Size, Composition, and Function of Hospital Boards of Directors: A Study of Organization-Environment Linkage

TLDR: In a study of 57 hospitals in a large midwestern state, the determinants of the size, composition, and function of boards of directors were examined as mentioned in this paper, and it was concluded that board function and composition did have an impact on the hospital's ability to obtain community support and on organizational effectiveness, defined as the ability to attract resources from the environment.

Abstract: 1 The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Mr. Claude Graeff in the data collection effort, and the support of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Illinois. In a study of 57 hospitals in a large midwestern state, the determinants of the size, composition, and function of boards of directors were examined. The function of the board was partly explained by the organizational context, and particularly the ownership and source of funds. The size of the board of directors was related to the requirements for successful linkage with the environment and with the function of the board. The composition of the board was related to the social context in which the organization is embedded, as well as to the function of the board. Finally, board function and composition did have an impact on the hospital's ability to obtain community support and on organizational effectiveness, defined as the ability to attract resources from the environment. It was concluded that boards of directors of formal organizations can be productively analyzed as one possible mechanism linking the organization with its environment.'