Diagnosing and analyzing of board directors’ competences

ABSTRACT A key issue when assessing a board of directors’ composition is defining the profile of directors’ desirable competences. This study follows competence theory to analyze the role of individual competences of board directors. We aim to answer the following questions: which are the required competences of board directors in non-listed companies, and what characteristics might lead to poor individual performance and adversely affect a board’s overall performance. To investigate these questions, a grounded theory-based study was conducted involving interviews with twelve board directors who had at least five years of experience as directors and extensive careers as top management executives. Results of the study led to a theoretical model which identifies a set of behavioral competences that add to previous studies on this subject.