The External and Internal Influences on the Board of Director´s Expected Behaviours

Abstract

This article is assess whether directors' decisions are influenced by external and internal factors to the company. The article explores whether directors' decision-making tendency, measured through their values, is influenced by other factors, specifically their professional experience, the governance rules to which they are subject and must follow, and the size of the companies. An quantitative, applied, descriptive and correlational study was carried out. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire, based on the Schwartz Value Inventory – IVS (1992), applied to a sample of 121 counselors in Brazil. Decisions are significantly influenced by different levels of external constraints, especially in higher conservatism, which represents a restriction of actions and impulses that may violate social norms, as well as acceptance of society's norms and traditions. The article is original in using individual values as an instrument to measure, through a quantitative methodology that encompasses an inventory of values, the decision-making tendencies of directors, mainly because it includes the individual dimension in the decision-making process, escaping from the academic "mainstream" on the results of group work. The importance of directors' personal values cannot be underestimated when it comes to corporate social responsibility and ESG principles. With the study of human values and their influence on decision-making in boards of directors, it is possible to minimize conflicts, facilitate the exchange of ideas and decision-making, and promote sustainability and the generation of organizational value, directly and indirectly mitigating business risks and their social impacts