Abstract
Corporate boards in New Zealand like their international counterparts, continue to fail even though a plethora of legislation and best practice have been put in place in an attempt to halt ineffective forms of governance. To consider regulation and legislation as the ultimate cure negates the ability of a board to effectively make decisions. By identifying characteristics of boardroom decision-making as being either independent process or behaviour variables this thesis provides fresh insight into what determines effective governance. Two alternative governance models emerge from this study. The intrinsically-focused model which encapsulates behaviour and process associated with control and accountability and turns attention to the adoption of corporate best practice