Conference proceeding
Board director involvement in project and portfolio governance: A grounded theory approach to understanding why, when and what.
Proceedings of EURAM 2023, Vol.in-press
European Academy of Management (EURAM) 2023 (Dublin, Ireland, 14/06/2023 - 16/06/2023)
14/06/2023
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Abstract
Projects are a primary mechanism for the delivery of social, environmental and economic benefits. Transforming business for good requires that organisations have the ability to make good decisions about projects and expected benefits. This research study focuses on the board-level decision environment, explores how members of a Board of Directors engage in governance at the project and portfolio level and how they interact with information about projects. A Grounded Theory (GT) approach was adopted to explore the topic and analyse data from semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 14 Australian board members who collectively had experience in more than 90 boards. Homeostatic Governance Theory (HGT) is the resulting substantive grounded theory. HGT proposes that board members have a preferred state of internal balance or equilibrium and when circumstances destabilise this homeostatic state, board members are motivated to take actions that enable them to return to their preferred state. These actions often involve seeking additional information to support their deliberations and decisions about major projects. Alternatively, their homeostatic state may adjust to align with new circumstances. HGT explains when and why a board may seek direct visibility of any aspect of project portfolio governance and take actions beyond those required by their board role. This theory is underpinned by findings on escalation and de-escalation forces acting under the themes of Context, Agency and Intuiting. By applying HGT concepts, practitioners can adopt strategies to better manage board perceptions, expectations and information needs, and may be encouraged to implement flexible governance frameworks that reduce constraints and best meet end goals. Future researchers are encouraged to extend the understanding of HGT to other settings and to adopt human and holistic perspectives when undertaking corporate governance research.
Details
- Title
- Board director involvement in project and portfolio governance: A grounded theory approach to understanding why, when and what.
- Creators
- Chris R Lawler (Corresponding Author) - Southern Cross UniversityCatherine P Killen (Author) - University of Technology SydneyShankar Sankaran (Author) - University of Technology Sydney
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of EURAM 2023, Vol.in-press
- Conference
- European Academy of Management (EURAM) 2023 (Dublin, Ireland, 14/06/2023 - 16/06/2023)
- Publisher
- EURAM
- Number of pages
- 36
- Identifiers
- 991013124313002368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts; Management
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding