Commanding Board of Director Attention: Investigating How Organizational Performance and CEO Duality Affect Board Members Attention to Monitoring

Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 946-968, 2010

23 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2011

See all articles by Chris S. Tuggle

Chris S. Tuggle

Independent

David G. Sirmon

Texas A&M University

Chris Reutzel

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Leonard Bierman

Texas A&M University - Department of Management

Date Written: January 9, 2010

Abstract

Foundational RBV work suggests that firms possess capabilities that represent strengths and others that represent weaknesses. In contrast, contemporary research has examined capability strengths while largely ignoring weaknesses. Addressing this oversight, we examine the direct and integrated effects of sets of capability strengths and capability weaknesses on competitive advantage and its empirical correlate - relative performance. Additionally, we explore how environmental and firm-specific factors influence change in these drivers of competitive advantage over time. Results suggest that weakness sets have a negative effect on relative performance, while strength sets have an increasingly positive effect. The integrative effects of strength and weakness sets affect relative performance in a complex manner. For example, while high strength/low weakness firms perform at high levels, firms integrating high strength with high weakness perform well, but experience considerably more variance in their realized outcomes. Lastly, we find that the strength and weakness sets change significantly over time in markets where competition is more intense, thereby undermining the durability of competitive advantage. Our theory and results indicate that achieving temporary advantage is more difficult than previously thought and that the erosion of advantage occurs routinely as a result of dynamic and interactive rivalry.

Keywords: Monitoring, Attention, Boards of Directors, Duality

Suggested Citation

Tuggle, Chris S. and Sirmon, David G. and Reutzel, Chris and Bierman, Leonard, Commanding Board of Director Attention: Investigating How Organizational Performance and CEO Duality Affect Board Members Attention to Monitoring (January 9, 2010). Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 946-968, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1802522

Chris S. Tuggle

Independent ( email )

David G. Sirmon (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University ( email )

430 Wehner
College Station, TX 77843-4218
United States

Chris Reutzel

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Leonard Bierman

Texas A&M University - Department of Management ( email )

430 Wehner
College Station, TX 77843-4218
United States

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