Board roles in organisations with a dual board system: Empirical evidence from Taiwanese nonprofit sport organisations

Abstract

Research on the roles of the board of unitary board systems is well established, while explorations of dual board systems are very limited. We know little about nonprofit sport organisations board roles in countries such as Taiwan that operate with a dual board structure. In consequence, this study explored the roles taken by the board of directors and the board of supervisors in Taiwanese nonprofit sport organisations. Four overarching board of director roles were identified: manage vision and purpose; board duty; human resource and fundraising; and stakeholder focus. For the board of supervisors two primary functions emerged: monitoring results; and board duty and process. The findings of the study extend our understanding of the governance of nonprofit sport organisations and the differences that exist between dual board and single board systems of governance.