A boardroom revolution? The impact of the Cadbury nexus on the work of non-executive directors of FTSE 350 companies

This paper examines how the work of non-executive directors of large UK pub lic companies has changed since the publication of the Cadbury Report in 19 92. It reports the views of a unique group of non-executive directors who, in 1999, were still on the boards of companies they had joined during, or p rior to, 1992. In the first, quantitative phase of the reported research, r espondents were asked to assess the changes in the level of involvement of their boards in 22 defined activities relating to the organising and runnin g of the board. In the second, qualitative phase, research propositions rel ating to the changing pattern of work in the boardroom were tested. During interviews the respondents were asked to comment on a series of questions d esigned to explore the propositions. The paper reports on the responses to two of the research propositions tested in this way.