The multidimensionality of conflict in supervisory boards in education in the Netherlands

Abstract

This article aims to clarify the effects of conflicts on the task performance of supervisory boards in education. Management studies on conflicts on corporate boards sometimes find a positive effect and sometimes a negative effect on the performance of boards. These mixed findings are considered a result of the triggering of harmful personal conflicts through disagreements about process and content within boards. In order to gain more insight into the complex ways in which conflicts influence the effectiveness of supervisory boards in education, a multidimensional operationalisation of conflict has been designed, in which three different types of conflict – task, process and relationship conflict – are distinguished. Chairs of the executive boards of schools in the Netherlands (N = 300) were questioned via a survey on various conflict dimensions and their supervisory board’s task performance. The results of hierarchical regression analyses underscore the need for a multidimensional approach to conflicts on supervisory boards in education. Task conflict has a positive effect and relationship conflict a negative effect, while process conflict seems to have no significant effect on supervisory board effectiveness. Furthermore, task conflicts have a mitigating, rather than a triggering, effect on relationship conflicts. Supervisory boards in education should therefore not avoid substantive discussions on the differences of opinion among their members to be more effective.

Role expectations and shared accountability: A framework for school governance

“…We first investigate the role expectations of the principal held by the board in the school governance. This is relevant because board task conflicts might occur when school boards are not able to take a critical stance towards the managers (Heemskerk, 2020). Loh et al (2021) explain that principals may inform boards' decision making through their educational expertise; however, excessive influence on board decisions may interfere with board accountability and impair the board's monitoring and advising functions.…”

Dutch boards governing multiple schools: navigating between autonomy and expectations

“…In this model either the school board selects one of its board members to run the board's daily operations, or the board delegates these executive tasks to its schools and their school leaders. In the latter cases, the board acts as a supervisory board (Heemskerk 2020). The second school board type is the most popular one; most school boards are now organised by means of a two-tier model, with a separation between an executive board and a supervisory board.…”

Connecting Group Dynamics, Governance, and Performance: Evidence From Charter School Boards

“…Coser (1956), for example, shows that task conflict can help individuals blow off steam, and actually improve group decision making. K. Heemskerk (2019), in a survey of executive board chairs overseeing schools in the Netherlands, demonstrated how relationship conflict has a negative effect on board performance, while task conflict actually has a positive impact on board performance. Kerwin et al (2011) show that nonprofit board conflict is often underreported and can be either positive or negative depending on its intensity, and the manner in which it is displayed.…”

“…Paarlberg et al (2020) look at external board relationships, finding that larger more-connected boards attract more resources for their organization. K. Heemskerk (2019) explores the multidimensional nature of governing conflict and its impacts on school boards in the Netherlands. Collectively, there is significant literature testing the relationship between nonprofit board dynamics and different measures of organizational success.…”