Unlocking the role of a board director: a review of the literature

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the current debate regarding the role of a board director. Design/methodology/approach - A comprehensive review of the corporate governance (CG) literature is undertaken, with a particular focus on director contribution to board effectiveness. Findings - The literature review revealed a number of issues in the CG literature that highlight the need to clarify board director role and pay closer attention to the processes needed for directors to perform their role effectively. These issues have broadly been classified into: conceptual issues regarding board effectiveness and director contribution; a methodological issue of level of analysis (board as a group and a director as individual); failure of much of the literature to account for the external context in which the board directors operate; and prescriptive nature of the literature. Originality/value - Issues pertinent to the CG literature identified in this paper hold theoretical and practical implications.