Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of board attributes on strategic involvement; the paper applies the agency theory and network perspective in examining this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach: In early 2020, the author created a survey and sent it to the chair of the board or the deputy chair of these companies. The questionnaires were completed and returned by companies, with an overall response rate of 75%. The questions of the survey directed questions focusing on the exploration and understanding of matters concerning the decision-making process within corporate-level strategy and business-level strategy, and how both coincide with the decision-making process of the board of directors.
Findings: Results indicate that board attributes have statistically significant positive and negative associations with strategic involvement in the decision-making process, and are related to some corporate governance variables
Research limitations/implications: the limitation of this study is two-fold, which opens avenues for future research. First, the study is cross-sectional in design and hence does not allow for the control of firms’ unobserved specific differences. Second, the response rate is 35% and representative of KSE companies, which minimizes the likelihood of including other industry factors. Thus, future studies should replicate this research in other economies.
Originality/value: This paper demonstrates that certain types of attributes, such as gender heterogeneity, have significantly positive associations with a board’s strategic involvement in the decision-making process.

Keywords:Corporate governance; Strategic decision-making; Attributes; Involvement; Board of directors; Gender heterogeneity; Independent director

JEL Classification Numbers: G34, G38, G31, G30.