Roles of academic directors on US Fortune 500 boards

摘要

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the prevalence of directors of US Fortune 500 firms who comernfrom an academic background, and possible unique reasons for their appointment.rnDesign/methodology/approach - Based on extant theory of the resource-dependence roles ofrnnon-management directors, this study proposes and tests three hypotheses concerning distinctivernreasons firms may appoint an academic to their boards. Academic directors may serve unique roles inrnincreasing board demographic diversity, increasing firm intellectual capital, and providing links to localrngeographic constituents. Using year 2002 data from the US Fortune 500 firms, this study presentsrndescriptive statistics and uses t-tests and x~2 tests to examine hypotheses.rnFindings - Firms having academics on their boards have greater board demographic diversity thanrnfirms without an academic director. Firms with academic directors have the same average emphasis onrnknowledge-based earnings as other firms. Academics associated with US top-ranked universities tendrnto be more likely to hold board seats. Firms tend to select academic directors from the geographicrnregions where the firm is headquartered and have a slight tendency to use them on public affairsrncommittees.rnResearch limitations/implications - This study's findings highlight a unique non-monitoringrnadvantage of academic directors for firms seeking increased board diversity, and potentialrncommunity/stakeholder liaisons.rnPractical implications - Firms wishing to increase board diversity or improve relationships with otherrnstakeholder groups may find academic directors useful to such efforts. Academic directors appear to bernjust as capable as other outside directors in developing firm intellectual capital.rnOriginality/value - This paper extends the present literature in resource dependence by examiningrnacademic directors, a new director subset. The paper is also unique in that it uses data collected fromrnproxy statements, rather than survey data.