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The aim of the dissertation is to disentangle complexities of social capital in boards of
directors through proposing new theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches.
Although extant previous research has discussed various aspects of social capital and its
association with numerous organizational outcomes, still the literature demonstrates evident
shortcomings resulting from overlooking and oversimplifying its complexities. Therefore, to fill
gaps in the literature, the dissertation addresses the following research question: in the context of
boards of directors, how can social capital be better understood through exploration of its
complexities?
The dissertation comprises three empirical studies that individually address the identified
gaps in the literature and combined address the aforementioned research question. In this way,
the dissertation demonstrates that social capital in boards of directors is more complex than it
has been assumed in previous studies and its understanding requires a novel approach to
conceptualization and empirical research. The first chapter explains the topic and motivation for
the dissertation. The following chapter (Chapter 2) synthetizes the previous approaches to
investigating board social capital and proposes a new theoretical and methodological approach.
It particularly asserts that research on board social capital may be advanced through utilizing
configurational perspective and method, what is then shown on an example of the relationship
between board social capital and firm performance. Chapter 3 explores social capital of board
chair, which has been overlooked in previous studies. It suggests that individual social capital of
board chair is as important for organizational performance as social capital of CEO and
directors. Therefore, performance effect derives from combined social capital of board chair,
CEO, and directors. Further, the dissertation discusses dynamics of board social capital (Chapter
4) in the context of firm expansion. It emphasizes that evolution process of board social capital
is driven by multidimensional changes occurring within internal and external networks of social
relationships created by board members. Evolution paths are consequently proposed for
diversity and strength of external network ties, and for internal network cohesion. In light of the
overarching research question, the final chapter summarizes the findings. |
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