Interlocking Boards and Firm Outcomes: Mapping a Growing Research Field
A review co-authored by Richard Ramsawak, Samuel Buertey, Greeni Maheshwari, Duy Dang and Chung Thanh Phan (HAPRI Research Associate) maps the recent peer-reviewed research on board interlocks and firm outcomes, and identifies four core research clusters. The authors report that interlocked directors can have both positive and negative impacts on a wide variety of firm outcomes, and they identify several topics and disciplines that could enrich the literature and promise new avenues for future research.
Context
The paper explores the relationship between board interlocks and firm outcomes by reviewing the most recent peer-reviewed articles examining this research theme. Its aim is to describe that literature, both descriptively and thematically, and to identify gaps and opportunities for new research.
Methods
The authors applied a systematic and bibliometric methodology to 369 peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database. They used the R-package litsearchr and the Bibliometrix software to support the descriptive and thematic literature analysis.
Key findings
The review confirms a rapid increase in articles on this theme over the last decade, with increasing collaboration among researchers in the United States, Europe, China, South Korea and India.
Four core research clusters are identified, and the first and largest links interlocked directors to issues related to corporate governance and firm outcomes.
A second cluster links social network theory, interlocking directorates and firm outcomes, while smaller emerging clusters cover ownership structure, board size, political connectedness and impacts on firm outcomes.
The final cluster examines the influence of board interlocks on market value and firm innovation.
Keywords:
Board Interlocks
Interlocking Directorates
Corporate Governance
Firm Outcomes
Bibliometric Analysis
Systematic Literature Review
Link:
Citation:
Ramsawak, R., Buertey, S., Maheshwari, G., Dang, D., & Phan, C. T. (2023). Interlocking boards and firm outcomes: a review. Management Decision, 62(4), 1291-1322.
