In this research the impact of board governance orientation and board processes on board role performance and board effectiveness is examined. Building on existing literature, a model that relates board governance orientation (agency, stakeholder, stewardship and resource dependency) and board processes (cohesiveness, cognitive conflict, affective conflict, communication quality, effort norms, trust and the use of knowledge & skills) to board effectiveness via three mediating variables, board control role, board service role, and board strategy role is developed. The model was tested through a survey of listed companies in the UK. The results are based on 74 companies. The findings show (a) the board undertakes two distinct roles, control and service; (b) process variables, most notably cognitive conflict and the use of knowledge & skills, significantly influence board effectiveness mediated by the board’s control and/or service role; (c) structural variables, specifically the proportion of outsiders on the board, impacts on the board control role; (d) understanding board effectiveness requires a multitheoretic perspective.

The thesis aims to explore the effect of team dynamics on team and organisational outcomes. Dynamics is a broad term that encompasses all the processes and attitudes that exist between team members and influence the direction of team's performance. Trust, conflict and behavioural integration comprise psychological facets of teamwork and are amongst the most common dynamics of a team. The current study aims to shed light on the perceptions of board members about the level of conflict, trust and behavioural integration during board meetings, which comprise the most critical forum of the group. Trust, conflict and behavioural integration are the primary attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions that arise within the board and encompass the core aspects of teamwork. There is a gap in the literature for examining the role of social-psychological processes and interactions between the board members because access to the boardroom is difficult and the researchers are forced to turn their attention on secondary data and proxies for board behaviors. Although that board of directors is an upper echelons group of executives who can ensure the long-term survival of the organisations, there is scarce of research in studying boards from a team perspective. Until today, we have limited knowledge of team processes, such as conflict, both inside the boardrooms and in the context of strategy implementation. The literature review in this thesis is drawn from multiple disciplines, including management, psychology and sociology, which enable us to gain a deep understanding of team's dynamics. The methodology has been based on a positivist approach since the focus is centered around the data collection process and the statistical interpretation of the findings. Primary data was collected from board members in Nordic countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Norway. The data was collected with the use of survey method and the findings are based on 186 usable responses. The Nordic corporate governance model remains still the less known outside the Nordic region (Thomsen, 2016) but this thesis postulates that valuable lessons can emanate from its study. The study of the Nordic model could give us useful lessons for the roles of the board and the structure of their organisations. The statistical analysis of the model involved: Descriptive Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factory Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results of this thesis provide theoretical and managerial recommendations for achieving superior board performance. The importance of the role of the Behavioural Integration inside the boardroom is underlined as a significant finding of this study. Moreover, the role of Trust in the board context raises some important questions about its priority since there may be other processes or dynamics which present more clear-cut results on board effectiveness. Furthermore, the deleterious effects of conflict have been underlined. It is also underlined that in this competitive era boards should go beyond fiduciary responsibilities to a more strategic role on a broader range of matters With the exception of a few studies, researchers still to move inside the "black box" of the upper echelons processes and understand how the executives in the board interact. Building a strong board of directors requires a focus beyond demographic characteristics to board interactions. The most effective boards have the strongest board dynamics and are characterized by openness, teamness and collaborative behaviour. The power of the board comes from the ability of the directors to effectively work together and hopefully the current study contributes substantially to the corporate governance field and the way that team processes affect team outcomes.

The degree to which a country’s public entities observe basic principles of good corporate governance is an increasingly important factor for attracting investment capital, maintaining economic stability and encouraging growth. Zimbabwe is faced with the challenge of restructuring for greater efficiency and creating an investment-friendly environment, therefore practicing good corporate governance in public entities is crucial for success and economic growth. As business entities, public entities need to be managed effectively by a competent board, which is able to construct and implement strategies that are in the best interests of the entity and all stakeholders. This study focuses on the corporate governance initiatives, laws and regulations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of boards of public entities in Zimbabwe. The key question addressed is whether or not the corporate governance initiatives and legal and regulatory reforms in Zimbabwe are sufficient to enable boards of public entities to effectively discharge their duties and meet internationally accepted corporate governance standards. A comparative analysis of Zimbabwe’s public entities corporate governance framework to that of South Africa (a developing country like Zimbabwe) and Australia (a developed country with similar common law heritage) is also conducted. Recommendations are made on how best to enhance the effectiveness of boards of public entities in order to promote good corporate governance practices in Zimbabwean public entities. The research established that the existing corporate governance framework has not been effective in improving the effectiveness of Zimbabwe public entity boards due to lack of commitment and consistency, political interference, weak enforcement mechanisms, corruption and general disregard for the rule of law. The research found that South Africa and Australia have performed better than Zimbabwe in terms of creating conducive environments for boards of public entities to effectively discharge their duties. To improve the effectiveness of public entity boards, it was found that boards should be properly empowered, government intervention should be minimised, board appointment processes should be transparent and merit-based, boards should be properly composed, board remuneration should be fair and performance related, the performance of the board should be regularly evaluated and effective enforcement mechanisms should be put in place. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.

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Diploma thesis Corporate governance in Prague Stock Exchange is summarization of expanding and the most significant models of Corporate Governance around the World. Define position of a joint-stock companies in the Czech republic, describe all kinds of administrative bodies and commitees of joint- stock companies. Research relationships between top management and administative bodies of Joint- stock and research effectiveness and productivity of Prague Stock Exchange in connection with changing of ownership in the year 2008.