Effectiveness of the board of directors in monitoring executive management: Preliminary evidence from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Elements of corporate governance must be activated at all scales for the efficient functioning of a nation’s capital market. The effectiveness of the board of directors depends on factors related to, for example, the composition of the board and its independence. This study aims to investigate empirically whether the board of directors is an effective mechanism for monitoring managers in Saudi Arabia through a survey. A questionnaire that was developed and employed by Elyas (2015) is utilized for data collection after modifying it and judging its appropriateness. We targeted individuals who had relevant experience as members of the board of directors as our respondents. Only 29 subjects took the survey. The results indicate that the respondents generally disagree with the survey items, pointing out the ineffectiveness of the board of directors in monitoring executive management. Although the subjects’ credible experience can be assumed, the generalizability of our research findings is limited because of the low number of respondents.