Date of Award

Summer 6-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program/Concentration

Business Administration - Strategic Management

Committee Director

Martin C. Goossen

Committee Member

Elko Klijn

Committee Member

Anil Nair

Committee Member

Tony W. Tong

Abstract

The Board of Directors (BOD) is at the apex of making strategic decisions, setting long-term objectives, and advising and monitoring management. However, scholars have begun to question the board’s ability to fulfill its roles and responsibilities effectively. Board members might lack the necessary expertise, making it challenging for them to navigate the complex and dynamic landscape in which the firm operates. This issue is particularly evident in the context of overseeing and steering the firm’s R&D and innovation strategies, a function that is inherently complex and difficult to comprehend. In response, there have been calls for boards to evolve and adapt their structure to provide more effective guidance to management regarding technology- and innovation-related initiatives.

One emerging approach that boards are using to address these concerns is the establishment of board-level technology committees. This dissertation aims to explore the role of these technology committees within the BODs of corporations. I am especially interested in understanding why BODs create these committees, how they choose which board members will serve on them, and the strategic implications of such committees. The research is timely, given the heightened importance of technology and innovation in firm strategies.

Paper I examines the antecedents of technology committee formation. I argue that the establishment of voluntary board committees results from a tradeoff. By institutionalizing specialized committees of experts with relevant experience focused on a narrow aspect of organizational strategy and operations, BODs can carry out their oversight and advisory responsibilities more effectively. However, these committees also introduce an additional layer of bureaucracy, which heightens communication and coordination challenges, as well as costs. I find that corporations are more likely to establish a board technology committee when their innovation strategies become more complex, specifically when they involve a greater diversity of technologies and products and are organized in less transparent ways.

Paper II examines the appointment of board directors to the technology committee at its inception. I utilize the conceptual quad model to explore whether directors who have the qualities considered necessary for effective board monitoring—independence, expertise, bandwidth, and motivation—are more likely to be assigned to the technology committee. I find strong evidence that directors with relevant, domain-specific expertise are more likely to be appointed. However, there is mixed or no support for the other elements of the quad model.

Paper III examines the strategic impact of adopting a technology committee within the board. Board committees can enhance efficiency through task division, promote specialization in knowledge, increase director accountability, and help alleviate the cognitive demands on individual directors. However, to what extent does this affect strategic decision-making? Using a two-stage Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach, I investigate whether and how the establishment of a board technology committee influences firms’ intellectual property (IP) strategy. The analysis reveals limited evidence that technology committees significantly shape IP creation, protection, and commercialization outcomes.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/dvxj-6r20

ISBN

9798293842742

Download

Available for download on Saturday, September 18, 2027

Share

COinS