Stakeholders' Expectations of Board Roles: The Case of Subsidiary Boards

What is the best for acompany? In most countries it isconsidered to be a duty for board membersto act in the best interest of thecompany. Few, however, question ``who orwhat really counts'' in the boards'governance decisions, and that boards mayplay various roles in carrying out theirduties. In this paper we review anddiscuss stakeholder expectations of boardroles. The arguments are illustrated by anempirical example. Depending on thedefinition of what is the best for thecompany, key stakeholder groups may havedifferent expectations of various boardroles. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001