Introduction to the Research Handbook on Corporate Board Decision-Making

Boards are increasingly challenged on the quality of their decision-making, what they see as their primary objectives, who they make these decisions for, and how they do this, with issues on the impact of corporations on society and the environment, and organizational sustainability underlying many expressed concerns. How boards assure themselves that they are making good decisions, balance diverse stakeholders' priorities, maintain financial health whilst minimizing the ecological impact of their companies, and what they can do to minimise the incidence and magnitude of corporate fraud, are just some of the questions touched upon in this Handbook. Boards are encouraged to reflect on the very reason of their existence, and to focus not only on the merits of a decision itself but also on the quality of the decision-making process leading up to it, and genuinely take on board the lessons to be learnt from past mistakes and failures.