General managers’ and chief operating officers’ evaluations of private club boards of directors

Boards of directors play important roles in private clubs, especially in member-owned clubs. Resource dependence framework views the club board as an important provider of resources, knowledge, and support. Using a sample of 286 general managers (GMs) and chief operating officers (COOs), this study examined the relationships among a club's board development program, the GMs’/COOs’ perception of board performance, and the GMs’/COOs’ satisfaction with the boards of directors. This study also found that a second-order three-factor model of club board performance, consisting of strategies and policy making, external relations, and stewardship, was the best fit to the data. All hypotheses from the proposed model were supported, showing that a board development program influenced club board performance directly. Board performance also had direct and positive influence on the GMs’/COOs’ satisfaction with the board.