A Boardroom Revolution? The impact of the Cadbury nexus on the work of non‐executive directors of FTSE 350 companies

Abstract

This paper examines how the work of non‐executive directors of large UK public companies has changed since the publication of the Cadbury Report in 1992. It reports the views of a unique group of non‐executive directors who, in 1999, were still on the boards of companies they had joined during, or prior to, 1992. In the first, quantitative phase of the reported research, respondents were asked to assess the changes in the level of involvement of their boards in 22 defined activities relating to the organising and running of the board. In the second, qualitative phase, research propositions relating to the changing pattern of work in the boardroom were tested. During interviews the respondents were asked to comment on a series of questions designed to explore the propositions. The paper reports on the responses to two of the research propositions tested in this way.