Manuscript Type: Review Research Question/Issue: A coherent alternative to an economic approach of corporate governance is missing. In this paper we take steps towards developing a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance. Research Findings/Results: Building upon concepts such as political bargaining, routinization of decision making, satisficing, and problemistic search, a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance will focus more on (1) interactions and processes inside and outside the boardroom; (2) the fact that decision making is made by coalitions of actors and objectives are results of political bargaining; and (3) the notion that not only conflicting, but also cooperating, interests are parts of the boards' decision making and control over firm resources. Theoretical Implications: The consequences are a new research agenda for boards and corporate governance. The agenda will focus on actual instead of stylized descriptions of board behavior. In a behavioral perspective the emphasis on problems of coordination, exploration, and knowledge creation may dominate over problems of conflict of interest, exploitation, and the distribution of value. A future research agenda based on a behavioral framework calls for novel and adventurous research designs. Practical Implications: A behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance will be closer to actual board behavior than the traditional economic approach and research about boards and corporate governance may thus become more actionable for practitioners.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of how entrepreneurial education research has evolved with regard to pedagogy over the past decades. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed systematic review methodology to enable an in-depth analysis of the literature in a process that was both replicable and transparent. Guided by the research purpose, the systematic review of 395 articles published between January 1980 and December 2018 was influenced by a configurative approach aimed at interpreting and understanding the phenomenon under study. Findings The analysis suggests that the scholarly discourse on pedagogy in entrepreneurial education research has developed over time from teacher-guided instructional models to more constructivist perspectives. A shift in the literature was also observed, where scholarly discussions moved from addressing the issue of teachability to a greater emphasis on learnability. Contemporary discussions centre on the theoretical and philosophical foundations of experience-based teaching and learning. Originality/value The study illustrates how entrepreneurial education has evolved into a distinct research theme, characterized by a practice-oriented research agenda that emphasizes the need to connect teaching to “real-world” environments. The practice-oriented agenda has led to continued societal interest in promoting entrepreneurial education, while at the same time creating low academic legitimacy.

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Good governance for SMEs is critical for economic development and growth in both developed and developing economies. In this paper we focus on boards and governance in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by investigating the role and contribution of “outside” directors in this setting. By contrasting board role theories against different types of SMEs, firms are expected to recruit “outside” board members for various reasons. Illustrated by 52 empirical studies of “outside” directors in SMEs we show how agency theory, resource based view of the firm, and resource dependence theory can be applied to understand the multiple roles that “outside” directors can play in family firms, venture capital-backed firms and other SMEs. The illustration shows that the concept “outside” director is not the same in different theories and in different empirical settings. Based on this finding, we argue for the need to have a conscious and balanced use of theories for understanding the role and contribution of “outside” directors in SMEs.

This study seeks to advance the understanding of board empowerment in small companies. Predictions based on agency and resource dependency theories were used to examine how contingency factors correlate with board empowerment, in this study conceptualized as a larger number of board members, a higher representation of outside directors, and separate CEO and board chair positions. Statistical analyses on a sample of 135 small companies gave ample support for the agency-theoretic prediction that board empowerment in small companies is a response to satisfy the demands from owners not directly involved in managing the company. Other factors influencing board empowerment were younger CEOs, high degree of exports, and past poor company performance. The influence of these contingency factors, however, was not as strong and extensive as the presence of outside owners. The article ends with a discussion of the findings and their implications for understanding boards and governance in small companies.

In this paper we explore internationalization and export growth over time in a sample of 135 small manufacturing firms. By using concepts and arguments from literature on international business and small firms. the paper identifies six situational, or contingency, factors that are expected to influence the international activities of small firms. Our results show that a dynamic and fast-changing environment may push small Jrms to go abroad, while it seems to be the experiences built up in the organization and a younger generation of CEOs that can explain why some small firms continue to expand their international activities. The findings suggest that the factors influencing small firms to go abroad and become international difler fmm the factors that influence them to continue and grow once they are on the international marketplace. The paper ends with a discussion of the findings, together with suggestions for further research. Risumk Dans cet article, nous analysons, a partir d'un ichantilion deI35 petites firmes manufacturiires, I 'impact, au fil du temps, de l'intemationalisation et de la croissance de l'exportation. Grdce a l'utilisation des concepts et d'arguments tiris de la littirature sur le commerce international et sur les petites entreprises, nous digageons six facteurs situationnels et conjoncturels qui sont censis avoir un impact sur les activitis internationales des petites entreprises. Nos risultats indiquent qu 'un envimnnement dynamique et en mutation rapide peut &re a 1 'origine de 1 'internationalisation des petites entreprises. Bien plus, les experiences acquises dans 1 'organisation et le rajeunissement des cadres expliqueraient pourquoi certaines petites entreprises continuent a itendre leurs activitis internationales. Les risultats montrent aussi que les facteurs qui poussent les petites entreprises a s'exporter et a s 'intemationaliser sont diffirents de ceux qui les poussent b continuer a croitre une fois qu'elles sont sur le marchd international. Nous bouclons notre itude par une analyse des risultats et une proposition des pistes de recherche futures. Small firms are becoming increasingly international. Small firms are reported to contribute 25 to 35% of world exports of manufacturers, and about one-fifth of manufacturing small firms receive between 10 and 40% of their turnover from cross-border activities (OECD, 2000). The authors thank "Lars Erik Lundberg's stillelse fir forskning w h utveckling" and Halmtad University for financial suppon. Addms correspondence to Svante Andersson. SlRuHalmstad Univeresity, P.O. Box 823. S-301 18 Halmstad. Sweden. E-mail: svante.andersson@sct.hh.se 8 ASAC 2004 22Moreover, small firms seem to get into the international scene at a much earlier age than before, and they are also more actively pursuing strategies that involve international activities (Knight

Board evaluations can contribute to effective boards and improved corporate financial performance. The increasing interest in the practice of board evaluations, however, calls for a more systematic and careful approach than has been employed in the past. While most attention has primarily been focused on the content of board evaluations, this article outlines the features of various possible board evaluation systems. Based on state-of-the-art research on boards and governance, we contend that a comprehensive board evaluation system needs to include decisions about: (a) the agent who evaluates the board; (b) the content, or what the evaluation should deal with; (c) the addressee and other stakeholders for whom the board is evaluated; and (d) how the board is evaluated. These key decisions should not be seen as independent of each other as they have consequences for the kind of system that will be adopted. Following this argument, we present four different board evaluation systems: (i) board-to-board, (ii) board-to-market, (iii) market-to-board and (iv) market-to-market. The key message we communicate in this article is that there must be a fit between the purpose and the system of board evaluations. There is no universal or "one best way" to evaluate boards of directors. Board evaluations will not meet their purpose unless there is a fit between the agents, the addressees, the content and the modalities of the evaluation. It is important to know who is doing what for whom and how. Copyright (c) 2007 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.