The research program was designed to explore how boards of directors may contribute to firm value creation. In the program we wanted to build a research platform by establishing a database with information about Norwegian boards of directors. We wanted particularly to stimulate research about actual board behaviour and towards boards in SMEs and family firms. International research about boards of director has generally been characterized by studies of large US corporations, most studies have used archival data, and agency theory has the dominating theory. In this project we have wanted to focus on boards in Norwegian and European firms, firms of different sizes and ownership structures, and a broader use of observations and theories. We wanted to establish a broad research environment that should create the fundament for a long term research activity.
The project has contributed to understanding and exploring boards of directors and corporate governance from a strategic and entrepreneurial management perspective where firm value creation is focused. The project started with a pilot study in 2001, and most of the publications from the project will take place in 2007/2008. The funded project period has been 2003-2006. Several empirical and conceptual studies have taken place, including large scale questionnaire surveys about Norwegian boards. These surveys have been replicated in various other countries, and "The value creating board" has been a hub project for researchers from many countries. The keynote speaker at the Strategic Management Society's Meeting in October 2006 concluded in his address that future corporate governance research should follow the stream that has been created in the "value creating board" program in Norway.
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