Women bosses boost innovation say Norwegian researchers

Having more women on management boards leads to changes in organisations that promote innovation, according to a study from BI Norwegian School of Management, which concludes that women encourage more opinions and contribute to the whole board being better prepared and more involved.

Norwegian boards and management teams offer an attractive laboratory in which to study whether increasing numbers of women in the board room has actually led to changes. It’s now about five years since a law was passed in Norway regarding gender representation in management of all the country’s public limited companies, in 2006.

Huse from BI Norwegian School of Management, and Mariateresa Torchia and Andrea Calabrò from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, have conducted a study investigating whether an increase in the percentage of women leads to the board making changes and promoting increased innovation.

Companies with and without women board members

The researchers conducted a survey of managing directors from a selection of medium-sized Norwegian enterprises (companies with between 51 and 250 employees), receiving 341 complete replies.

The data were collected during the winter of 2005/2006, allowing the researchers to compare companies with and without female representation within management. Companies included in the study had an average of 16 per cent female representation, but more than four out of ten (44 per cent) enterprises surveyed had no women in management.

Organising for innovation

The researchers asked chief executives to what degree the board implemented measures to promote organisational innovation. “Results show there is a significant and positive correlation between the percentage of women and the degree of organisational innovation in the enterprise,” says Morten Huse.

Thinking differently and thinking ahead

The research team also investigated possible reasons why a greater percentage of women had a positive effect on innovative thinking within the organisation. “A greater female presence encourages more opinions and perspectives in board discussions. The study also shows that [having] a greater percentage of women has a positive effect on how prepared and involved board members are,” Huse claims.

Well-prepared, enthusiastic women on the board also have a positive effect on other board members, according to Huse, because the men need to prove that they’re also well-prepared and enthusiastic.

“This creates a positive cycle where preparations and involvement in board meetings increase in general. Men’s behaviour appears to change when women join the board,” says Huse, adding that better-prepared, more involved board members affect the productivity of the board in a positive way.