Death by committee? An analysis of corporate board (sub-) committees
Theoretical models of groups suggest that sub-group usage can affect communication among members and group decision-making. To examine the trade-offs from forming subgroups, we assemble a detailed dataset on corporate boards (groups) and committees (subgroups). Boards have increasingly used committe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2021
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| Summary: | Theoretical models of groups suggest that sub-group usage can affect communication among members and group decision-making. To examine the trade-offs from forming subgroups, we assemble a detailed dataset on corporate boards (groups) and committees (subgroups). Boards have increasingly used committees formally staffed entirely by outside directors. Twenty-five percent of all director meetings occurred in such committees in 1996; this increased to forty-five percent by 2010. We find evidence that granting formal authority to such committees can impair communication and decision-making. Sub-groups are relatively understudied, but our results suggest that they play an important role in group functioning and corporate governance. |
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