Board Roles in the Strategic Management of Non-profit Organisations: theory and practice 1 Chris Cornforth and Charles Edwards* This paper presents findings from an in-depth empirical study of the role of boards and their relations with senior managers in four organisations from the public and non-profit sectors. The findings are interpreted using a conceptual framework which sees the outputs of boards as shaped by board inputs, processes and contextual factors, in particular wider institutional pressures. The results indicate that the strategic contribution of boards varies widely and depends on a complex interplay of factors: the system of regulation, sectoral traditions and norms of governance, the way board members are chosen, board members skill and experience, organisational size and status, and the way boards are organised and run. The wider institutional pressures that shape these factors can result in boards facing tensions and trade-offs that can result in their contribution to stragegy being squeezed by other board roles. 1. Introduction D uring the 1980s and '90s the UK government introduced a series of fundamental reforms to large parts of the public sector. The central thrust of these reforms was to introduce the market and ideas of private sector management with the aim of improving efficiency. One conse- quence has been the introduction of non- elected bodies, modelled on the boards of directors of public companies, to oversee many public sector organisations such as health trusts and further education colleges. At the same time, the contracting out of public services has increased the significance of the voluntary sector in the delivery of public services. These changes have been accompanied by a growing public awareness of the significant role that non-profit organ- isations are playing in public life. It is therefore not surprising that paralleling developments in the private sector, the governance of these public and non-profit organisations has come under increased public scrutiny. Often fuelled by governance failures, serious questions have been raised about the ability of non-profit boards to supervise senior managers effectively, con- tribute to organisational strategy, oversee financial management and ensure account- ability to relevant stakeholders and the public (see for example NCVO, 1992; Plummer, 1994; Skelcher and Davis, 1995). This paper focuses on the factors that affect the contribution that boards make to organi- sational strategy in public and non-profit organisations. It draws upon the results of a recent research study into the behaviour of boards of public and non-profit organisations and the relationship between board members and senior management (Cornforth and Edwards, 1998). 2 Much of the literature on boards is pre- scriptive in nature. It has been criticised for giving an idealised view of boards and not being empirically grounded (Herman, 1989; Cornforth, 1995). It fails to recognise many of the difficult demands, constraints and dilemmas that board members face in practice. As a result much of this advice has been difficult to put into practice (Cadbury, 1992). Empirical studies of board behaviour have been criti- cised for their over reliance upon one source Volume 7 Number 4 October 1999 # Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1999. 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. *Address for correspondence: Public Interest and Non-profit Management Research Unit (PIN), Open University Busi- ness School, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Tel: 44 1908 655863; Fax: 44 1908 655898; email: c.j.corn- forth@open.ac.uk or c.p.ed- wards@open.ac.uk Literature criticised for giving idealised view of boards CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 346