This article synthesizes empirical researchfindings on the impact of boards of directors on corporate financial performance. An integrative model of board attributes and roles is presented, and research support on their links is discussed. The review identifies critical short-comings of past studies and concludes by offering an agenda for future studies in this promising area of empirical research.

This study examined the association between corporations' environments, strategies, and past performance and the composition of their boards of directors as measured by size and outside director representation. The environment, strategy and past performance were viewed as posing a strategic contingency; each of these sets could determine the success or failure of the company. Data on 119 Fortune 500 industrial companies for the 1983-9 period were used. Canonical analysis showed that increased uncertainty of a firm's environment, use of external growth and diversification; reliance on leverage as a means of finance, and poor past financial performance were associated with large board size and increased outside representation in subsequent years. Most important, board composition was positively associated with future measurements of corporate financial performance.

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A typology of the relative powers of the chief executive officer and the board of directors was derived based on the literature, highlighting four situations: Caretaker, Statutory, Proactive and Participative boards. Data collected from Fortune 500 Industrial and Fortune 500 Service corporations supported the typology. The results showed significant differences among the four board types in their characteristics, internal process, decision‐making styles, board effectiveness, and contribution to company performance. Powerful boards were associated with superior corporate financial performance.

This study examined the moderating role of planning sophistication on the strategy-performance relationship in 97 manufacturing firms representing 60 different industries. Cluster analysis was used to group the firms according to their strategic orientation. Five groups emerged. Significant differences in performance across selected groups were found establishing a 'baseline' strategy-performance relationship. Strategic orientations emphasizing product innovation or those incorporating 'eficiency' and 'differentiation' patterns of strategic behavior were associated with significantly higher performance levels than two other groups. The nature of each firm's planning process was then introduced via a two-way ANOVA procedure to determine if 'process sophistication' moderated the strategy-performance 'baseline'. Level of planning sophistication was found to significantly moderate the previously established strategy-performance baseline.

Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that businesses that act with an entrepreneurial orientation enjoy superior performance. Our research investigates whether nonprofit, religious congregations can benefit from similar initiatives. We based our hypotheses on the Rational Choice Theory of Religion, which was developed by social scientists to bring economic analysis to the understanding of the effects of competition among nonprofit organizations. Using a sample of 250 religious congregations in five different geographical markets, an entrepreneurial orientation is found to be positively associated with organizational performance. A hypothesized interaction effect between environmental munificence and entrepreneurial orientation is assessed.

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The Miles-Snow (1978) typology is one of the most popular classifications of business-level strategies. Consequently, a great deal of attention has centered on examining the validity of the research used in its defense. In this paper previous research on the typology is reviewedfocusing on four issues: (a) identification and nature of strategic types, (b) testing the typology's predictions concerning dimensions of the "adaptive cycle," (c) the link between strategy and environment, and (d) performance differences among the strategic types. Limitations of prior research are identified and questions about validity of pastfindings are presented. Methodological and conceptual refinements are offered to help guide future research efforts.