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Stay or Leave: Director Identities and Voluntary Exit from the Board During Organizational Crisis

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Listed:
  • Michael C. Withers

    (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843)

  • Kevin G. Corley

    (Department of Management, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287)

  • Amy J. Hillman

    (Department of Management, W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287)

Abstract

Directors may play their most important role during organizational crisis; however, extant research suggests that they are often more willing to exit than remain on the board of a firm facing a crisis. We develop theory regarding directors' voluntary exit by integrating insights from identity theories with the organizational crises literature. Specifically, we model how directors' individual, relational, and collective identities work sometimes in concert and other times in opposition to each other to influence directors' voluntary decisions to remain on or exit from a board facing an organizational crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael C. Withers & Kevin G. Corley & Amy J. Hillman, 2012. "Stay or Leave: Director Identities and Voluntary Exit from the Board During Organizational Crisis," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 835-850, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:23:y:2012:i:3:p:835-850
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0660
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Giuseppe D’Onza & Alessandra Rigolini, 2017. "Does director capital influence board turnover after an incident of fraud? Evidence from Italian listed companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(4), pages 993-1022, December.
    8. John R. Busenbark & Jonathan Bundy & M.K. Chin, 2023. "Director departure following political ideology (in)congruence with an incoming CEO," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(7), pages 1698-1732, July.
    9. Merendino, Alessandro & Sarens, Gerrit, 2020. "Crisis? What crisis? Exploring the cognitive constraints on boards of directors in times of uncertainty," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 415-430.
    10. Singh, Preet Deep & Singla, Chitra, 2016. "Impact of Independent Directors’ Resignations on Firm’s Governance," IIMA Working Papers WP2016-03-36, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    11. Sam Garg & Qiang (John) Li & Jason D. Shaw, 2018. "Undervaluation of directors in the board hierarchy: Impact on turnover of directors (and CEOs) in newly public firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 429-457, February.
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    13. Preet Singh & Chitra Singla, 2016. "Impact of Independent Directors’ Resignations on Firm’s Governance," Working Papers id:11037, eSocialSciences.
    14. Deore, Aishwarrya & Mahlendorf, Matthias D. & Wu, Fan, 2023. "CEOs' structural power, prestige power, and target ratcheting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
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