Does Previous Experience Matter? A case study of Swedish board members’ perception of experience diversity in decision-making

Sammanfattning: Decisions taken in the boardroom are considered to be of crucial importance for corporate governance, not least due to their wide-ranging implications for both an organization and its stakeholders. To take effective decisions on the board, the availability of the right skills and knowledge is deemed essential. Such skills and knowledge largely derive from board members previous educational and functional experiences. However, the impact of experience diversity on boardroom decision-making has to date only attracted very few and conflicting findings that are largely based on quantitative research. Following the calls of various scholars for more qualitative research to uncover the inner workings of the board, the purpose of this thesis is to explore how members of the board of directors perceive experience diversity in the context of boardroom decision-making. In the scope of a multiple case study of five different boards, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors of these boards. The findings of this thesis suggest that, on the one hand, the desirability of experience diversity in the board is contingent upon organizational objectives and, on the other hand, provides a board with additional resources that can impact board interactions. Based on these findings, this thesis proposes that experience diversity in the context of boardroom decision-making can represent both an opportunity and a paradox depending on board dynamics and how its implications are made use of. Overall, this thesis argues that whether experience diversity leads to more effective boardroom decision- making and eventually firm performance, is subject to a more nuanced assessment of the proposed factors and hence represents an interesting opportunity for future research.