Identification of influence mechanisms of executive/non-executive board composition on board's attribution about firm performance

This article intends to identify the influence mechanisms of executive/non-executive board composition, on board attribution about firm performance. To this end, the case study method was chosen. In the case study, each member’s causal interpretation of a critical incident, how executives and non-executives think differently, and their process of coming to a collectively agreed attribution was investigated. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with all members of the board and was analyzed using qualitative techniques. According to the results, board of directors’ collective attribution formation process can be divided into three stages of members’ expression of perceived information and facts at board meetings, forming the individual judgments of members, and at last, agreement on the collectively admitted attribution. We found that individual attribution judgments are directed by members’ perceived scope of control, and this perceived scope of control may differ systematically in executive and non-executive members. At the stage of agreement on a collective attribution, board members’ referent power determines the weight of their judgments in the collective attribution .