董事会非正式沟通对决策质量的影响研究：路径、机理与效应

In the research field of corporate governance, the studies on board of directors have been expanded from the structure to behavior. However, it is still limited in the behavioral consequence rather than behavioral process. The decision process of major events in companies, which is from interaction and information sharing between directors to the board resolution, is still a "black box". How to open this "black box" becomes a frontier topic in the research of board governance. This subject plans to gain access to the "black box" of board process from the perspective of communication behavior, and to deeply analyze the effects on board decision consistency of informal communication. Based on the theoretic analysis and logical deduction, by applying the methods of long-term spot investigation, deep interview and dynamic trace in the pilot board of central enterprises, we aim to scientifically define and thoroughly understand the informal communication of board, and get clear identifications of its determinants, which are followed by model establishment and framework construction. In addition, we try to empirically examine the impact pathways, mechanisms and effects of informal communications with the primary data collected by experiments and plenty of questionnaires. This project provides a new perspective of the board research, which has great significance for regulating the board operation.

在公司治理的研究中，对董事会的研究虽然已经从结构拓展到行为，但仍然局限在行为结果，并未真正剖析行为过程。对于公司的重大事项，董事间如何通过交互影响、信息传递并最终形成董事会决议，这一重要过程仍是"黑箱"。如何破解"黑箱"，已成为董事会治理研究的前沿课题。本课题拟从沟通行为的视角探究董事会"黑箱"，深入探讨董事会非正式沟通对董事会决策质量的影响。在理论推导与逻辑演绎的基础上，界定董事会非正式沟通行为及其影响因素，构建理论模型和逻辑框架；通过实验和大量问卷调查等方法获取一手数据，检验董事会非正式沟通对决策质量的影响路径、机理及其效应。本课题为董事会研究提供了一个新的视角，对规范董事会运作和提高董事会有效性具有重要意义。

近年来，董事会治理的研究内容正逐步由静态结构向动态过程延伸，现有研究方法以及研究视角越来越多的关注董事会绩效，深入董事会实际运作过程。董事间如何通过交互影响、共享信息并最终形成董事会决议，这一重要过程是当前研究的重点和难点。课题组通过系统研究发现，董事会非正式沟通行为客观存在，并且在其内部形成了独特的运行秩序。课题组从沟通行为的视角探究董事会“黑箱”，深入探讨董事会非正式沟通的行为方式以及具体内容，探究其对董事会决策质量的影响。在理论推导与逻辑演绎的基础上，课题组构建了非正式沟通影响决策的理论框架，借助对企业的长期调研、深度访谈和动态追踪，界定董事会非正式沟通行为及其影响因素，完善逻辑框架；系统考察了董事会网络、董事会断裂带、董事会非正式层级等因素对董事会决策职能乃至公司绩效的作用和机理，实现董事会正式结构向非正式结构研究的拓展；借助实验、问卷以及手工搜集获取一手数据，建立董事会非正式沟通数据库与案例库，检验了董事会非正式沟通对决策质量的影响路径、机理及效应；立足于中国独特的制度背景，回应现实问题，结合中国公司董事会的特性，分析并总结董事会非正式沟通的有效性与实践中的差异性，并在提高董事会决策质量、提高董事会治理有效性等方面提出政策建议。