Understanding board-CEO power dependency perspective under symbolic management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand dependency issues between the CEO and the board as well as the between the board and CEO through Emerson’s power dependency framework. Design/methodology/approach – A symbolic management approach is integrated with a board-CEO power dependency model to study the dependency issues. Findings – According to the symbolic management perspective, uncertainty increases the likelihood of symbolic actions. A high level of uncertainty in CEO dependency issues suggests a high likelihood that board power over the CEO is manifested on a symbolic level, whereas a low level of uncertainty in board dependency issues suggests otherwise for CEO power over the board. The core of board-dependency issues is information provision. Practical implications – A focus on improving board control over CEO performance, compensation and strategic proposals is likely to generate symbolic actions without an effective result. Originality/value – The paper advocates that an effective approach to enhance board power is through reducing board information dependency on the CEO.