November Executive Board Meeting by AFGE
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How boards of directors can potentially improve decision-making through knowledge strategies supported by ICT

Bruce Boyes17 Nov 2017
648 1 minute read

Corporate boards face increasing scrutiny, but studies show that board directors still lack the information and knowledge they need to be able to fulfill their evolving responsibilities.

A new study1 helps to address this situation by looking at how boards of directors can potentially improve decision-making through knowledge strategies supported by information and communication technologies (ICT).

The researchers first reviewed the literature on corporate board information and decision-making limitations, and then identified potential solutions by relating these limitations to the literature on ICT, following a design science research methodology.

The literature review identified a series of knowledge-related problems that could impair the quality of board decisions, including information asymmetry, information overload, and groupthink. Information asymmetry is where there is a difference between the information available to management and what is presented to the board, with independent directors being heavily dependent on managers for their information and knowledge.

Potential solutions to these problems are shown in Figure 1. The researchers advise that these solutions represent a first step in developing a comprehensive knowledge framework for boards, and future research can build on these findings.

Examples of knowledge solutions and supporting tools.
Figure 1. Examples of knowledge solutions and supporting tools (source: EJKM).

Article source: Improving Board Knowledge with Information and Communication Technologies is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

Header image source: November Executive Board Meeting by AFGE is licenced by CC BY 2.0.

Reference:

  1. Roy M.C., Roy M.J., and Bouchard, L. (2017). Improving Board Knowledge with Information and Communication Technologies. The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 15(4): 215-224. Available online at www.ejkm.com ↩
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Bruce Boyes17 Nov 2017
648 1 minute read
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Bruce Boyes

Bruce Boyes is a knowledge management (KM), environmental management, and education thought leader with more than 40 years of experience. As editor and lead writer of the award-winning RealKM Magazine, he has personally written more than 500 articles and published more than 2,000 articles overall, resulting in more than 2 million reader views. With a demonstrated ability to identify and implement innovative solutions to social and ecological complexity, Bruce has successfully completed more than 40 programs, projects, and initiatives including leading complex major programs. His many other career highlights include: leading the KM community KM and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, using agile approaches to oversee the on time and under budget implementation of an award-winning $77.4 million recovery program for one of Australia's most iconic river systems, leading a knowledge strategy process for Australia’s 56 natural resource management (NRM) regional organisations, pioneering collaborative learning and governance approaches to empower communities to sustainably manage landscapes and catchments in the face of complexity, being one of the first to join a new landmark aviation complexity initiative, initiating and teaching two new knowledge management subjects at Shanxi University in China, and writing numerous notable environmental strategies, reports, and other works. Bruce is currently a PhD candidate in the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group at Wageningen University and Research, and holds a Master of Environmental Management with Distinction and a Certificate of Technology (Electronics). As well as his work for RealKM Magazine, Bruce currently also teaches in the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) Certified High-school Pathway (CHP) program in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China.
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