Politically-connected directors: a Canadian perspective on ex-politicians and former government officials joining corporate boards of directors

Abstract

We surveyed Canadian board members about the motives, disincentives and selection criteria for nominating an ex-politician or former government official to a corporate board. Using resource dependence theory, we found that the anticipated benefits from the literature were not as fully expected by our survey sample. Compared to the majority of studies in our field, our use of the Canadian context, director surveys and resource dependence theory represents a novel approach to the topic.