
are
en7rely
excluded
from
those
conversa7ons.”
Male
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
13
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
14
“That’s
an
excellent
sugges7on,
Miss
Triggs.
Perhaps
one
of
the
men
here
would
like
to
make
it.”

8. 10/09/15
8
The
role
of
the
Chairman
is
important
“The
chair
is
hugely
important.
The
chair
sets
the
tone.
Some
individuals
are
very
dominant
and
don't
let
the
non-­‐execs
have
a
say
or
challenge
or
generally
say
anything.
I
sit
on
another
board
now
where
everybody
feels
they
can
contribute
and
everyone
can
say
something.
The
chair
some7mes
feels
it
is
a
bit
too
collegial,
but
he
has
created
that
atmosphere
and
I
think
it
is
good
because
we
all
feel
there
is
a
good
discussion
and
everyone
can
contribute.”
Female
director
“The
most
important
element
here
is
who
sits
at
the
end
of
the
table.
That
is
much
more
important
than
who
sits
around
the
table.
Think
about
how
much
influence
each
member
really
has.
…the
chairman
of
the
board
and
his
or
her
openness
to
leading
the
board
as
well
as
their
rela7onship
with
the
senior
management.
Those
are
the
most
important
things
for
a
board
to
be
successful.”
Senior
partner,
execu9ve
recruitment
firm
“The
role
and
responsibili7es
of
the
chairman
are
really
important.
The
person
needs
to
be
inclusive
and
probably
also
a
bit
wise
about
people.
I
have
experienced
both
those
that
are
inclusive
and
those
that
just
want
to
get
through
the
agenda
as
quickly
as
possible.”
Female
director
“In
my
role
here
(as
CEO)
I
try
to
be
good
at
for
example
saying
’yes
as
Frederik
very
clearly
pointed
out…’
I
try
to
do
that
some7mes
because
then
Frederik
is
just
siLng
there
thinking
’Yes!’.
It
means
a
lot
to
show
that
you
have
heard
and
seen
something.”
Female
CEO
and
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
15
Do
quotas
make
a
difference
(in
Norway)?
Professionaliza9on
of
board
composi9on
“In
the
old
days
a
board
search
would
involve
a
list
of
people
other
people
on
the
board
knew.
Now
it
is
just
as
comprehensive
a
search
as
finding
a
CEO.
The
nomina7on
commiPee
and
the
importance
of
good
corporate
governance
have
become
much
more
important.
So
the
point
of
decision
has
moved.”
Senior
partner,
execu9ve
recruitment
firm
“The
quotas
have
led
to
more
overview
of
how
competent
boards
are.
That
is
the
most
important
result
of
the
quotas.
Now
members
are
usually
re-­‐elected
very
year.
Primarily
because
the
whole
board
has
to
be
re-­‐evaluated
in
terms
of
composi7on
(filling
the
gender
quota
as
well
as
different
competencies
and
experiences)
because
you
have
to
look
at
the
whole
picture.
So
even
if
just
one
person
is
changed
you
have
to
re-­‐evaluate
everybody.”
Female
CEO
and
director
“If
the
competence,
knowledge
and
experience
is
there
then
there
shouldn’t
be
biases“
Senior
partner,
execu9ve
recruitment
firm
I
do
believe
there
is
a
glass
roof.
I
have
always
been
lied
up
in
the
hierarchy
by
men.
Female
CEO
and
director
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
16

9. 10/09/15
9
Next
steps
• Finalize
interviews
in
Denmark
and
Norway
• More
interviews
in
the
US,
the
UK
and
Sweden
• Draw
up
common
themes
to
be
able
to
draw
firmer
conclusions
on
pagerns
and
make
recommenda9ons
for
directors,
chairs
and
firms
• This
study
will
likely
provide
the
founda9on
for
a
larger
applica9on
for
research
funding
• Follow
on
study
with
Professor
Sabina
Nielsen
at
INT
on
evolu9on
of
networks
and
access
to
director
posi9ons
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
17
Ques9ons?
Thank
you
For
more
informa9on
or
to
par9cipate
in
the
study
please
do
contact
me:
lm.smg@cbs.dk
or
my
co-­‐author:
mfwierse@uci.edu
Mors
&
Wiersema,
Board
Dynamics
Study
18