Amedeo Pugliese, Alessandro Zattoni, Bruno Buchetti, Francesca Romana Arduino (2023)
The methodological challenges to opening up the black box of boardroom dynamics. Available at elgaronline
In the last two decades governance scholars have devoted increasing attention towards inner boardroom dynamics and interactions, going beyond the mainstream “input-output approach.” A wide range of novel research questions and theoretical perspectives gained momentum alongside changes in methodological approaches. This chapter reviews some of the most successful attempts and highlights their potential contributions, challenges, and limitations. Specifically, we overview the research design strategies employed in such endeavors and offer an articulate discussion of several methods (e.g., interviews, direct observation, survey) that governance scholars have relied on to open the black box of boards. Next, we discuss how researchers may overcome the existing methodological barriers hampering a fuller development of the literature, in relation to: (a) access to data, (b) data treatment, validation, and analysis, and (c) generalizability of findings. Finally, we integrate unaddressed questions and research designs to highlight potential avenues for future research and to enrich our knowledge around boards’ processes and interactions.
